The Litany Project: Litany of the Holy Ghost, Part 14

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, send us Thy Holy Ghost.

The Lamb of God, of course, is none other that Jesus. John the Baptist identified Him as such in John 1:29 when he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world.” The reference goes back centuries to the time when the Israelites were still in slavery in Egypt. In preparation for the first Passover, God told Moses to have the Israelites sacrifice a lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood. They were to eat the lamb and be ready to depart, for the angel of the Lord would come upon Egypt, bringing death to all the firstborn sons of that place except where he saw the lamb’s blood. The angel passed over the Israelites, and they left Egypt and slavery behind.

We, too, are enslaved, not by the Egyptians but by our sins.  And Jesus, the Lamb of God, by His blood, takes away the sins of the world. He became the willing sacrifice on the Cross, taking the covenant curses upon Himself and reconciling us with the Father. We now ask Jesus to send us His Holy Spirit, the Love He shares with the Father.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, pour down into our souls the gifts of the Holy Ghost.

We also ask our Lamb of God, our Jesus, to pour down the gifts of the Holy Spirit into our souls. Of course, we must be prepared for this outpouring of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. We must open our hearts wide to receive them, and then we must respond by making good use of these gifts so that they continue to grow within us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, grant us the Spirit of wisdom and piety.

In this petition, we beg our Lord to grant us the Spirit of wisdom and piety. We are pleading for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, for the sanctifying grace that gives us a share in divine life, for the eternal life that we begin living right now and that we will enter into fully in Heaven.  

We recall that wisdom is the “God’s eye” perspective of the world, at least as much as we human beings can ever possess. Piety refers to our devotion to God, our desire and efforts to place Him first, above all else, and to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.