Novena to the Holy Ghost in Preparation for the Feast of Pentecost
(Commencing on Ascension Day)
THE novena of the Holy Spirit is the chief of all the novenas, because it was the first that was ever celebrated, and that by the holy apostles and the most holy Mary in the supper room, being distinguished by so many remarkable wonders and gifts, principally by the gift of the same Holy Spirit, a gift merited for us by the Passion of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus Himself made this known to us when He said to His disciples that if He did not die, He could not send us the Holy Ghost: If I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you " (John xvi. 7). We know well by faith that the Holy Ghost is the love that the Father and the Eternal Word bear one to the other; and therefore the gift of love which the Lord infuses into I our souls, and which is the greatest of all gifts, is particularly attributed to the Holy Ghost. As St. Paul says, " The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, Who is given to us " (Rom. V. 5). In this novena, therefore, we must consider, above all, the great value of divine love, in order that we may desire to obtain it, and endeavor, by devout exercises, and especially by prayer, to be made partakers of it, since God has promised it to him who asks for it with humility: "Your Father from heaven I will give the good Spirit to them that ask Him" (Luke xi. 13).
Pope Leo XIII, May 9, 1897, decreed that a novena to the Holy Ghost should be made every year in preparation for the feast of Pentecost and granted an indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines for
