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Trust in the Holy Spirit, says author
Catholic Register Staff
March 12, 2007
The daily prayer of the man with his finger on the pulse of Canada’s literary scene comes from a little devotional booklet containing a selection of prayers for all occasions. The particular prayer The Toronto Star’s chief book reviewer finds fit for most occasions is a prayer to the Holy Spirit.
“I trust it’s fully orthodox,” Marchand said in an e-mail to The Catholic Register.
Marchand has discovered a tendency for literary types to favour the Holy Spirit.
“I was pleased to note, in an obituary of novelist Muriel Spark, that she was particularly devoted to the Holy Spirit. Writers, of course, are naturally drawn to this relatively neglected divine Person,” Marchand said.
The devotional address to the Holy Spirit “covers all the bases,” according to the author of the recent best seller Ghost Empire: How the French Almost Conquered North America.
“Holy Spirit, you are the third person of the Holy Trinity,” begins the prayer. “You are the spirit of truth, love and holiness, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and equal to them in every respect. I love you and adore you with all my heart. Teach me to know and seek God, by whom and for whom I was created. Fill my heart with a holy fear and deep love of Him. Give me patience and compunction and do not let me fall into sin. Increase faith, hope and charity, and bring forth in me all the virtues proper to my state of life. Help me to grow in the four cardinal virtues, your seven gifts and 12 fruits. Make me a faithful follower of Jesus, and obedient child of the church, and a help to my neighbour. Give me the grace to keep the commandments and receive the sacraments worthily. Raise me to holiness in this life, and lead me through a happy death to life everlasting, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.”
The prayer ends with the phrase: “Holy Spirit, giver of all good gifts....” An appropriate petition may be inserted here.
Marchand has discovered a tendency for literary types to favour the Holy Spirit.
“I was pleased to note, in an obituary of novelist Muriel Spark, that she was particularly devoted to the Holy Spirit. Writers, of course, are naturally drawn to this relatively neglected divine Person,” Marchand said.
The devotional address to the Holy Spirit “covers all the bases,” according to the author of the recent best seller Ghost Empire: How the French Almost Conquered North America.
“Holy Spirit, you are the third person of the Holy Trinity,” begins the prayer. “You are the spirit of truth, love and holiness, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and equal to them in every respect. I love you and adore you with all my heart. Teach me to know and seek God, by whom and for whom I was created. Fill my heart with a holy fear and deep love of Him. Give me patience and compunction and do not let me fall into sin. Increase faith, hope and charity, and bring forth in me all the virtues proper to my state of life. Help me to grow in the four cardinal virtues, your seven gifts and 12 fruits. Make me a faithful follower of Jesus, and obedient child of the church, and a help to my neighbour. Give me the grace to keep the commandments and receive the sacraments worthily. Raise me to holiness in this life, and lead me through a happy death to life everlasting, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.”
The prayer ends with the phrase: “Holy Spirit, giver of all good gifts....” An appropriate petition may be inserted here.