Today’s short Gospel is often chosen for wedding masses by the couples, perhaps because they are hoping for a short homily due to the short length of the reading. Most likely, and I’d like to think, it is because the couples are truly hoping for a joy filled marriage. Jesus, in the Gospel promises joy to those who remain united to Him.
So, why are so many marriages ending in unhappiness and divorce, why does the joy of the wedding day so quickly evaporates. Why in the last 30 years has the number of Americans taking antidepressants increased 400%? Why in the greatest country on earth are citizens unhappier than ever? What accounts for the 40 thousand suicide attempts in this country every year? When our deepest desire is for joy, why are we so joy-less?
Joy is the by-product of a life lived with God at the center. Possibly never before has a culture been so preoccupied with feeling good, pleasure-seeking, and selfish pursuits, and so far from the authentic joy that comes from God. We push God out of politics, education, and family life, and why wonder why our country is so miserable and our fellow citizens acting like beasts.
Bishop Lennon wrote a fantastic article for the universe bulletin on Marriage, titled “Marriage, a Sacrament of Conversion”. In it he wrote that a couple will develop a shared spirituality that encompasses the whole of the married life. If that life is centered on a false God of prosperity, prestige, or mere pursuit of the good life—they will likely reap a harvest of exhaustion and unhappiness. But married couples who place Christ at the center of life, including Him in their weekly schedules and activities, meals, chores, conversations, parenting, work, vacations, civic responsibilities, decisions, problems, crises, accomplishments, losses—the whole of their lives become changed and charged with God’s presence.
The question is, do we really want the Joy that Jesus promises or rather the cheap, temporary, empty joy that comes from the world? Joy is a gift from God, but it also requires a lot of work on our part. For to obtain the Joy Jesus promises we have to become unselfish and die to ourselves—we must obey God in all things, seeking what He wants, rather than what we want.
Perhaps there is such a lack of joy in the world because Christians are failing in seeking the joy that comes from Christ.
May we open our hearts to the joy that comes from deep union with Our Lord, through the enlightening of our minds by His truth, seeking Him in fervent prayer, and perfect charity. Lord Jesus, give us this joy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls
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