Christmas novena to start today to ask for an important grace

1st day In the beginning God created the sky and the earth. Now the earth was formless and deserted and darkness covered the abyss and the spirit of God hovered over the waters. God said, "Let there be light!" And the light was. God saw that the light was good and he separated the light from the darkness and called the light day and darkness night. And it was evening and morning: the first day ... (Gen 1,1-5).

On the first day of this novena we want to remember the very first day of creation, the birth of the world. We could define the first creature willed by God as very Christmas: light, like a fire that illuminates, is one of the most beautiful symbols of Jesus' Christmas.

Personal commitment: I will pray that the light of faith in Jesus may reach the whole world created and loved by God.

2nd day Sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord from all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, bless his name, proclaim his salvation day by day. In the midst of the peoples tell of his glory, to all nations tell of his wonders. Let the heavens rejoice, the earth rejoice, the sea and all it contains tremble; let the fields rejoice and all they contain, let the trees of the forest rejoice before the Lord who comes, because he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice and with truth all peoples (Ps 95,1-3.15-13).

It is the responsorial psalm of Christmas day. The book of psalms in the Bible constitutes the birth of a people's prayer. The authors are "inspired" poets, that is, guided by the Spirit to find the words to address God in an attitude of supplication, praise, thanksgiving: through the recitation of the psalm, the prayer of an individual or a people rises. wind, light or impetuous according to the circumstances, reaches the heart of God.

Personal commitment: today I will choose a psalm to address the Lord, chosen on the basis of the state of mind I am experiencing.

3rd day A shoot will sprout from the trunk of Jesse, a shoot will sprout from its roots. The spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. He will be pleased with the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by appearances and will not make decisions by hearsay; but he will judge the poor with justice and make just decisions for the oppressed of the land (Is 11,1: 4-XNUMX).

Like the psalmists, so too the prophets are men inspired by God, who help the chosen people to live their history as a great story of friendship with the Lord. Through them the Bible testifies to the birth of the expectation of God's visit, as a fire that consumes the sin of infidelity or that warms the hope of liberation.

Personal commitment: I want to identify the signs of God's passage in my life and I will make them an opportunity for prayer throughout this day.

4th day At that time the angel said to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you. He who will be born will therefore be holy and called Son of God. See: even Elizabeth, your relative, in her old age, has conceived a son and this is the sixth month for her, which everyone said sterile: nothing is impossible for God ”. Then Mary said: "Here I am, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you said happen to me". And the angel departed from her (Lk 1,35: 38-XNUMX).

The Holy Spirit, when it encounters man's obedient and available response, becomes the source of life, like the wind that blows on the fields carries life around for new flowers. Mary, with her yes, allowed the birth of the Savior and taught us to welcome salvation.

Personal commitment: if I have the possibility, I will participate today in the H. Mass and I will receive the Eucharist, giving birth to Jesus within me. Tonight in the examination of conscience I will put obedience to my commitments of faith before the Lord.

5th day At that time John said to the crowds: “I baptize you with water; but one comes who is stronger than me, to whom I am not worthy to untie even the thong of his sandals: he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire ... When all the people were baptized and while Jesus, also received baptism, was in prayer, the sky opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily appearance, like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven: "You are my beloved son, in you I am well pleased" (Lk 3,16.21 -22).

Each of us became the Father's beloved son when he received the first gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism, as a fire capable of kindling in the heart the desire to proclaim the Gospel. Jesus, thanks to the acceptance of the Spirit and in obedience to the will of the Father, showed us the way for the birth of the Gospel, that is, of the good news of the Kingdom, among men.

Personal commitment: I will go to church, to the baptismal font, to thank the Father for the gift of being his son and I will renew the will to be his witness among others.

6th day It was around noon, when the sun went out and darkened all over the earth until three in the afternoon. The veil of the temple was torn in the middle. Jesus, crying out in a loud voice, said: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Having said this, he died (Lk 23,44: 46-XNUMX).

