Novena To The Holy Spirit With The Kids
- Odelia
- May 29, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 17, 2020
Pentecost is around the corner. It's supposed to be an exciting celebration, however, this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to let go of the idea to attend the mass at a church, happily mingling around other Catholic families and children.
As I was thinking about what to do about it, one of my friends posted about Pentecost and the Novena of The Holy Spirit. It was something new for me!
The novena in honor of the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His Apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. It is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian. (source: EWTN website)
Wow, I didn't know that before! It's so exciting! It means another craft to do with the kids! Yat! Subsequently, another friend sent a craft idea she had done in the past that I could “borrow”. It's so simple and easy, and I love how we can include the kids to do it. I began to search around my home, asking my kids, if they, by any chance, have colored papers. They don't. But after digging stacks of art and craft materials, I found glittery foam papers that I can re-cycle for this. Double bonus!
Fast forward, here's the final look after the ninth day of the Novena. You can hang the doves on the ceiling as if they are floating above our heads, or you can paste it on the wall (see picture below).
As I didn't have enough ropes to hang all of them on the ceiling, I chose to hang them on something dangling (the picture on the left). It will look nicer on the ceiling though.
As the papers are glittery, let’s just say it could also represent the Holy Spirit that came in the form of tongues of fire. Since we don't have enough fire colors (yellow/orange/red), I decided to just utilize other colors. Although it's far from looking like fire, can we just pretend that they are close enough haha?!
I particularly enjoyed making the last dove (the colorful one), which represents the fruits of the spirit. It was made of tiny parts of leftover foam papers that are pasted together.
After making one, it came to my mind that I could also use this opportunity to explain to the children that life filled with the Holy Spirit brings about the fruits which are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-Control. And that when all the gifts are received on the final day of the Novena, we bear the fruits!
Fast forward to the day of the Pentecost. We celebrate this by lighting up candles on cupcakes.
LET'S DO IT
Materials:
(best is to prepare a few days before Ascension day, so it's not too rush)
Any kinds of papers
Scissor
Dove picture for a template (choose the easy one). I googled mine.
Ribbon/rope (I recycled clear plastic that was about to be thrown away)
How to do the 9-day Novena:
(If you missed some of the days, it's OK, try to make it up as you can)
Check out the prayers here https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-for-the-seven-gifts-309 (I compiled mine into a pdf for easier access, message me if you want me to send you the file).
Assign each member as the prayer leader for each day.
Ask the kids to choose their gift(s). The kids can be the prayer leader for the respective day of the gift.
It’s optional to reflect before or after the daily novena prayer. The daily gospel reading is recommended, but with younger kids and new beginners (like me), we try to do it as simple as possible for a start.
Agree on a time where all family members can do the prayer together. We agreed to do it daily at 12 noon. And I set the alarm. Tips: Make sure you have your schedule free at that time.
Explain to the kids especially the younger ones the meaning of the gifts, Why do we want the gifts? What is the story behind it, What do you find interesting? Which gifts do you wish you could have at the moment? Check out some videos on youtube. (links at the bottom).
Some ideas:
* As we go through each day, after we prayed the Novena, one of the kids can put up the dove. My kids were kind of excited as they get to hang it on the ceiling. It makes it as if the "Holy Spirit" is floating above our heads with each gift.
* You can also get the children to choose the gifts, get them to write the prayers on the paper. My friend did that and she said it made the kids owned up to the gift and prayer.
* Let the not-so-young kids to help cut the doves. It's more meaningful when it's done together. If not, it's OK too.
* For the Prayer of Consecration and The 7 Gifts of The Holy Spirit, each of one us read a sentence, it's easier for the younger children and it gets them to focus.
Takeaway (other than receiving the graces from God):
My youngest practice reading at the same time! Yay! By the end of the Novena, she‘s definitely a more fluent reader! We discussed some difficult words. It certainly adds to the kids' vocabulary.
We felt more connected as a family.
My oldest learned to be more patient with the youngest as she needs more time to read.
Our hearts elevated instantly after we pray each day. It reminded me to be patient, although I failed many times.
Resources:
Links to explain the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The Fruits of the Spirit
Song the kids' like
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