DAY NINE

COMMON SENSE     The only other spiritual gift You offer to us if we listen, o Holy Spirit, is the greatest of all Your gifts.  Your gift of WISDOM.  This gift of WISDOM is the highest compliment man can receive.

Your gift of WISDOM endows us with the ability to use all of Your other six spiritual gifts in their exact proper proportion.

The baker is wise, O Holy Spirit, when he does not use too much of any one ingredient in his cake.  The ability to use each of Your spiritual gifts of KNOWLEDGE—UNDERSTANDING—COUNSEL—FORTITUDE—PIETY and FEAR OF THE LORD  in exactly the right proportion is the gift of gifts.  The gift of WISDOM.

END OF BEGINNING     This is the ninth day, O Holy Spirit.  My intended Novena is completed.  I must recognize the fact You gave me the FORTITUDE to persevere.  The strength that made it easy.  You gave me the determination to succeed as You will in everything You prompt me to do.  If only I take time to listen for Your gift of FORTITUDE.

I shall take the time to reminisce on my early childhood and each year up to the present time, to the best of my ability, with Your help and KNOWLEDGE, O Holy Spirit.  I shall dwell on the past few months in particular.  You will let me UNDERSTAND how You have been in my life daily, even though I was not aware of it.  How You gave me the grace of Your seven gifts and how often I threw them away by neglecting to use them.  How on many occasions Your gifts were there and I did use them, but was under the impression, due to my pride, that I did it all by myself.

But, why does it have to end?  Why should it end?

If I have not experienced Your presence in my heart, I shall start over for another nine days if You will only give me the FORTITUDE.

If I have experienced Your presence in my heart, I will jealously preserve it.  Relive it.  Practice listening daily.  A perpetual Novena.

My hope is I will grow into the habit of experiencing Your presence every moment of my consciousness. END OF DAY NINE