Joy

The more joyful we are, the more it pleases God.

Jesus tells his disciples, "I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and that your joy may be complete (Jn 15:11)." Jesus shares with us the eternal and infinite joy which he shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. It is a supernatural joy that comes from the life and love of the Holy Trinity. The world cannot give us this joy; nor can it or anyone take this joy away from us. It is an abiding joy that comes from sharing in the life and love of God. We may experience hardships and suffering, which affects our feelings, but this inner joy remains.

We can say that joy is different from happiness in this way: We are happy when we have a good day, and unhappy when we have a bad day. But our joy in God remains. Our joy is in God, in that we are fascinated by God's goodness, wisdom, power and beauty. And we find joy in what we do when we do them out of love for God. St. Paul tells us, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice (Ph 4:4)!" We are reminded to find joy in God at all times, and not let our daily worries and struggles bring us down.  

Mary's inner being is filled with Joy in the Lord.  She reveals, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior (Lk 1:46-47)." This joy is in the deepest part of Mary's being - it is her center, her soul. She may experience sorrows and pain, yet her oneness with God sustains this abiding joy in her soul. 

We also find joy in what we do when we do them out of love for God.

Meister Eckhart describes holiness as, "Doing the next thing you have to do, doing it with your whole heart, and finding delight in it." 

Next to love, joy brings value and meaning to our actions. It bears witness to Christ and brings glory to God. St. Paul tells us, "For God loves a cheerful giver (2Cor 9:7)." God wants us to find joy in all that we do. The Lord wants us to give, work and live, not with sadness or selfishness, but with generosity and joy. When one loves, one finds joy in sacrificing to please the beloved.

The Lord desire that we experience the fullness of life, which necessarily includes a share in his joy. St. Irenaeus writes, "The glory of God is man fully alive." To be fully alive is to live and work and play with the freedom, faith, love and joy of the children of God. Once we are intimately united to God, we cannot help but be filled with joy. His joy overflows within us. Jesus said, "I came so that they may have life and have it in abundance (Jn 10:10)." To have life in abundance is to participate in the fullness of life and joy of the most holy Trinity.  Sadness and fear can diminish the life of God within us. On the other hand, joy and confidence in the Lord increase his life within us.

Pope Francis in his encyclical, The Joy of the Gospel, observes that too often Christians look as if they were coming back from a funeral. This is no way for Chrisitans to live or to evangelize.  Others must see the joy and life of the Gospel in us, if we are to bear witness to Christ.  

The pope writes, "Life is attained and matures in the measure that it is offered up in order to give life to others. An evangelizer must never look like someone who is just come back from a funeral! Let us recover and deepen our enthusiasm, the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing."

Personally I am an introvert and have a melancholic temperament. So I tend to be introspective and serious. That is why I have to remind myself to be joyful. I make a conscious effort not to be consumed with worries or problems, but to have faith and live the fullness of life with joy so as to bear witness to Christ and bring glory to God.  

We have good reasons to be joyful when we reflect on the love and generosity of God and his gift of eternal life. The more joyful we are, the more we will uplift others and please the Lord, and the more he will bless us.  

The first six points are more a way of being - they deal more with the inner disposition and attitude. The next six points, however, are more about the way of doing - they include taking external actions.