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Father David's Reflection for Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 16, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm invites us, for the third day in a row, to praise God. On Tuesday and Wednesday it was for the breadth of the extension of the Good News to "all nations" and for the depth to which direct access to God's word invites us. Today it is for the length of God's fidelity in time and for the height from which the message comes to us: "Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord" (Psalm 89). In Acts 13: 13-25 Paul gives the history of God's guidance of his peo

Father David's Reflection for Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 15, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm celebrates the value of God's way and the desire to teach it to everyone: "May your way be known among all nations.." This inspires the Response: "O God, let all the nations praise you" (Psalm 67). "May the nations be glad and exult because you rule. and guide" all people as universal shepherd. Acts 12:24 to 13:5 describes the missionary spirit inspired in the Church by the Holy Spirit. "The word of God continued to spread and grow" because the whole co

Father David's Reflection for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 14, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Psalm 87 is a hymn proclaiming Jerusalem the true birthplace even of Jews who were born elsewhere. In the present context it proclaims the Church the true home of all Christians, whether Jew or Gentile in origin. The Responsorial verse is from Psalm 117 (and see Romans 15:11): "All you nations, praise the Lord." Acts 11: 19-26 affirms the action of the Holy Spirit in those who brought the Gospel to the Gentiles in Antioch. It was in Antioch that "the disciples were first call

Father David's Reflection for Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 13, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm affirms the universal hunger of the human heart for God: "Athirst is my soul for the living God" (Psalm 42). And in the readings we see Jesus, the good shepherd, eager to satisfy that hunger in every person on earth. In Acts 11: 1-18 Peter is explaining to some of the "circumcised believers" (the "judaizers": Jewish Christians who clung to the Jewish laws and customs they had grown up with and wanted to impose them on everyone who accepted Christ) why

Father David's Reflection for Fourth Sunday of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 12, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Fourth Sunday of Easter

The Shepherd Who Leads To Life Inventory How did I receive the gift of faith? Who taught me? Do I believe because of my parents and teachers, or because I have heard "the call of the shepherd," Jesus himself? When and how did I become conscious of his voice? Input The Entrance Antiphon calls us to recognize that what we experience in the world is the goodness of God himself: "The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." It is God's power, goodness and beauty that are actua

Father David's Reflection for Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 11, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

The readings, summarized in the Responsorial Psalm, are about acknowledging and repaying the good someone has done: "How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?" (Psalm 116). Acts 9: 31-42 shows us God rewarding Tabitha, who had been "devoted to good works and acts of charity." When she died, "all the widows came to Peter weeping and showing him the tunics and cloaks she had made while she was with them." Through Peter, God "raised her up" to li

Father David's Reflection for Friday of the Third Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 10, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Friday of the Third Week of Easter

The Response (Mark 16:15; used with Psalm 117) is a mandate to all Christians consecrated at Baptism to be prophets: "Go out to all the world and tell the Good News." In Acts 9: 1-20 Saul receives the Good News the "hard way": being struck down and blinded by the brightness of God as Jesus identifies himself to him and tells him what he must do. Jesus seems to take Saul's conversion for granted; and in fact, when Ananias cures him, Saul, now known as Paul, is baptized and fil

Father David's Reflection for Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 9, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm has the same response as yesterday - "Let all the earth cry out to God with joy" (Psalm 66) - but the verses selected focus on God's saving help rather than his "tremendous deeds." The readings likewise focus on the joy that comes from being saved: saved from death through the gift of everlasting life. In Acts 8: 26-40 Philip is asked to explain a passage about the suffering of the Savior that does not seem to speak of joy: "In his humiliation justice w

Father David's Reflection for Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 8, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm invites us to Easter joy - all year long: "Let all the earth cry out to God with joy" (Psalm 66). The key to this joy, affirmed in all the readings, is seeing and believing. The Psalm continues: "Come and see the works of God .. Therefore let us rejoice in him." Acts 8: 1-8 begins with persecution and the "lament" over Stephen. But it ends with "great joy" in the city where Philip, fleeing from persecution, proclaimed Christ and worked miracles. Those w

Father David's Reflection for Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 7, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm is a response to make at the moment of death and at every moment in life: "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit" (Psalm 31). These are the words Jesus said to the Father when he died (Luke 23:46). In Acts 7:51 to 8:1 Stephen addresses the same words to Jesus as he dies: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." In both cases they are a profession of belief and hope in life after death, life with God, life "to the full," that only God can give. And so, to

