Prayers to the Holy Spirit
These prayers call on the Holy Spirit for guidance, courage, understanding, and renewal — the things Scripture consistently attributes to the Spirit's work.
Several are ancient invocations still used at ordinations, councils and the start of any serious undertaking.
14 prayers
- Come, Holy Spirit (Veni Sancte Spiritus)
The classic invocation of the Holy Spirit, used at Pentecost and before any work requiring discernment — councils, conclaves, examinations,…
- Come, True Light (St. Symeon the New Theologian)
The invocation of the Holy Spirit by St. Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022), the great Byzantine mystic of the vision of divine light. It…
- Litany of the Holy Spirit
A traditional Catholic litany of invocations to the Holy Spirit, compiled from Scripture and the writings of the Fathers. It has been…
- Longer Form of the Binding Prayer
The expanded form of the binding prayer, prayed when a longer and more deliberate act is called for. Its distinctive feature is the closing…
- O Heavenly King (Prayer to the Holy Spirit)
The invocation of the Holy Spirit with which Orthodox Christians begin prayer for most of the year, omitted only between Pascha and…
- O Thou Who Camest from Above (Charles Wesley)
Charles Wesley's hymn of 1762, built on the coal from the altar in Isaiah 6 and the 'holy fire' of 2 Timothy 1:6. It is the classic…
- Prayer Before Confession
A traditional preparatory prayer found in Catholic manuals of devotion for centuries. Before examining his conscience, the penitent asks…
- Prayer for the Grace of Repentance (St. Anselm)
Attributed to St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109), theologian and Doctor of the Church. The prayer asks for the nine fruits of the Spirit…
- Prayer for the Holy Spirit (Charles Spurgeon)
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892) opened his sermons at the Metropolitan Tabernacle with short prayers like this, taken down by…
- Prayer of St. Hildegard of Bingen
St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), abbess, composer, and Doctor of the Church, called the life of God viriditas — 'greenness'. This…
- Prayer to Radiate Christ (St. John Henry Newman)
Adapted by Mother Teresa from a longer meditation by St. John Henry Newman on the priestly life, published in his Meditations and Devotions…
- The Chaplet of the Holy Spirit
The Chaplet of the Holy Spirit takes its shape from the two great outpourings recorded in Scripture and from the seven gifts named by the…
- The Collect for Purity
Translated by Thomas Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer from a Latin collect used in the Sarum rite, where the priest prayed it…
- Veni Creator Spiritus (Come, Creator Spirit)
The ninth-century hymn ascribed to Rabanus Maurus, sung at Pentecost, at ordinations, at the opening of councils, and at the conclave that…