Litany to the Holy Spirit

In many prayer books, the popular litanies that are often published are the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Litany of Loreto or the Litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Very rare to find is the Litany of the Holy Spirit. Given below is the Litany to the Holy Spirit from the book "Cenacle With Mary: Towards the Third Millenium", by Bro. Edgar C. Karganilla.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Father all powerful, have mercy on us.
Redeemer of the world, save us.
Spirit of the Father and the Son, boundless life of both, sanctify us.
Holy Trinity, hear us.
Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Son, enter our hearts.
Promise of God the Father, have mercy on us.
Ray of heavenly light, have mercy on us.
Author of all good, have mercy on us (*).
Source of heavenly water, (*).
Ardent charity, (*).
Consuming fire, (*).
Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, (*).
Spiritual unction, (*).
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, (*).
Spirit of knowledge and piety, (*).
Spirit of counsel and fortitude, (*).
Spirit of fear of the Lord, (*).
Spirit of grace and prayer, (*).
Spirit of peace and meekness, (*).
Spirit of modesty and innocence, (*).
Holy Spirit, the Comforter, (*).
Holy Spirit, Who governs the Church, (*).
Gift of God, in the Most High, (*).
Spirit who fills the universe, (*).
Spirit of adoption of the Children of God, (*).
Holy Spirit, inspire us with horror of sin.
Holy Spirit, come and renew the face of the earth.
Holy Spirit, shed your light in our souls.
Holy Spirit, engrave your law in our hearts.
Holy Spirit, inflame us with the flame of your love.
Holy Spirit, open to us the treasures of your graces.
Holy Spirit, teach us to pray well.
Holy Spirit, enlighten us with your heavenly inspirations.
Holy Spirit, lead us in the way of salvation.
Holy Spirit, grant us the only necessary knowledge.
Holy Spirit, inspire in us the practice of good.
Holy Spirit, grant us the merits of all virtues.
Holy Spirit, make us persevere in justice.
Holy Spirit, be you our everlasting reward.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
send us your Holy Spirit
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
pour down into our souls the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
grant us the Spirit of wisdom and piety.
Come, Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of your faithful.
And enkindle in them the fire of your love.

Let us pray.

Grant, O merciful Father, that Your Divine Spirit englighten,
inflame and purify us, that He may penetrate us with His heavenly
dew and make us fruitful in good works; through our Lord Jesus
Christ, Your Son, Who with you, in the unity of the same Spirit,
lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

There are other versions of the Litany of the Holy Spirit. Two that can be found online:

• Litany to the Holy Spirit by EWTN.com
• Litany of the Holy Ghost by Catholic.org

Commemoration of Saints (June 4)

Solemnities, Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials, and Traditional Dates of Commemoration

• Francis of Caracciolo, confessor
• Quirinus, bishop and martyr
• Metrophanes, bishop
• Optatus of Milevis, bishop
• Petroc, abbot
• Vincentia Gerosa, virgin [1]

June 4. The Catholic Church commemorates today 3 bishops (with St. Quirinus who is a bishop and a martyr), 1 abbot, 1 confessor, and founder, and 1 virgin [2][3].

St. Optatus of Milevis (d. ca. 387 A.D.) was converted to the Christian faith before he was elevated to the episcopate at Milevis in North Africa. He wrote the treatise Against Parmenian the Donatist, which is a treatise that speaks of the supremacy of the Roman Pontiff. St. Optatus also articulated a theological principle that holds up to our modern times - that the validity or efficacy of the sacraments do not depend on the holiness of the minister. But his best contribution to the Church is the ecclesiological principle that defends the primacy of the universal Church over the particular Church. The local churches around the world, the "particular" churches, are seen to be parts of the one ecclesial whole.

There are no other records of his early life, how long he lived, and no specific account of him being martyred or suffering a violent death. What is prominent in the life he committed to the Church is his work as an apologist. So it is generally presumed he died of natural causes after a life dedicated to defending the Catholic faith and promoting Church unity against the Donatists [2][3][4][5].

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [June 4]

• Metrophanes, Patriarch of Constantinople [2]

References: Books, Websites, Search results & AI Overviews

• [1] Pocket Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon
• [2] Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney
• [3] Lives of the Saints, Richard P. McBrien
• [4] Homiletic & Pastoral Review: First millenium Petrine ministry by Joseph F. Previtali, March 2009
• [5] Google Gemini for search query "how many years did st. optatus live and what is the story of his death?", Google.com

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Ascension Sunday (C)

(Edited) Sunday Reflections (from) Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)

Ascension Sunday (C), May 12, 2013

Liturgical readings
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47
Ephesians 1:17-23
Luke 24:46-53

"As Jesus blessed, he left the Eleven, and was taken up to heaven."

Unlike in other countries, where the Solemnity of the Lord's Ascension is celebrated on a Thursday (following the 40 days tradition), in the Philippines, the feast of the Ascension is celebrated every 7th Sunday after Easter. The reason is pastoral and allowed by the Vatican through the local episcopal conference. This allows more Filipinos to celebrate an important feast of the Lord on a Sunday.

Let us examine now parallel readings for this feast of the Ascension. The readings in Luke 24:46-53, which is proclaimed in the Eucharist, have parallel passages also describing the Ascension event. Parallel descriptions of the event is found in the gospel of Mark and in the Acts of the Apostles:

• Mark 16:19-20
• and Acts 1:9-11.

Reading these three scripture passages will provide more descriptive details of the event and mystery. And one can have a more integrated perception of what happened during the event of the Lord's Ascension from three perspectives.

• In Luke's version, Jesus gives a blessing before he is taken up to heaven.
• In Mark's version, Jesus is described as sitting at the right hand of God.
• And in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, he ascended to heaven until a cloud hid him from the sight of his followers. Then, there is also mention of two men dressed in white who said: "This Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way you saw him go to heaven."

The Scriptures are the primary source of our canonical understanding of who Jesus is and the mystery of His person and mission. But our Catholic tradition along the continuum of Christian history has also a lot to say about the mystery of the Lord's Ascension. One strong voice in our timeline as a Catholic Church is found in St. Leo the Great, one of the doctors of the Church in the 1st millenium. St. Leo the Great has left a sermon reflecting on the feast of the Lord's Ascension. Below is an excerpt of his message:

"...in spite of being taken from men's sight of everything that is rightly felt to command their reverence, faith does not fail, hope is not shaken, charity does not grow cold...the light of truly believing souls is their unhesitating faith in what is not seen with the bodily eye but fix their desires on what is beyond sight...our Redeemer's visible presence has passed into the sacraments. Our faith is nobler and stronger because sight has been replaced by a doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing hearts, enlightened from on high."

The three readings on the mystery of the Ascension cited above and the quoted sermon of St. Leo the Great, all lead the Catholic faithful to see Jesus' presence among us after His Ascension through His Spirit in the Church. He is present among His ordained ministers, in the congregation gathered for prayer and the Sacraments, and in the Word proclaimed and lived nobly in the heart of family and work environments. It is by the virtues of faith, hope, and charity that we see the light of Christ in each other. It is by faith that we know Jesus as the Son who sacrificed his life for our sins in order to shepherd our souls back to the Church and the Father. As Christ fulfilled his mission and returned to the Father, by our baptismal consecration, we are called to continue His mission in prayer and in the respective areas of work. We too are entasked every day, each according to the ability or talents given by God, to sanctify all the realities we are immersed in - big or small.

Scripture quotes:

• "No sooner had he said this than he was lifted up before their eyes in a cloud which took him from their sight." (Acts 1)
• "He has put all things under Christ's feet and has made him thus exalted, head of the church." (Ephesians)

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