The first novena
Pray the novena →The first novena: the apostles and Mary prayed together for nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost (Acts 1:14).
Pentecost (May 16, 2027)
Wisdom
Discernment
Confirmation
After the Ascension, the apostles returned to Jerusalem and 'with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus' (Acts 1:14). Ten days later came Pentecost. Every novena takes its shape from those nine days. This page uses the Pentecost sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus in Edward Caswall's 1849 translation for each day. In 2027 the novena runs May 7 to 15.
Leo XIII asked the whole Church to make this novena every year in his 1897 encyclical Divinum illud munus.
The Veni Sancte Spiritus is one of only four sequences kept in the Roman Missal after 1570.
Confirmation candidates often pray this novena before the sacrament.
A novena is nine days of prayer for one intention, modeled on the nine days the apostles and Mary prayed between the Ascension and Pentecost (Acts 1–2). Pray this each day:
Day 1. Holy Spirit! Lord of light! From Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor! Come, with treasures which endure! Come, Thou light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Amen. Alleluia.
Day 2. Holy Spirit! Lord of light! From Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor! Come, with treasures which endure! Come, Thou light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Amen. Alleluia.
Day 3. Holy Spirit! Lord of light! From Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor! Come, with treasures which endure! Come, Thou light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Amen. Alleluia.
Day 4. Holy Spirit! Lord of light! From Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor! Come, with treasures which endure! Come, Thou light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Amen. Alleluia.
Day 5. Holy Spirit! Lord of light! From Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor! Come, with treasures which endure! Come, Thou light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Amen. Alleluia.
Day 6. Holy Spirit! Lord of light! From Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor! Come, with treasures which endure! Come, Thou light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Amen. Alleluia.
Day 7. Holy Spirit! Lord of light! From Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor! Come, with treasures which endure! Come, Thou light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Amen. Alleluia.
Day 8. Holy Spirit! Lord of light! From Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor! Come, with treasures which endure! Come, Thou light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Amen. Alleluia.
Day 9. Holy Spirit! Lord of light! From Thy clear celestial height Thy pure beaming radiance give. Come, Thou Father of the poor! Come, with treasures which endure! Come, Thou light of all that live! Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow; Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe. Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Amen. Alleluia.
One short email a day for nine days. The day's prayer, a line from Holy Spirit's story, and a nudge to keep going.
[Affiliate placeholder: Catholic Company Novena to the Holy Spirit medal]
Image: El Greco, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Veni Sancte Spiritus, translated by Edward Caswall, Lyra Catholica (London, 1849), public domain.
