The Way of the Spirit: Using the Gifts, Showing the Fruits
Wisdom, understanding, knowledge… As Christians, we might know the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, but if we’re really honest, we don’t always understand what they mean and what they do for us. Here, Fr. David Knight shows how these gifts empower us to live the divine life right here, right now.
Using clear, straightforward language, he explains Scripture and Church teaching: Wisdom—the gift of seeing everything we do in the light of all we are and are called to be… Knowledge is practical “know-how” in the spiritual life… Here too are suggestions for using these gifts and how to know if we’re using them well. (Hint: we’ll see the Fruits of the Spirit alive in our lives, and Fr. Knight offers perspectives on these, too.) Each section of this powerful book can help us grow in understanding of these gifts so that we might be guided by the Holy Spirit toward “living fully the Life that is already ours.”
About the Author
Father David M. Knight was born in Dallas, Texas, ordained a Jesuit priest in Lyon, France, and spent three years as a bush pastor in Chad (Africa). He then earned his doctorate in theology at Catholic University, Washington, D.C., and after serving as acting rector of the Jesuit novitiate in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, was made pastor of two parishes there — one black, one white — with the mission of integrating them. He was then made spiritual director for the Jesuit community of Loyola University in New Orleans. Fr. Knight has taught spirituality at Catholic University (Washington, D.C.), at Loyola University in New Orleans, Christian Brothers University in Memphis, and to ministers and seminarians of several denominations at Memphis Theological Seminary (Presbyterian).
As of 2021, he has published four-five books, plus several booklets and manuals, and over fifty articles in twenty-nine different periodicals. His latest books are: The Way of the Spirit (2021), A Fresh Look at the Mass (2015), A Fresh Look at Confession (2013), and Nuts and Bolts of Daily Spirituality (2013).
At present he is officially retired from diocesan work but:
• teaches graduate courses in theology at Christian Brothers University in Memphis TN;
• teaches in the diocesan Institute for Liturgy and Spirituality;
• gives numerous missions and retreats in the Unites States and other countries;
• presides at Mass daily at the Monastery of St. Clare when not out of town, and supplies ministry in other parishes on demand;
• hosts retreats at His Way House in Memphis; especially the lay-led Retiros de Evangelización and retreats for the Spanish Cursillo.
• gives talks to various groups, including Jews, Catholics and Protestants, on spirituality and theology;
• engages in ecumenical outreach with ministers involved in spiritual formation;
• makes available online daily lectionary reflections for years A, B, and C of the liturgical cycle;
• normally devotes four to six hours a day to writing.
