Abbey-Roads2

The novena begins today.

Or tomorrow if you want to end on the feast itself.  Remember, novenas originated with Our Lady and the Apostles, gathered together in the Upper Room, prayerfully preparing for the coming of the Holy Spirit.  One may use formal novena prayers, the prayer for the Mass of the feast of Mt. Carmel, or as many do, make a novena of rosaries accompanied by a votive prayer to Our Lady of Carmel.  Novenas may be as simple or as elaborate as one feels drawn to perform. 

Simplicity and detachment is always a good attitude when one undertakes a novena.  I know someone who used to fast and recite many rosaries and prayers and offices and litanies in preparation for the feast day, and when the day arrived he felt let down when”nothing happened”.  (He had expected some kind of reward for being so “generous”.  Silly boy!  His method is sometimes referred to as “seeking oneself”.)

Elena from Tea At Trianon has posted a very nice Novena Prayer To Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel. 

He is calling on the entire Church to participate.

I find it significant that Pope Benedict is placing such strong emphasis upon World Youth Day, referring to it as a new Pentecost, a cenacle of prayer.  Older Catholics in particular may feel WYD is strictly for the young, yet the Holy Father is clearly saying otherwise.  The spiritual renewal and benefits are for the whole Church, not simply the youth - no one is left out in this.   We are all “forever young” in the Holy Spirit.  Therefore we can unite ourselves spiritually to every prayer and aspiration and liturgical function taking place in Sydney, praying with and for one another in union with the Pope.  

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, JULY 6, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The upcoming World Youth Day will be a new Pentecost, Benedict XVI says. And he is asking the whole Church to participate, at least spiritually, if not physically.

“I invite the whole Church to share in this new stage of the great pilgrimage of young people across the world, begun in 1985 by the Servant of God John Paul II,” he exhorted. “I am certain that from all the corners of the earth Catholics will be united with me and with all the young people gathered — as in the Cenacle — in Sydney, intensely invoking the Holy Spirit so that he will flood hearts with the inner light of love of God and of brothers, and of courageous initiative to introduce Jesus’ eternal message in the diversity of languages and cultures.”

Even in his greetings to pilgrims in various languages after the Angelus, the Holy Father again stressed the importance of this “spiritual participation” of the whole Church in Sydney’s WYD.

The Holy Father referred to the theme of his message for the meeting, “You Will Receive Power When the Holy Spirit Has Come Upon You; and You Will Be My Witnesses,” with which Christian communities have been preparing over the past year for the event.

He said: “This is the promise Jesus made to his disciples after the resurrection, and which remains always valid and actual in the Church: The Holy Spirit, awaited and received in prayer, infuses in believers the capacity to be witnesses of Jesus and his Gospel. - Zenit

Secular press calls the Holy Father the biggest homophobe on the planet…

And yet uber-Catholics post photos like this inviting irreverent and sophomoric comments and captions.  How very, very sad.  Sad, sad, sad - to see unemployed people wasting their vocation and academic achievements on such nonsensical theatrics.