MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS-150 - NOVENA-Day 6

2018 - is a very special year! It is 150 years since the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Valdocco, Turin was consecrated, in 1868. We shall pray the Novena together this year... as loving children of the Help of Christians, and grow closer to our Saviour, Lord Jesus Christ. 

20th May, 2018 - Day 6

Keep our life all spotless, make our way secure till we find in Jesus, joy for evermore.

BIBLE READING:

The Lord “is your praise, and your God, that has done for you these great and terrible things, which your eyes have seen.” (Deut. 10:21)

In fact, God, gazing at the humility of his faithful servant, Mary Most Holy, gave us through her the Savior of all men, Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

"O Mary, grant us the grace to imitate thy love of God and neighbor."

PRAYER: 

O Mary, Queen of the Apostles, take under thy precious protection the Sacred Ministers and all the faithful of the Catholic Church, obtain for them the spirit of unity, and fervent zeal for the salvation of souls; particularly extend your loving help to missionaries, so they may lead all peoples of the earth to the true faith. Thus may the world become one fold under the guidance of only one Shepherd, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen 

(Remember your Intentions here)

Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory Be... Hail Holy Queen.
Mary, Help of Christians, Pray for us. 

Come Holy Spirit

Fire, Fruits and Friendship

Pentecost Sunday - 20th May 2018

Acts 2:1-11; Gal 5: 16-25; Jn 20: 19-23

Welcome to the Birthday bash of the One Holy Apostolic Church! Thousands of small communities of the people of God chosen by God, saved by the Word and animated by the Spirit might exist in the world today - the origin is the One Holy Spirit, the One Spirit of communion and courage, the One Spirit of conviction and consolation who underlies every good thing that comes from God. Hence...let us wish each other today a happy birthday, because we were reborn in the Spirit as the people of God. When Jesus said, unless one is born again in the Spirit of God, one cannot enter the Reign of God - this is what the Lord meant: to receive the Spirit - the fire, the fruits and the friendship that comes from the Spirit. 

We need the holy Spirit, now more than ever! Look around us...

Injustice, inhumanity, cruelties, insensitivities, insincerity, exploitation, corruption, dehumanisation, abuse, sexual perversion, self seeking, money mindedness, materialism, relativism, consumerism, egoism, fundamentalism, fanaticism... every thing working against Truth and Justice! Sinfulness has become the order of the day and every day the level of sinfulness keeps rising and nothing matters anymore than the capacity to fend for oneself. 

We need the FIRE of the Holy Spirit to convict each of us and give us the courage to face the Truth! The fire that burns the evil away and the fire that lights up the true Christian way! The fire that was set in our hearts at our baptism, the fire that we were commissioned to keep burning till we return to the Lord, that we may see our way and show it to our brothers and sisters, friends and neighbours.

We need the holy Spirit, now more than ever! What difference can we make...

When selfishness is justified and glorified as success mindset, when violence is looked upon as a way to make one's dreams come true, when money and wealth come before humanity and peace, when politics means nothing but dominating the masses in whichever inhuman means possible, when happiness means pleasure and excitement at the cost of anything and anyone, when love means possessing and marriage means a contract, what difference are we called to make today as people of the Spirit?

We need the FRUITS of the Holy Spirit, that we may live true love and teach it to the world, that we may have the inner joy and show it to those around, that we may spread peace that creates heaven where we are, that we may have the patience to endure the evils holding firm to the good, that we may possess the kindness to see beyond the failures of people, that we may have the generosity to give of ourselves for the good of the other and the entire humanity, that we may ever be faithful to the One who has called us and commissioned us, that we may challenge the violent world with our gentleness, that we may possess the self control that puts us in control of everything else - this is the difference we are called to make - can we?

We need the holy Spirit, now more than ever! How do we picture ourselves...

As people of the Spirit, people of God, people of Redemption, our identity has to be different from that of the world. The world identifies itself with power, possession and prestige. Persons are ready to do anything to have power - power over others, power over means of wealth, power over systems and power over everyone else! The craze to possess, ruins any humanity that could be. To possess things and to possess persons have come to mean the same and the world differentiates no more one from the other. Prestige and ego, seem to rule everything and the society seems ready to sacrifice anything for it. 

We need the FRIENDSHIP of the Holy Spirit, to understand the true identity that we have. We are friends - friends of God, friends to each other, friends to the needy and broken! It is the Spirit that gives us the heart and the capacity it takes to be friends... the Spirit unites, makes us understood by each other, synchronises our thoughts, synergises our capacities and moulds us together as One People of God. Where there is division and hatred, there is no Spirit because the Spirit of God, is the Spirit of love and wisdom, communion and friendship.

Yes, let us pray together this day:

Come Holy Spirit, we need thee!

We need your Fire to burn and light up,

We need your Fruits to raise this world up,

We need your Friendship to truly grow up!

Come Holy Spirit, we need thee!