Father David's Reflection for Monday of the Third Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 6, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Monday of the Third Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm identifies the "path of life" with following God's law: "Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord" (Psalm 119). Acts 6: 8-15 puts us on guard, however, against identifying religion with law observance. Those who did that, the Pharisee party in Israel, were Jesus' most bitter enemies. After the Resurrection, it was the "judaizing party" who were the greatest source of division in the Church (see Acts 15: 1-29). Paul fought against them during his

Father David's Reflection for Third Sunday of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 5, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Third Sunday of Easter

Inventory What does or could take the joy out of my life? Have I ever sat down and thought about what I need for a joyful life? Is joy just an emotion, or do I have any free choice about what I will find joy in? How does Jesus fit into this? Does he give or promise joy? Here or just hereafter? Input How can the Entrance Antiphon call the whole world to "cry out to God with joy" and "praise the glory of his name" if joy is not available to everyone? The Opening Prayer gives us

Father David's Reflection for Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 4, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm is a prayer of trust based on relationship with God: "0 Lord, let your mercy be upon us, as we place our trust in you" (Psalm 33). Remember, to "have mercy" is to "come to the aid of another out of a sense of relationship." In Acts 6: 1-7 the Church is facing a "crisis" - that is, a moment in which a decision must be made, one which will affect the well-being of the community. The response was given by the Twelve or "college" of the Apostles (represente

Father David's Reflection for Friday of the Second Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 3, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Friday of the Second Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm seems to be an unlikely echo to the first reading: "One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord" (Psalm 27). In Acts 5: 34-42 the Jewish authorities wanted to kill the Apostles. After Gamaliel spoke, they "had them flogged" instead, "ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go." Flogging is better than dying, but neither one seems anything to rejoice in. But that is what the Apostles did: "As they left the council, they rejoi

Father David's Reflection for Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 2, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm tells us: "The Lord hears the cry of the poor" (Psalm 34). He pours out on them his Spirit and bears witness through them. Acts 5: 27-33 shows us the Apostles, ordinary, weak men without any human power or resources, standing up to the highest authority in Israel, the Sanhedrin (council of seventy-one elders, chief priests and scribes, presided over by the high priest). Their strength came from the certitude of their faith about two things: 1. God had r

Father David's Reflection for Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

May 1, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm assures us that God can deliver us from anything that holds us back from the fullness of life: "The Lord hears the cry of the poor" (Psalm 34). In Acts 5: 17-26 God sent his angel to deliver the Apostles from a physical prison. But he did it to send the Apostles themselves as "angels"(messengers) to "tell the people all about this new life." What really delivers people is the life of grace, especially when lived with the mutual support of a community of

Father David's Reflection for Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

Apr 30, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm is a proclamation of victory: "The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty" (Psalm 93). And this is what Christianity is: a proclamation that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and won the gift of divine life for all who believe in him. The prophets make this proclamation credible by visibly embodying the teachings of Jesus in their lifestyle. They make the living Jesus visible in their bodies. Acts 4: 32-37 shows us the first Christians as a community m

Father David's Reflection for Monday of the Second Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

Apr 29, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Monday of the Second Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm shows us how to deal with fear when we are threatened because of the witness we bear to Jesus: "Happy are all who put their trust in the Lord" (Psalm 2). In Acts 4: 23-31 Peter and John seek support from the faith of the community after they have been commanded by the priests and elders "never to mention that man's name [Jesus] to anyone again." The response of the whole community is first to recall and proclaim the sovereignty of God "who made heaven a

Father David's Reflection for the Second Sunday of Easter

Father David M. Knight

Apr 28, 2019

Father David's Reflection for the Second Sunday of Easter

Experiencing and Expressing the Risen Life Inventory What first drew you to appreciate the Church? What supports your faith or enthusiasm now? Is it the expression other people are giving to their faith that inspires you? How much confirmation do you receive from your own experience of grace - from things you do that give you the felt conviction of being alive by grace (the gift of sharing God's divine life)? Input The Entrance Antiphon encourages us, "Rejoice to the full in

Father David's Reflection for Saturday of the First Week of Easter

Father David M. Knight

Apr 27, 2019

Father David's Reflection for Saturday of the First Week of Easter

The Responsorial Psalm gives us one source of the assurance we need to have if we are going to stand up as prophets in spite of rejection and opposition: "I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me" (Psalm 118). The whole Psalm is a hymn of confidence based on the experience of calling on God and being rescued. What gives confidence to prophets is the experience of following inspirations that were proven - by their fruits, usually - to have been true. Acts 4: 13-21 s

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