PENTECOST NOVENA 2024 - Sunday 12 May: Fortitude

Sign of the Cross

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Intention

For those who will be Confirmed in the Parish today. That they will persevere in faith.

Fortitude is steadfastness in doing what is right and good in the face of obstacles and trials. The gift of fortitude overcomes unreasonable fears, on the one hand, and keeps us from being reckless, on the other.

It is the special virtue of those who are pioneers in any endeavor. Fortitude makes it possible for us to undertake difficult tasks, to face risks and dangers, and to endure whatever comes without undue anxiety, discouragement or complaint.

Without fortitude we cannot hope to persevere in our Christian calling. Nor can we fulfil the mission that is ours by Baptism and Confirmation, to bear witness to the gospel for the salvation of the world.

May the Holy Spirit renew in us the gift of fortitude amid all the challenges presented by today’s society and culture.

Let us pray

Almighty Father, be gracious and bless us with the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we may persevere with fortitude in doing what we know to be right and good. Strengthen us in our weakness, so that when we are weary, discouraged, or are put to the test, we may overcome every obstacle, and be refreshed on the path to holiness and virtue. May no trial or difficulty keep us from bearing witness to the splendor of truth which radiates from the face of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, now and forever, Amen.

Mary Tower of Fortitude, pray for us.

---

Scriptures regarding the Holy Spirit

Luke 11:13 "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”	John 14:26 "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you."
Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”	Acts 2:38 "Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Acts 9:31 "Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers."	Romans 5:5b "God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us."
1 Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?"	1 Corinthians 12:3b "No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."
Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;	2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us."
Titus 3:5 "He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."