The mystery of Christmas is mysteriously linked to the mystery of the Passion of Jesus: he immediately begins to know suffering, for the refusal to be accepted that will make him be born in a poor stable and for the envy of the powerful that will unleash the murderous fury of Herod. But there is also a mysterious bond of life between the two extreme moments of Jesus' existence: the breath of life that gives birth to the Lord is the same breath of the Spirit that Jesus on the Cross gives back to God for the birth of the New Covenant, like wind. vital that sweeps away the enmity between men and God that arose with sin.

Personal commitment: I will respond with a gesture of generosity to the evil that unfortunately is widespread around us or that even comes from me. And if I am the one who suffers an injustice, I will forgive from my heart and tonight I will remind the Lord of the person who caused me this wrong.

7th day As the day of Pentecost was about to end, they were all together in the same place. Suddenly a roar came from heaven, as of a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were. Tongues as if of fire appeared to them, dividing and resting on each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages ​​as the Spirit gave them the power to express themselves (Acts 2,1-4).

Here we find the now familiar images of wind and fire, which speak of the living and diversified reality of the Spirit. The birth of the Church, which takes place in the Upper Room where the apostles are gathered together with Mary, gives rise to an uninterrupted history to this day, like a fire that burns without being consumed to transmit the love of God to all generations.

Personal commitment: I will remember today with gratitude the day of my Confirmation, when I became by my choice a responsible disciple in the life of the Church. I will entrust to the Lord, in my prayer, my bishop, my parish priest and the whole ecclesiastical hierarchy.

Day 8 While they were celebrating the worship of the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: "Save Barnabas and Saul for me for the work to which I have called them." Then, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Therefore, sent by the Holy Spirit, they descended to Seléucia and from there they set sail for Cyprus. When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, having John with them as an assistant (Acts 13,1: 4-XNUMX).

The book of the Acts of the Apostles testifies to the birth of the mission, like a wind that blows incessantly from one end of the world to the other, carrying the Gospel to the four corners of the earth.

Personal commitment: I will pray with great affection for the Pope, who has the responsibility of spreading the Gospel throughout the world, and for the missionaries, tireless travelers of the Spirit.

Day 9 Peter was still speaking when the Holy Spirit descended upon all who listened to the discourse. And the faithful who had come with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the pagans; in fact they heard them speaking tongues and glorifying God. Then Peter said: "Can it be forbidden that those who have received the Holy Spirit like us can be forbidden to be baptized with water?" And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. After all this they asked him to stay a few days (Acts 10,44: 48-XNUMX).

How today can we insert ourselves into the life of the Church and be born to all the novelties that the Lord has prepared for us? Through the sacraments, which still mark every subsequent birth of faith today. The sacraments, like a transforming fire, introduce us more and more into the mystery of communion with God.

Personal commitment: I will pray for all those in my community or even in my family who are about to receive a gift of the Spirit through a sacrament and I will entrust all consecrated persons to the Lord from my heart to follow Christ faithfully.

Concluding prayer. We invoke the Spirit upon the whole world created by God, upon us who have in Mary the model of collaboration ready for her work of salvation, and upon the priests who at this Christmas season are committed to bringing the Gospel of Jesus from home to home. home. Spirit of God, who at the beginning of creation hovered over the abyss of the world, and transformed the great yawning of things into a smile of beauty, descend again on earth, this aging world brush it with the wing of your glory. Holy Spirit, who invaded Mary's soul, give us the pleasure of feeling "extroverted". That is, turned towards the world. Put wings on our feet so that, like Mary, we can quickly reach the city, the earthly city that you passionately love. Spirit of the Lord, gift of the Risen One to the apostles of the Upper Room, inflate the life of your priests with passion. Make them in love with the earth, capable of mercy for all its weaknesses. Comfort them with the gratitude of the people and with the oil of fraternal communion. Restore their tiredness, so that they may find no sweeter support for their rest than on the shoulder of the Master.