[00:00] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

[00:39] Our Lady, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, St. Joseph, our patron saints and guardian angels. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today we begin the novena in preparation for the Solemnity of Pentecost. The first novena in the Church was that nine days from the Ascension till the coming of the Holy Spirit that our Lord promised to His Apostles and told them to go back to the

[01:10] Upper Room where our Lord, of course, offered the first Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and where they were waiting. And then, of course, He appeared to them after His Resurrection for 40 days in the Upper Room and many times taught them, it's said, about the things of God and, of course, I'm sure instructed them about how to prepare themselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit

[01:42] that He said He would send to them. And in the readings today, from the Office of Readings, Pope Leo the Great talks about how the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit that our Lord would send to His Church is with us and strengthens us at all times. He's not just that one time, but the Holy Spirit is with us to help us to achieve great things.

[02:13] And one of the things he mentions is how those who were weak before were strong and were able to endure great sufferings for the love of God. Even the Apostles, he mentions, were men who were afraid, you know, in the Upper Room before the coming of the Holy Spirit and then were filled with boldness and zeal that they went out and preached the Gospel to all the world. One of the things that comes that when Pope Leo mentioned that about how God strengthened,

[02:48] even he says little children, not just grown men, but women and little children were given the grace to undergo severe trials for the love of God. I'm reminded of the stories we hear about the martyrs in Japan about a little boy, probably about seven years old, who in order to get their father to deny the faith, they tortured these children in front of the father.

[03:20] And they thought they would win or convince the father to deny the faith by cutting off one finger at a time, these little children. And when they cut the little boy's finger off, he just smiled at them. And so they cut another finger off and he just smiled. He held his hand up with his fingers missing and just had the biggest smile, they said, on his face and that he said he was happy to suffer for God.

[03:51] Another was a little girl, five years old, who was being left out in the cold in the wintertime. So she was naked and cold and they weren't feeding her. And then they would bring the Catholics that they were trying to get them to deny their faith, bring them into a nice warm room with a big table full of food. And one of the items was a little candy or a little sweet that children would love.

[04:23] And they told her, you know, if you deny your faith, you can have this little candy here. And she said, "My mother told me that heaven is sweeter than that." And so it is true that the Holy Spirit does assist even what we would think are weak or not strong, but He assists them with the grace that He gives to fortify us. And it's not just in those moments, as you might say, as dramatic as those, but in everyday

[04:58] moments of our lives that we need to realize that the Holy Spirit is there to strengthen us, to resist temptation. And that's probably the most important time that we need to turn and seek and to know that God is with us, that the Holy Spirit is there to assist us so that we may be victorious in all the struggles, whether they be the little daily combats that we have with temptation

[05:28] or the final ones when we have such severe examples as the martyrs who are being tortured for the love of God, and that we should pray especially, you know, during this time. Because Pentecost is still, the mystery is still being lived out. The Holy Spirit is still being poured out upon His Church. And Pope John Paul II said that Our Lady in the Upper Room with the Apostles is the model

[05:59] of prayer for the Church at every age. So that we should be seeking, even today, as we prepare for, in the liturgical preparations, the reminder of how we should be ready and prepare ourselves in union with Our Lady for the Holy Spirit and all the graces that He wants to give to us. For the Holy Spirit truly wants to shower down upon us the graces that we need for every

[06:30] day, for every moment. And that we, if we are like Our Lady and prepare ourselves and keep ourselves pure and open to receive His Spirit, then we will truly be victorious over all the trials and tribulations that come our way. So I thought we would end this homily today with a prayer to Our Lady, especially as we prepare for the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit at that first Pentecost.

[07:05] O Immaculata, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, created Immaculate Conception, you without whom the Holy Spirit gives no grace unless you will it. Please make our hearts worthy temples of your Holy Spirit, of your Holy Spouse. Purify our hearts, minds, and bodies. Fill us, O Immaculate Mother, with a deep love and perfect faith, hope, and charity. Enrich our souls with the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we may be a more

[07:37] perfect and docile instruments in your immaculate and most merciful hands, sharing in your mission of crushing the head of Satan, the ancient serpent, and bringing the greatest possible glory to God and the salvation of the greatest number of souls. Amen. O humble, immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with the fire of divine love and make us zealous for the Lord God of hosts. Amen.

[08:26] Amen.