Prayer Guide for Eastertide
CTS Devotions
Kristina Cooper
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781860826450
eISBN 9781784692162
ASIN B07FDH1VBH
CTS Booklet D724
This past lent I used several different versions of Stations of the Cross and Way of the Cross. Including a few from The Catholic Truth Society. I enjoyed them so much I decided to continue with this volume. Over the last few years I have read over 150 volumes from the CTS. I have read books from many series. And many authors. This was the first book I have read by Kristina Cooper. The print edition is our of print but the eBook is wonderful to have for the season of Easter. The book was originally published in 2010 and the eBook released in 2018. But the book was originally published a year earlier for the National Service Committee for Catholic Charismatic Renewal in England.
The description of this volume is:
“Beginning on Easter Sunday and ending on the Vigil of Pentecost this prayer guide will lead you through a journey of 50 days of prayer and reflection, in preparation for the great feast of Pentecost - often an unappreciated feast. The first forty days reflect on scripture and the Catechism, drawing our lives into the history of salvation. The final nine-day Novena of prayer, from Ascension to Pentecost, is dedicated to helping Christians to be open to a personal Pentecost in their own lives.”
The sections in the volume are:
Be Open to Pentecost
Forty Day Journey with Jesus
Week 1 The Creation and Fall
Week 2 God Calla A People To Be His Own
Week 3 God Rescues His People and Gives Them The Law
Week 4 Predictions of the Messiah
Week 5 A New Covenant
Week 6 The Kingdom of God is for All People
Novena to Pentecost
Novena Prayers to the Holy Spirit
Daily Prayers to the Holy Spirit
The first part of this book begins with:
“As Christians, we celebrate Christmas and Easter, but Pentecost – the third element of the Good News of Salvation – seems to be rather neglected. This prayer guide is to help Christians to be open to a personal Pentecost in their own lives, and to pray for a new Pentecost on the earth, so that the life changing power of the Gospel can be proclaimed and experienced.”
And the volume aims to help us do just that. In that same introduction we are told to have a time and a place:
“Often we don’t have time to get away so this prayer guide is to help you have a retreat at home and to prepare for Pentecost. A retreat is a time you set aside for God so that he can speak to you. Choose a specific place and time for prayer (it need only be ten minutes) and keep to that time every day if possible.”
I choose early mornings, after I said some of my daily prayers. And had started my coffee, I used the daily reflections to start my day. Each of the days offers a biblical verse, a short meditation, an explanation drawn from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and concludes with a prayer. When you get to the Novena the format changes. Each day of the Novena has a special intention for intercession, a scriptural passage, a reflection and a prayer. It also has option prayers we can choose from that are found at the end of the book. A sample on one of the 40 days is:
“Week 6 Day 2
Power and help from heaven You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Ac 1:8)
1 Corinthians 12 describes gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to members of the Church for the building up of the body of Christ. Words of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. It was these very gifts that the disciples received at Pentecost. They were told to wait in the city until they were clothed with power from on high. It is a renewal of this power that we need in our Church again.
PRAYER: Lord, as the Church approaches Pentecost, help us to be open vessels to your Spirit. Fill us anew with your gifts so that we can become a channel to others.
CATECHISM: [Grace] includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work…There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms… Whatever their character – sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues – charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace, and are intended for the common good of the Church. (CCC, 2003)
SCRIPTURE: Is 61:1”
Before the novena is a short teaching drawing from Pope Leo XII, Vatican Council II, Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI. And at the end of the volume is reference to the Novena To the Holy Spirit by Philip G. Bochanski from CTS as well. Which I finished right before starting the novena in this volume.
It was a real blessing to have read this book over Eastertide and I will likely return to it again next year. I highly recommend this little devotional. Another excellent read from the Catholic Truth Society.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2020 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.
For other books in the CTS Devotions Series click here.
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