Veni Sancte Spiritu (Come, Holy Spirit, Come)

Veni Sancte Spiritu (Come, Holy Spirit, Come)
Pentecost Sequence

Refrain
Come, Holy Spirit, come
Descend, O Light of the heavens
Fill us with your radiance
Come, Holy Spirit, come

You are father of the poor
Generous Giver of all good things
Light of every human heart
Comforter in all our trials
In our souls, the welcome guest
In our labors, blessed rest
In heat of strife, sweet gentleness
In all our tears, tender solace

Without your light within our hearts
All our works would tend toward harm
So wash now and give us birth
Pour like water on thirsty earth
When we grow hard help us to bend
When love grows cold, to burn again
That the promise of the prophets
Be ours with joy that never ends

Translated from Latin by: Chad Hyatt

Veni Sancte Spiritu (Come, Holy Spirit, Come) is an ancient prayer of the church that we have been singing at Mercy since Pentecost.  I love the movement of the prayer.  Many of the prayers with which I grew-up moved in one direction.  It was as if we interacted with God at a drive-through window—this is what I want, hand it to me, I’ll drive off with it in hand and keep doing what I’ve been doing.  Those prayers were not relational.  They started with an ask and ended with it as well.  Dealing with God in those prayers was very transactional.  If I am a good enough Christian, God will bless me with what I want, I just have to ask for it.  I appreciate that I can always go to God with my problems, but I no longer feel that I should only interact with God when I have a problem that I want fixed.  For me, this prayer helps move me to be more relational with God and provides me with a different model for how to structure my own prayers.

The Veni Sancte Spiritu starts with the invitation for God’s spirit to be in and among us as a community. I believe that God is omnipresent and there is a greater intimacy when we welcome God to be with us. As the prayer says, “In our souls, the welcome guest,” God is not forced on us, but welcomed

God is then acknowledged as our parent, provider, and comforter. I love the language Abba and Amma God, the Aramaic translation for mommy and daddy. My parents played a crucial role in guiding and shaping me as a person. For me thee imagery of God is a comforting one, something tangible that I can draw near to.

The prayer then moves into a time of supplication. It is important to me that I can be real with God and ask for whatever I feel I need in that moment. There is something relieving                                                       of this par of the prayer is, “God here it is. “(insert issue/ request) Take it. Take all of it.” I am comforted that God hears us, our prayers spoken and unspoken. Dare I say it, I feel there is something holy and intimate about being comfortable enough to simply pour out my heart to God. The movement in this style of prayer honors the relational aspect prior to the request.

I don’t often feel connected to traditional written prayers of the church. In the past when reading the traditional church prayers, it felt like I was just reading, not praying. Though I discounted them before, there are old prayers of the church with which I connect and Identify and they can be helpful in deepening my spiritual life.  

I am able to see ways in which this prayer connects with my life.  The images are tangible.  One line reads, “when I grow hard, help me to bend.”  On occasion, when folks arrive at Mercy frustrated with situations unrelated to church, the frustration becomes directed at me.  I struggle with growing hard towards them, not wanting to engage their attitudes.  When I read this line, I am reminded of the times that I wanted to be more flexible, more loving, and realize that there will be situations in the future that I need to bend into instead of becoming rigid.

I really enjoyed reflecting on this prayer, I hope you find something that resonates with you in the movement of the prayer.

Grace & Peace,

Justin