Dear Disciples of Christ at Holy Spirit, St. Helen’s, and St. Mary’s,
I took this picture two summer ago at Acadia National Park in Maine. I was there camping with my brother and his family. This bright pink flower literally caught my attention as I drove past. I stopped. Backed up. Got out and sat down on a large rock giving me this view. It was a joyful moment. It was a moment connecting me to God.
This third Sunday of Advent we are filled with hope and joy. We call to mind the words of Paul who encouraged us to, “Rejoice in the Lord Always.” The purple colored vestments are laid aside and we put on Rose (pink). But, as a Catholic, what is joy? It is more than an emotion. It is a gift, a fruit, of the Holy Spirit. In a homily, Pope Francis said, “Joy is a grace and a gift of the Holy Spirit, not just positive emotions or feeling cheerful.
Joy is not the consequence of emotions that burst for a wonderful thing… No, it is more, this joy, this which fills us, is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit one cannot have this joy.
To be full of joy the experience of the highest consolation, when the Lord makes us understand that this is something different from being cheerful, positive, bright…”
St. Thomas Aquinas explained that there is Emotional Joy. And this is not a bad thing. But it is based in passing things of this world. On the other hand, there is Spiritual Joy. This is a joy rooted in our relationship with God, in Jesus Christ. St. Thomas wrote, Spiritual Joy is “Enduring and profound, tied to the soul’s alignment with God’s will and grace, resulting in lasting contentment and peace.”
We long for, we need Joy. There is a universal longing for joy that can only be fully satisfied in God. Emotional joy, while valuable, remains fleeting and ultimately unfulfilling. Spiritual joy, rooted in relationship with God as the supreme good, endures and deepens as we grow in charity and surrender to God’s will. Don’t pursue joy. Pursue God. Place Him as your supreme good. Let Him surprise you with joy.
-Love, Fr. Ian