Collect taken from the memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, priest and doctor.
Collect: O God, who for the glory of your name and the salvation of souls bestowed on the Priest Saint Lawrence of Brindisi a spirit of counsel and fortitude, grant, we pray, that in the same spirit, we may know what must be done and, through his intercession, bring it to completion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son…
“O God, who for the glory of your name and the salvation of souls bestowed on the Priest Saint Lawrence of Brindisi a spirit of counsel and fortitude,”
– The only two goals worth striving for are the glory of God and the salvation of souls. So, we recognize those as God’s own goals in the gifts he gives to his saints which, in this case, is a particularly powerful manifestation of two of the gifts of the Holy Spirit: counsel and Fortitude.
“ grant, we pray, that in the same spirit, we may know what must be done and, through his intercession, bring it to completion.”
– Counsel is the gift which helps us to recognize what we should do and fortitude is the gift that helps us to do it. United to Lawrence in the Holy Spirit, we seek to increase in these same gifts through his example and particularly by the help of his prayers.
Questions & Advice: Do you know the gifts of the Holy Spirit? How often do you pray for an increase in Counsel and Fortitude? Do you rely on your own power to increase in these gifts?
Learn more about Counsel and/or read about the gifts of the Spirit in the catechism (1830-45). Pray in a particular way for an increase in these gifts.
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| Sancte Laurenti, ora pro nobis! |