Veni Sancte Spiritus

Veni Sancte Spiritus is a sequence, that is, a Catholic liturgical chant. According to the liturgy, it should be sung at the Pentecost mass where we celebrate, fifty days after Easter, the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of Jesus. Veni Sancte Spiritus, which means “Come, Holy Spirit”, is among the most famous prayers and invocations to the Holy Spirit. This Gregorian chant has been translated from Latin into English.
To prepare for Pentecost this year, sign up to this novena on Hozana. Each day, you will receive a meditation, a prayer, and a song to discover the Holy Spirit under the gaze of men of God issued from different Christian traditions.

The Veni Sancte Spiritus prayer in English and in Latin

English version of the Veni Sancte Spiritus

“Come, Holy Spirit, send forth the heavenly radiance of your light.
Come, father of the poor, come, giver of gifts, come, light of the heart.
Greatest comforter, sweet guest of the soul, sweet consolation.
In labour, rest, in heat, temperance, in tears, solace.
O most blessed light, fill the inmost heart of your faithful.
Without your spirit, there is nothing in man, nothing that is not harmful.
Cleanse that which is unclean, water that which is dry, heal that which is wounded.
Bend that which is inflexible, fire that which is chilled, correct what goes astray.
Give to your faithful, those who trust in you, the sevenfold gifts.
Grant the reward of virtue, grant the deliverance of salvation, grant eternal joy.”

Original Latin version of the Veni Sancte Spiritus

“Veni, Sancte Spiritus, et emitte caelitus lucis tuae radium.
Veni, pater pauperum, veni, dator munerum veni, lumen cordium.
Consolator optime, dulcis hospes animae, dulce refrigerium.
In labore requies, in aestu temperies in fletu solatium.
O lux beatissima, reple cordis intima tuorum fidelium.
Sine tuo numine, nihil est in homine, nihil est innoxium.
Lava quod est sordidum, riga quod est aridum, sana quod est saucium.
Flecte quod est rigidum, fove quod est frigidum, rege quod est devium.
Da tuis fidelibus, in te confidentibus, sacrum septenarium.
Da virtutis meritum, da salutis exitum, da perenne gaudium. Amen.”

More Prayers to the Holy Spirit with Hozana

It is fundamental to pray to the Holy Spirit daily, or at least regularly, so that we are filled by His presence, accompanied and guided by Him. Too many of us Christians tend to set aside the third Person of Trinity, or to only acknowledge Him once a year at Pentecost. Yet the Spirit of God is so powerful and so important! In giving us his 7 gifts, the Holy Spirit allows us to be disciples of Jesus and to carry, through our deeds and words, his love and Good News into the world as His disciples did.

Here are a few ideas to help us pray to the Holy Spirit more often:

• Recite every day “Veni Creator”.  
• Join this novena to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in your daily life.
• Start a novena to the Holy Spirit to receive its 7 gifts.