Day 5 Mon May 18th

Prayer

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Let us bow down in humility at the power and grandeur of the Holy Spirit. Let us worship the Holy Trinity and give glory today to the Paraclete, our Advocate. O Holy Spirit, by Your power, Christ was raised from the dead to save us all. By Your grace, miracles are performed in Jesus’ name. By Your love, we are protected from evil. And so, we ask with humility and a beggar’s heart for Your gift of Kindness within us. Jesus approached sinners with immense kindness. Holy Paraclete, please treat us humble sinners with the same kindness and give us the ability to treat all others with that kindness as well.

Reflect on these words

In Ps 89:15 we read, “Blessed are the people who know the festal shout.”    There are a number of examples of the liberating power of the festal shout of victory in the Old and New Testaments. For example, there is the curious case of the prophet Jonah. He experienced the trauma of being thrown into the sea and being swallowed by a whale. It must have been terrifying to be entombed in the dark, dank interior of this giant creature of the sea. Instead of being frozen with fear and despair, the prophet cried out his praises to the Lord. He said, "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.  "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.  But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord."  And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land” (Jon 2:7-10). The praise of these heroes of faith in the Old Testament anticipated the coming of Jesus the Messiah and the liberating victory he would win for those who believed in him.