Week Four // Prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit,
Divine Consoler,
I adore You as my true God,
with God the Father and God the Son.
I adore You and unite myself to the adoration
You receive from the angels and saints.
I give You my heart
and I offer my ardent thanksgiving
for all the grace which You never cease to bestow on me.
O Giver of all supernatural gifts,
who filled the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God, with such immense favors,
I beg You to visit me with Your grace
and Your love and to grant me the gift of holy fear,
so that it may act on me as a check to prevent me
from falling back into my past sins,
for which I beg pardon.
Grant me the gift of piety,
so that I may serve You for the future with increased
fervor,
follow with more promptness Your holy inspirations,
and observe your divine precepts with greater fidelity.
Grant me the gift of knowledge,
so that I may know the things of God and,
enlightened by Your holy teaching, may walk,
without deviation, in the path of eternal salvation.
Grant me the gift of fortitude,
so that I may overcome courageously all the assaults of
the devil,
and all the dangers of this world which threaten the
salvation of my soul.
Grant me the gift of counsel,
so that I may choose what is more conducive to my
spiritual advancement
and may discover the wiles and snares of the tempter.
Grant me the gift of understanding,
so that I may apprehend the divine mysteries
and by contemplation of heavenly things detach my thoughts
and affections from the vain things of this miserable
world.
Grant me the gift of wisdom,
so that I may rightly direct all my actions,
referring them to God as my last end;
so that, having loved Him and served Him in this life,
I may have the happiness of possessing Him eternally in
the next.
Week Four Intention
We pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Universal Church.
Week Four // Day Four
Grant me the gift of fortitude,
so that I may overcome courageously all the assaults of the devil,
and all the dangers of this world which threaten the salvation of my soul.
Overcome. Assault. Danger. Threaten.
There are some scary words in this prayer, aren’t there?
Well, sisters, it should come as no surprise that that’s because there are scary things in this world. Watch the news, read the headlines, scroll through Twitter, and it is all too obvious how devastatingly far the world has fallen. Families are separated. Countries are divided. Horrific sins have taken place within our own beloved Church. Do you ever wonder if God would flood it all again if He had not promised Noah He wouldn’t, way back in the day?
As Catholics, we know without a shadow of a doubt that Satan is real and he hates us. All of the disgusting, heartbreaking, horrifying, terrible things we see on the news? That’s what he wants for us, and much, much worse. But in our daily battle against him, we are never, ever alone.
Our warrior of a Mother crushes his head beneath her foot. St. Michael the Archangel casts him into hell. And the Holy Spirit blesses us with the gift of fortitude, enabling us to bravely reject Satan, all his works, and all his empty promises. We are part of the battle and part of the victory that we know belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ.
With every gossipy conversation that is awkward to put a stop to, but we do anyway, the gift of fortitude is at work. With every angry word we keep our lips sealed around, the gift of fortitude is at work. With every temptation to use someone for our own gain that we reject and flee from, the gift of fortitude is at work.
This world is not easy to live in. Each new day we wake up on this earth is another day we will be tempted, distracted, and pulled away from God if we allow it to happen. Fortitude keeps our eyes on the prize and gives us the strength and courage to fight another day, until we can finally, truly rest in the peace of Heaven.
I am not afraid. I was born to do this. -St. Joan of Arc
Identify a situation or area of your life right now where you most need the gift of fortitude to turn away from sin.
Prayer + Discussion for Prayer Partners
Share a time in your life when the Holy Spirit blessed you with the gift of fortitude in a moment of need. How did that feel?
Lisa Kirk is a regular contributor to the BIS blog. New York City-born and internationally raised, she now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her study-abroad-crush-turned-husband and their two children. A former wedding magazine editor and fashion copywriter, she now writes primarily for Something Pretty, the Catholic living and classic style blog she began in 2010. She loves learning about the Saints, wandering the city with coffee in hand, and making new friends on Instagram. Read all of Lisa's posts here.
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