The Church invites us to imagine the Spirit by comparing Him to “pleasant coolness in the heat.”The Sequence sung or recited at Mass on Pentecost makes a perfect prayer for particular moments.
When we pause with each of the powers attributed to the Holy Spirit in the prayer, we are invited to go deeper in our understanding of how the Spirit works and what happens when we live in his grace.
The Sequence, known as the Veni Sancte Spiritus, has been prayed by generations of Catholics for many centuries. It is one of only four medieval Sequences preserved in the 1570 Missal. It is usually thought that Pope Innocent III or Cardinal Stephan Langton was its author in the 13th century.
By using just a few of the lines from the prayer, we can go deeper into the particular graces that the Holy Spirit gives us.
For example, since (in the northern hemisphere) we are diving into the changed-up routines of summer, we can consider the lines that emphasize how the Holy Spirit is our rest, our comfort, our refreshment.
~
Thou, of all consolers best,
Thou, the soul’s delightsome Guest,
Dost refreshing peace bestow.
Thou in toil art comfort sweet,
Pleasant coolness in the heat,
Solace in the midst of woe.
Change it into your own words with sentiments such as:
Holy Spirit, there is no consolation that compares to you. You know from within my suffering and sorrows. No one understands me as you do. Accompany me in everything that is difficult for me in my life right now.
Holy Spirit, thank you for dwelling in me. You come as a guest who lightens my load and brings joy to my activities. What a gift to have you staying in me!
You are peace. You are comfort.
In all that is tiresome, when my energy feels insufficient, when there seems to be no end in sight, you are refreshment and solace.
Thank you God the Father and God the Son for your holy Spirit. Sweet Mother, Spouse of the Spirit, hold me.
The original Latin and a literal translation:
Consolator optime,
dulcis hospes animae,
dulce refrigerium.
In labore requies,
in aestu temperies,
in fletu solatium.
~
Greatest comforter,
sweet guest of the soul,
sweet consolation.
In labor, rest,
in heat, temperance,
in tears, solace.
