It’s time to start the Novena to the Holy Spirit!

In this year 2020, the solemnity of Pentecost (a moveable feast), celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, will take place precisely on May 31st, on the same day as the feast of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth! This convergence of dates is undoubtedly a grace and a sign from Heaven. As if Mary wanted us to receive the visit of the Holy Spirit while also looking at the Spirit-filled scene of the Visitation as another kind of Pentecost!

In nine days' time, we will celebrate the visit of Mary, expecting Jesus, to her six-month-pregnant relative Elizabeth, the future mother of John the Baptist, who while still unborn, leapt for joy as Mary approached. Then Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, was inspired with the spirit of prophecy and recognized in Mary the Mother of her Lord.

As for Mary, exulting under the action of the Holy Spirit, she spontaneously sang her Magnificat, a hymn of praise that has crossed the centuries and stayed with the Universal Church. The Blessed Virgin's song, that came directly from her heart, is still today the one of the greatest Christian songs of exultation.

This double feast so to speak, or “overlapping” feasts of the Visitation and Pentecost, especially in a rare year of world pandemic, is the perfect time to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit with Mary, as we plea for a new Pentecost to renew our troubled world.

Please join us in praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit from May 22nd to May 30th (2020)

The Marie de Nazareth editorial team