“So that we might discern what is good, and acceptable to God, and perfect”

Just to aim at “doing good and avoiding evil” is a sub-Christian life. Those who only try to avoid “sin” by keeping the Ten Commandments have not accepted the New Law of Jesus, which is summarized, but not complete, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapters 5 to 6). In our prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit daily to help us see the difference between what is “good” and what is “acceptable to God.” 

We learn to discern what is “acceptable to God” by making it our habitual goal to bear witness to Christ by living in a way that is divine, that cannot be explained except by the action, inspirations, and empowerment of his Holy Spirit within us. We stop asking whether something is good or bad, right or wrong, but only whether it bears witness to the values of Christ. To ask this consistently gradually teaches us the discernment that transforms our whole way of living. 

To discern what is “perfect,” we try to live in constant, conscious surrender to Jesus acting with us, in us, and through us as his body. Though we fail a lot, we keep trying to live in partnership with him as his risen body, his divine-human presence in the world. A great help to this is to form the habit of saying the WIT prayer all day long, before and during everything we do: “Lord, do this with me, do this in me, do this through me.” 

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings on the USCCB website here

Easter season is the time to focus on the Holy Spirit. Starting on Easter Sunday, we will look carefully at how the Spirit is proclaimed, invoked, and presented to us in the Mass. Lex orandi, lex credendi: “As the Church prays, so she believes.”

After that, we will reflect on the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Galatians 5:22), and at how the Spirit enters the life of those who believe.

As you read these reflections, ask for the gift of Understanding. Ask to really understand what you believe, what you see and hear at Mass. Go deeper into understanding the Mass than you ever have before. We experience the Faith when we become aware of its mystery. We hope you reflect deeply on the Mass and Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and find yourself more and more drawn into the mysteries of our Lord in the Mass and in His Gifts.