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Immersed in Christ

Apr 20, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 20, 2020

Monday, Second Week of Easter The Responsorial (Psalm 2) reminds us where power and security lie: “Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord”. In Acts 4: 23-31 Peter and John report to the community that they have been commanded by the priests and elders “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” The response of the community is to quote Psalm 2: “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things... against the Lord and against his Messiah?” They are

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 19, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 19, 2020

The Second Sunday of Easter (Year A) and Divine Mercy Sunday Experiencing and Expressing the Risen Life Inventory When do you experience yourself as most alive by grace? How much of it depends on what you yourself are doing? How much on what other people are doing (or doing together with you)? Input The Opening Prayer reminds us that we must “no longer look for Jesus among the dead” — including the deadening routine of just “saying prayers” or participating in Mass without at

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 18, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 18, 2020

Saturday in the Octave of Easter The Responsorial (Psalm 118) gives credit to God for the prophets’ courage in bearing witness and for the faith of those who receive it: “I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.” Jesus could not have found anything more ordinary to turn into his Body and Blood than what we put on the altar during the Presentation of Gifts. Bread and wine were the commonplace food of his time. Not anything precious, rare or exotic to set people up

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 17, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 17, 2020

Friday in the Octave of Easter What is the difference between the offering we put in the collection basket and the symbolic gesture of sending up a host that represents us to be placed on the altar? For one, the money we give is not a symbol of our whole selves, but of our labor: of whatever we did to earn it. And it is not transformed into the body of Christ offered for the salvation of the world, but is simply a contribution to the particular ministries Jesus is doing throu

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 16, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 16, 2020

Thursday in the Octave of Easter The Responsorial (Psalm 8) is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of creation, and especially for the dignity God has given to the human race: “O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!” When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are humans that you are mindful of them, or the children of men that you care for them? The presider echoes this praise

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 15, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 15, 2020

Wednesday in the Octave of Easter The Responsorial (Psalm 105) gives us the key to joy: “Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.” It is as simple as that. The man in Acts 3: 1-10 had been “crippled from birth.” He wasn’t particularly happy with it, but he was resigned. He wasn’t even seeking a cure: just alms. If we are honest, we have to admit many Christians are “crippled from birth” in the way they live their religion. It isn’t that they are committing great sins (that the

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 14, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 14, 2020

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter The Responsorial (Psalm 33) proclaims: “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” But not completely! In Acts 2: 36-41 Peter exhorts the people, “Save yourselves from this generation which has gone astray.” There is a negative as well as a positive meaning in the presider’s words during the Presentation of Gifts. Like the bread and wine, the human nature we present to God is something “earth has given.” God created us from the “clay of th

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 13, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 13, 2020

Monday in the Octave of Easter The Responsorial (Psalm 16) begins: “Keep me safe, O God, you are my hope.” The rest of the Psalm shows that the “hope” is really for immortality. As interpreted by Peter in Acts 2:14-33, David “foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah.” Peter says God freed Jesus from the grip of death because “it was impossible that death should keep its hold on him.” The reading ends with Peter declaring: “of this we are all witnesses.” In the fo

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 12, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 12, 2020

Easter Sunday -To remember is to re-member ourselves: to re-commit as members of Christ’s risen body on earth. Inventory On a day-to-day basis, how conscious are you of your Baptism? If you were asked to name your baptismal commitments right now, could you do it? What do you think about at Mass during the Presentation of Gifts? Input The Entrance Antiphon begins with words inspired by Psalm 139, verse 18: The psalmist says, “I have risen: I am with you once more....” We need

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 10, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 10, 2020

Good Friday of the Lord's Passion The Responsorial (Psalm 31) expresses the choice our whole lives should lead to: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” The readings show us the faith, hope and love we need to do it. Both Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12 and Hebrews 4:14-16 and 5:7-9 are reflections on the Passion Narrative, John 18:1 to 19:42. Isaiah looks ahead to it; Hebrews looks back on it. Both are meditations. Isaiah tells us Jesus’ life had value “because he surrendered

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 9, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 9, 2020

Holy Thursday of the Lord's Passion Holy Thursday (Thursday, Friday and Saturday really should be together with Easter Sunday, but we put them here because many people still think of them as being part of Lent). Mass of the Lord’s Supper The Responsorial is: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). Psalm 116 elaborates on it. The “Easter triduum” are three days that constitute one single celebration. Any one of th

