Come, Holy Spirit! Ancient Prayer #8
Come, Holy Spirit! Ancient Prayer #8.
THE HOLY SPIRIT: The Spirit of Glory; the Presence of God appearing in Shekinah glory through light, fire, and luminous cloud; God’s divine Presence on earth; the eternal life-giving Third Person of the Holy Trinity; the intimate bond of divine love and truth shared by God the Father and God the Son; the dynamic power of God offered to every human being on earth; the supernatural Presence in the Community of God who is personal without being material; the invisible creative force with divine intelligence who truly knows the mind of God from the inside; the Spirit of God who thus has all knowledge and is present everywhere in the universe; the sacred energy streaming forth from the Father and the Son, pouring love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), producing virtuous qualities in us (Galatians 5:22-23), and gradually transforming each believer into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
“He is the divine Name, all powerful and worthy of all honor,
Remembered with the Father and the Son, to Whom we give glory.
He makes us holy, gives us life, and shares with us the light of heaven.
He keeps alive the desire in us all to go forward in oneness of heart;
It was he who inspired the prophets and the apostles,
Who gave the martyrs the strength to stand firm in the face of the tyrant’s cruelties;
Who, as Lord, renews us and sets us free,
Who, as Spirit of adoration, makes us children of God;
Who put the armies of demons to flight by the light He gives us in baptism,
And Who shields us from shameful Satan, the adversary;
He opens the gates of heaven to us and guides us to the haven of salvation;
He lets us share in the fellowship of the angels and join in their singing;
And to us He is the way that takes us to the God and Father of the heavens,
All because of His coming to us, sovereignly free and generous.
He is the fruitful and infinite power of salvation,
The Person incomparable and most holy,
Whom no measure can span,
Purest, unstained glory,
Grace of God giving strength where we are weak,
Goodness, ineffable and eternal,
Inexhaustible wellspring of charisms,
Upholder of every good thought,
Revealer of things hidden and things to come,
Seal of salvation, divine anointing,
Present share and assurance of eternal good.
By Him every creature, visible and invisible,
Rational and irrational, is sustained in being;
Through Him we receive rebirth from on high,
Remission of our faults and forgiveness for our sins,
Union with God and the crown of the just,
Possession of all good,
And our dwelling-place in heaven,
Life without end
and an eternal inheritance In the Kingdom of God.”
(an early church eulogy to the Holy Spirit, Didimus of Alexandria; to turn this hymn into a more personal prayer to the HS, simply replace all the ‘he’s’ and ‘him’s’ with ‘You’ and ‘Yours’).