Praying with the Holy Spirit (Sample)

Praying with the Holy Spirit Juliette Levivier Illustrations by Anne Gravier

CTS Children’s Books

Table of Contents “I believe in the Holy Spirit” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Spirit of God, breath of life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Come, creator Spirit! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 He has spoken through the prophets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Mary, filled with grace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Jesus’ baptism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Jesus acts through the Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Pentecost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Come, Spirit of fire! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Come, Spirit of holiness!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Come, Spirit of light! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Come, Spirit of love! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Come, Holy Spirit, teach us to pray! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Come, Holy Spirit, fill us with your gifts! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Come, Spirit of the fear of the Lord! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Come, Spirit of reverence! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Come, Spirit of knowledge! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Come, Spirit of strength! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Come, Spirit of counsel! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Come, Spirit of intelligence! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Come, Spirit of wisdom! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Come, Holy Spirit, to visit us! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

“I believe in the Holy Spirit” God is spirit.

John 4:24

God, our Father in Heaven, we all know who He is. We

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pray to Him, saying: “Our Father, who art in Heaven…”

Jesus, the Son of God, we know Him well too. we know His life and receive Him in the Eucharist. But who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the love of the Father and the Son. He is God, truly God. To believe in God is to believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So there are three distinct persons in God: the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. This is what we call the Holy Trinity: one God in three persons.

The Holy Spirit makes us know Jesus and makes us hear the word of the Father. He prepares our hearts to welcome and love them.

Holy Spirit, teach me to know You, welcome You, love You, speak to You and pray to You. Holy Spirit, give me a heart full of love for God, for my family, for my friends and for all those whom I find it difficult to really love.

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Spirit of God, breath of life The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.

John 3:8

The Hebrews use the same word to mean wind and the

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Spirit of God. They had understood that God gives His life by His Spirit, that the Holy Spirit is like God’s own breathing.

This wind of the Holy Spirit is the mysterious presence of God among men. Blowing as in a storm, it evokes His power.

Blowing softly, it evokes His reassuring presence.

We cannot see the wind but we see what it does: trees quiver, doors slam, dead leaves swirl, everything flies away!

With the Holy Spirit, it is quite similar: we do not see it, but we see what it does in us.

The breath of the Holy Spirit produces many fruits in us: it makes us joyful, confident, obliging, gentle and full of love.

O Lord, how powerful is the breath of Your Spirit!

How invigorating is this life-giving wind!

O Lord, make Your Spirit blow on me, that I may behave well and prudently, with generosity and kindness.

Make me docile to the breath of the Spirit.

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Come, creator Spirit!

You give breath, fresh life begins, You keep renewing the world.

Psalm 104:30

When we look at a landscape, we are often filled with

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wonder: the world’s beauty speaks to us of the splendour of God who created it. The blue sea, vast mountains, the sun, the stars, flowers in the fields, ladybirds, how beautiful all of these are!

Everything has been made by God, by the power of His word and His Spirit. The Holy Spirit puts life into Creation, It gives it the breath of life. It is by the Spirit that flowers, animals and we too of course, live!

When I contemplate the beautiful world, I thank God.

Open my eyes, Holy Spirit, that I may see the wonders that You have made.

The sun, moon, stars, roses and violets, giraffes and ants.

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He has spoken through the prophets Here is my servant […], I have endowed him with my spirit.

Isaiah 42:1

In the Old Testament, God chose people to speak in His

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name: these were the prophets. Elijah worked wonders, Isaiah consoled the people. It is not always easy to be a prophet. Jonah tried to run away far from God and Jeremiah complained a lot… but finally, all abandoned themselves to the Holy Spirit! Who could resist Him? By the voice of the prophets, the Holy Spirit called people to turn to God, to change their hearts to welcome the Messiah. They prepared people for the coming of the Son of God on earth. The last prophet was John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin. He prepared the people to recognise the Messiah in Jesus.

I too can be a prophet! I can help my friends to think of Jesus and to open wide the doors of their hearts.

How brave Your prophets were, Lord!

They obeyed Your Spirit, they prepared Your coming.

I pray to You for all those who, today still, call people to turn to You.

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