Pope Francis recently paved the way for the canonization of Blessed Elena Guerra (1835-1914), an Italian nun and founder of the Oblates of the Holy Spirit. Guerra is known for developing “a very special devotion to the Holy Spirit” after she was confirmed at 8. As an adult, she wrote many letters to Pope Leo XIII exhorting him to emphasize prayer to the Holy Spirit among the faithful: “Pentecost is not over,” she wrote. “In fact, it is continually going on in every time and in every place, because the Holy Spirit desired to give Himself to all men and all who want Him can always receive Him, so we do not have to envy the apostles and the first believers; we only have to dispose ourselves like them to receive Him well, and He will come to us as He did to them.” The pope agreed, and in 1896 Guerra composed the Holy Spirit Chaplet, which you can pray in the days leading up to Pentecost.
In “Around the Year with the von Trapp Family,” Maria Augusta von Trapp shares what the “Sound of Music” family did to observe Pentecost. Beginning with Ascension Day, they prepared for the feast, discussing the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit each evening. Maria notes how different the discussions were from year to year. On the ninth day, they meditated on the two great hymns “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” and “Veni, Creator Spiritus.” Maria also wrote that many of the old churches throughout the Alps have a hole in the ceiling through which, on Pentecost Sunday, the “Holy Spirit dove” would be let down into the church, bringing the mystery of the day into a visual reality.