Hymns to the Holy Ghost.
Veni, Creator Spiritus.
Come, O Creator, Spirit blest,
And in our souls take up Thy rest;
Come with Thy grace and heavenly aid
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
Great Paraclete, to Thee we cry,
O highest gift of God most high,
O Fount of life, O Fire of love,
And sweet anointing from above.
Thou in thy sevenfold gifts art known;
The finger of God's hand we own;
The promise of the Father Thou,
Who dost the tongue with pow'r endow.
Our senses kindle from above,
And make our hearts o'erflow with love;
With patience firm and virtue high
The weakness of our flesh supply.
Drive far from us the foe we dread,
And grant us Thy true peace instead;
So shall we not, with Thee for guide,
Turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
The Father and the Son to know,
And Thee through endless times confess'd
Of both th' eternal Spirit blest.
All glory, while the ages run,
Be to the Father and the Son
Who rose from death; the same to Thee,
O Holy Ghost, eternally! Amen.
Come, Holy Ghost.
Come, Holy Ghost, send down those beams,
Which sweetly flow in silent streams
From Thy bright throne above.
Come, Thou, the Father of the poor,
Thou bounteous source of all our store;
Come, fire our hearts with love.
Come, Thou, of comforters the best,
Come, Thou, the soul's delightful guest,
The pilgrim's sweet relief.
Thou art our rest in toil and sweat,
Refreshment in excessive heat,
And solace in our grief.
O sacred Light, shoot home Thy darts,
Oh, pierce the centre of these hearts,
Whose faith aspires to Thee.
Without Thy Godhead nothing can
Have any price or worth in man;
Nothing can harmless be.
Lord, wash our sinful stains away,
Water from heaven our barren clay;
Our wounds and bruises heal.
To Thy sweet yoke our stiff necks bend,
To inflame our cold hearts Thy fire send;
Our wandering feet repel.
Oh, grant Thy faithful, dearest Lord,
Whose only hope is Thy sure word;
The seven gifts of Thy Spirit.
Grant us in life to obey Thy grace,
Grant us in death to see Thy face;
And endless joys inherit. Amen.
Act Of Oblation To The Holy Ghost.
On my knees, before the great cloud of witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body, to Thee, eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Thy purity; the unerring keenness of Thy justice; and the might of Thy love. Thou art the strength and the light of my soul. In Thee I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve Thee by unfaithfulness to grace; and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against Thee. Make me faithful in every thought: and grant that I may always listen to Thy voice, and watch for Thy light, and follow Thy gracious inspirations. I cling to Thee, and give myself to Thee, and ask Thee by Thy compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced feet of Jesus, and looking at His five wounds and trusting to His precious blood, and adoring His opened side and stricken Heart, I implore Thee, adorable Spirit, helper of my infirmity, [pg 361] so to keep me in Thy grace that I may never sin against Thee with the sin which Thou canst not forgive. Give me grace, O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and the Son, to say to Thee, always and everywhere, speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. Amen.
The Office of the Holy Ghost.
At Matins.
V. The grace of the Holy Ghost illuminate our senses and hearts.
R. Amen.
V. O Lord, open Thou my lips.
R. And my mouth shall declare Thy praise.
V. Incline unto my aid, O God.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Hymn.
The Holy Ghost our souls invest
With grace that does o'ershade the best
Of Virgin maids, when from the spheres
An angel came to greet her ears.
The Word divine did flesh become,
And fruitful made a virgin womb.
Ant. Come, Holy Ghost, replenish the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Prayer.
We beseech Thee, O Lord, that the virtue of Thy Holy Spirit may be present within us, which may both purify our hearts, and defend us from all adversities; through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee and the same Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth. Amen.
At Prime.
V. The grace of, etc. (as before).
Hymn.
Christ, born of Mary, that blest Maid,
Was crucified, was dead, was laid
Within a tomb, from whence He rose,
And did His person soon disclose
To His disciples, in whose sight
He soar'd above the starry height.
The anthem, verse, response, and prayer as before.
At Tierce.
V. The grace of, etc. (as before).
Hymn.
God sent from heaven the Holy Ghost
Upon the day of Pentecost;
He did the apostles' minds inspire,
Inflaming them with tongues of fire.
He would not have them orphans left,
When of the sight of Christ bereft.
The anthem, verse, response, and prayer as before.
At Sext.
V. The grace of, etc. (as before).
Hymn.
With sevenfold grace God did enrich
The apostles, then, by means of which
They did both speak and understand
The language of each distant land.
To preach Christ's faith they then disperse
Themselves throughout the universe.
The anthem, verse, response, and prayer as before.
At None.
V. The grace of, etc. (as before).
Hymn.
The consoling Spirit He
Entitled was true charity,
The gift of God, a fire inflamed,
The vivifying fountain named,
A spiritual unction, sevenfold grace,
A free gift of celestial race.
The anthem, verse, response, and prayer as before.
At Vespers.
V. The grace of, etc. (as before).
Hymn.
The right hand finger of Our Lord,
His spiritual power to us afford
A safe defence against all evil,
That harm'd we be not by the devil.
Protect us, nourish us, and bring
Us under shelter of Thy wing.
The anthem, verse, response, and prayer as before.
At Compline.
V. The grace of, etc. (as before).
V. Convert us, O God Our Saviour:
R. And avert Thy anger from us.
V. Incline unto my aid, O God.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc.
Hymn.
Vouchsafe, O holy Paraclete,
To pour into our souls Thy light,
And to direct us in our ways,
That when to judgment God shall raise
The sleeping world, He bid us stand
Upon His right and saving hand.
The anthem, verse, response, and prayer as before.
Commendation.
These hours canonical, to Thee,
O Holy Ghost, addressed be,
With piously devoted heart.
That to our souls Thou mayest impart
Thy inspirations, and that we
May live in heaven eternally. Amen.