We begin by asking the Holy Spirit to guide and bless us as we pray: 

O God, Who instructed the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit,
Grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. 

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Bless these children, Lord; we pray that they open their hearts to your Holy Spirit as they prepare to be anointed in your love. 

SCRIPTURE
A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel:
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my Spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your fathers, you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

PRAYER
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds. Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful

O God, Who instructed the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit,
Grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. 

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Bless these children, Lord; we pray that they open their hearts to your Holy Spirit as they prepare to be anointed in your love.
 

Novena Day 2

SCRIPTURE
A Reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans:
For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death. Those who live according to the flesh are concerned with things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit the things of the spirit. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. But you received a spirit of adoption by which we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

PRAYER
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds. Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!

May the Lord keep our Confirmation students safe and bless them as they enter into their final days of preparation. Come Holy Spirit! 

I bless the Lord who counsels me; even at night, my heart exhorts me. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

Novena Day 3

SCRIPTURE
A Reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control: against such things, there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

PRAYER
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds. Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!

Preserve my life, for I am devoted; 
save your servant who trusts in you.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of us your faithful! 

Give me understanding to keep your law, to observe it with all my heart.
 
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. 
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

Novena Day 5

SCRIPTURE
A Reading from the Gospel According to John:
Jesus answered Nicodemus, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.  What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit.  Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’  The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

PRAYER
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds. Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!

The Lord is my strength and my shield in whom my heart trusts.

We pray today that all of our children, the candidates for Confirmation, will always trust in our Lord and his Mother.

Novena Day 6

SCRIPTURE
A Reading from the Gospel According to John:
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: Rivers of living water will flow from within him.” He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was of course no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

PRAYER
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds. Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!

May the gift of fear of the Lord enable us to reject sin, 
and may the Spirit of the Lord live in us as his temple. 
We pray all of our candidates (and we) 
may have a deep reverence for our Lord.
Now and forever.
Amen. 

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Novena Day 7

SCRIPTURE
A Reading from the Gospel According to John:
Jesus said, “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.  For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.  But if I go, I will send him to you.  And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.  I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.  He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.”

PRAYER
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds. Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!

By tending to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, 
may our lives, and the lives of these children being Confirmed this week, overflow with the fruits of love, 
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, 
gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. 
Amen. 

Novena Day 8

SCRIPTURE
A Reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans:
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

PRAYER
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds. Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!

May we be filled with zeal to proclaim the Gospel with the joy and strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Novena Day 9

SCRIPTURE
A Reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians:
There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone. To each person, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one the Spirit gives wisdom in discourse, to another the power to express knowledge. Through the Spirit one receives faith; by the same Spirit another is given the gift of healing, and still another miraculous power; prophesy is given to one; to another the power to distinguish one spirit from another; another receives the gift of tongues; another the interpreting of tongues. But it is one in the same Spirit who produces these gifts, distributing them to each as he wills.

PRAYER
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds. Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!
 

Final Novena Prayer:

Dear Lord,
Please fill these candidates with the fire of your love.
Fill them with your gifts that will help shape their lives.
Help them to be faithful to you in what they say,
in what they do, and in all that they are.
Let your beautiful light shine through these children
so that all who meet them, will meet you.
Guide them, protect them, and have mercy on them. 
Help them to remember that they are,
and will always be, children of God.
Your children.
I love you my Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.