Veni Creator Spiritus

Come, Creator Spirit. This is the opening phrase of the hymn we sing as a novena praying for the gift of the Holy Spirit after the feast of the Ascension, uniting ourselves with Mary and the Apostles who likewise prayed in the upper room to receive the Holy Spirit after Jesus returned to the Father 40 days after his resurrection. We sing it again on Pentecost morning at Terce, the hour of the Office prayed at the Ninth hour, when it is traditional that the Holy Spirit was bestowed at that first Pentecost.

After praying Terce, we leave choir one by one, beginning with the prioress and continuing down in “monastery age” to the youngest postulant. Just outside the choir doors, a small table is filled with holy cards for Pentecost - one for each sister (and one which we give later to our chaplain). This year’s card had a beautiful image of Our Lady and the Apostles receiving the Holy Spirit. On our card, we receive one gift and one fruit of the Holy Spirit, and one lucky sister hits the “jackpot” - all 7 gifts and 12 fruits! This year, the “lucky winner” was our oldest sister, Sr. Maria Agnes.