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 8, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 8, 2020

Wednesday of Holy Week Note: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Holy Saturday Vigil and Easter Sunday are all one extended celebration called the “Easter Triduum” (three days). So the Easter season actually begins on Holy Thursday. The Responsorial (read all of Psalm 69) is the constant prayer of the servants of God: “Lord, in your great love, answer me.” Isaiah 50: 4-9 is the third Song of the Servant. The Servant neither depends on human support nor fears human opposition. His

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 7, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 7, 2020

Tuesday of Holy Week The Responsorial (Psalm 71) is a reflex response: “I will sing of your salvation.” Isaiah 49: 1-6 is the beginning of the second Song of the Servant. These songs portray the ideal Servant of God, the perfect Israelite, whose consecration to the divine will, even in the midst of overwhelming suffering, ‘takes away the sins of many.’ The Servant’s identity is complex: The Servant is “Israel, alive in all of her great leaders and intercessors.... But the col

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 6, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 6, 2020

Monday of Holy Week The Responsorial (Psalm 27) invites us to find life through light: “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” Isaiah 42: 1-7 is the first “Song of the Servant of Yahweh, whom God calls “my chosen one with whom I am well pleased.” But the description is valid for anyone who would do the work of God. As disciples we ponder the characteristics of the person God chooses for his work, to whom he says, “On you I have put my spirit.” • One who will “bring forth jus

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Father David M. Knight

Apr 5, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 5, 2020

THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF LENT (Year A) PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION Conversion to Unconditional Discipleship Inventory Do I ever grow weary of praying? Of reading Scripture or reflecting on the word of God? Do I sometimes feel it is useless, that nothing ever comes of it? Do I ever feel that God just doesn’t care about me? Did Jesus feel this? Input The Responsorial Psalm is the first verse of Psalm 22, the verse Jesus quoted on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you abando

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 4, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 4, 2020

Saturday, Week Five of Lent The Responsorial (from Jeremiah 31:10-13) is a promise for all time: “The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock”. In Ezekiel 37:21-28 God is promising to restore unity to his People by uniting the tribes again as they were under King David.1 But it was under the kingship of the promised “Son of David” that true unity would be restored; not just to Israel, but to the human race. The “miracle of tongues” at Pentecost was a sign and previe

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 3, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 3, 2020

Friday, Week Five of Lent The Responsorial (Psalm 18) is a reminder we never stop feeling the need for: “In my distress I called upon the Lord and he heard my voice.” Jeremiah 20: 10-13 shows us what Jesus predicted for his disciples: “Terror on every side! Denounce! Let us denounce him.” Those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. Jesus said, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!’ See, I am se

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 2, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 2, 2020

Thursday, Week Five of Lent The Responsorial (Psalm 105) gives one side of the picture: “The Lord remembers his covenant forever.” Genesis 17: 3-9 is a weak promise compared to what Jesus promised those who accept his “New Covenant.” To Abraham God promised human benefits: “I will render you fertile, make nations of you... give to you the land where you are now as a permanent possession.” But Jesus promises us a “posterity” alive with the life of God; and the Kingdom of God a

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Immersed in Christ

Apr 1, 2020

Immersed in Christ: April 1, 2020

Wednesday, Week Five of Lent rial (Daniel 3: 52-56) affirms: “Glory and praise forever!” St. Ignatius of Loyola defines “three degrees of humility” — three levels of understanding about ourselves in relationship to God. The first is: I so subject and humble myself as to obey the law of God in all things, so that not even were I made lord of all creation, or to save my life here on earth, would I consent to violate a commandment... that binds me under pain of mortal sin. 1 Dan

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Father David M. Knight

Mar 31, 2020

Immersed in Christ: March 31, 2020

Tuesday, Week Five of Lent The Responsorial (Psalm 102) tells us what to say when we are just tired of following Christ: “O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.” In Numbers 21: 4-9 the people were tired of following Moses through the desert. They “complained against God” because food and drink were scarce in the desert, and what they got didn’t satisfy them: “We are disgusted with this wretched food.” We may not have traveled in the desert. But if we have been di

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a complete, systematic plan for growing into the fullness of Christian Life

a complete, systematic plan for growing into
the fullness of Christian Life