Novena for Pentecost 2015
Dear confreres, and friends of the Spiritans,
This year, the Generalate asked the novitiate community in Vietnam to prepare the novena for Pentecost. We chose to help the Congregation and lay Spiritans to reflect on the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of families. As human beings, we all come from a family that gave us life and most probably love too. For most of us, faith was also given to us through our families. As consecrated people and missionaries, we are called to encourage people to respond to their call to holiness. Our fidelity to our vocation is a great support for lay people, especially families. They need us as much as we need them.
This novena was composed with a contribution from nine families from all over the world who live Spiritan spirituality. The novices themselves have worked together as a family to produce this document. We invite you, and the families who collaborated with the Spiritans, to reflect on the graces you received from your own experience in your family of origin, and to be inspired by this novena to be at the service of families you meet in your pastoral work. To support our reflection, we relied on the Bible, the Encyclical of Pope Francis, Amoris laetitia, and a document from the Conference of Bishops of Asia entitled, “The Asian Family Towards a Culture of Integral Life”.
New bridges are being built between Asia and the rest of the world through the developing presence of Spiritan communities in Asia. We are grateful to the Holy Spirit for this new reality in our Congregation. May the Holy Spirit send his blessing on us all so that our Congregation may continue to benefit from the fruits of the Holy Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity. Amen!
