Joy is the virtue most associated with Christmas. And liturgically, the Church shows that we can barely hold back our joy that Christmas is so near. Even in the priest’s vestments and the third candle on the advent wreath, we combine purple, the advent Color, and white, the Christmas color, to give us the rose color that is unique to this Gaudete Sunday. We rejoice, for the Lord is near.
What is joy? C.S. Lewis, the wonderful Christian author, well-known for his “Chronicles of Narnia”, books like “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” wrote a sort of spiritual autobiography, in which he details his conversion to Christianity from Atheism—a book titled “Surprised by Joy”. In it, Lewis describes how every human being who’s ever existed desires joy—we crave it, we are on an eternal quest for joy—an insight certainly consistent with the likes of Augustine and Aquinas. Yet, joy, Lewis admits, seems to be the most elusive of the virtues: we are all searching for it, but few seem to find enduring joy. The authentically and fully joyful person is rare.
Lewis explains that joy is often so elusive and hard to find, because so many people are looking for joy “out there”— in things—as if joy can be acquired if I just obtain the right object, or the right amount of cash in my bank account, in some earthly thing or activity or set of circumstances. Earthly pleasures are inadequate substitutes for the joy was so long for.
This is why I think we are sort of relieved when Christmas is over. We become so focused on the earthly busyness—shopping, decorating, and baking, and the material things like playstations, and televisions and new wardrobe, that when everything is over we are left exhausted.
No, “Joy does not come from out there,” Lewis says, rather “Joy comes from in here.” Joy comes into the heart when we are in right relationship with God—joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Only when the heart is firmly planted in Christ and doing the works of Christ, will the fruit of joy truly bloom.
No doubt the saints are the great exemplars of Joy. I think, particularly of St. Clare of Assisi. Saint Clare is a great example of one who knew that joy is not found in things but in falling in love with Christ. Clare was the modern day equivalent of a princess: living in a castle, betrothed to a prince, she had every material thing should could have wanted—fancy dresses, servants to wait on her. Yet, she, like St. Francis, gave up all of her earthly possessions in order to possess true joy through a life of prayer—by learning to keep the focus of her heart, not on a million passing things, but on the one thing—the one person that matters most.
The cloistered nuns over on Rocky River Dr, the Poor Clares follow the example of St. Clare, they live in cloister—separate from the world of things—to dedicate themselves to prayerful adoration of the Lord. These nuns, the Poor Clares, through the Vows of their Religious Profession, consecrate their entire lives to Adoring Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, as St. Clare did in simplicity, prayer, penance, and seclusion.
This group of women, the Poor Clares along with the hundreds of cloistered orders around the world, from an earthly point of view, should be very sad. They don’t have any money, the sisters individually don’t have bank accounts or a check book. The sisters don’t have any personal possessions—they’ve probably never even held a cell phone or ipad or watched Netflix. They aren’t free to go out to the movie theater or to a baseball game or to the opera or to take a vacation to the Bahamas or Disney World.
From an earthly point of view, the Poor Clares should have no joy. But yet—they’re full of joy—they are always smiling, they are always laughing, they always have an uplifting, encouraging word—you count yourself blessed for having met them.
Sure, the accumulation of things and degrees and awards and notoriety bring us some passing satisfaction. But the poor Clares and many like them are full of joy not because of what they obtained out there, but cultivating of fiery love for Jesus Christ in here.
Another important thing to remember about Joy is that it Joy is a virtue, that means it increases and increases the more we practice it and cultivate it.
I heard of a young priest, newly ordained, who was considering leaving the priesthood, because after less than a year he hadn’t developed perfect joy. Visiting the sick and teaching catechism and celebrating the sacraments didn’t bring him this ecstasy that he thought it was going to. The honeymoon phase was over, as we say. But, the older priests will tell you that, joy doesn’t just happen overnight, it is cultivated, and must be done patiently.
Real joy is obtained only after persevering through a period of dryness, remaining faithful to God in the midst of the spiritual battle, when we resist the temptation to seek our happiness in those passing satisfactions.
Joy is possible. Our religion works, if you work it. As they say.
I saw a recently published study about mental health in our country after a these months and months of COVID. The article examined the mental health and experience of depression amongst different segments of our current society, and it was abundantly clear that the one real group in this country whose mental health is pretty good right now are people who go to church every week and pray every day.
How is this possible? Because our religion works. Our faith puts us in contact with the source of joy and helps us identify the attitudes and behaviors that diminish joy. Christians take St. paul at his word, when he writes, “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks” and we find that it works.
Fasting from things you don’t need. Persevering daily in prayer. Even in difficult times turning to God with grateful hearts for the blessings which fill our lives. Finding new and creative ways to engage in the works of charity despite our limitations, it works. It brings a joy that can’t be found in a pill or a playstation. You see less divorce among Catholics who go to Church every Sunday, you see less drug use and alcoholism, you see less addiction, and this new report shows that you see less mental health decline during a time of turmoil.
Now that doesn’t mean we have less drama, or less tragedy, or less suffering, in fact, maybe just the opposite. And yet, fidelity to the doctrines and practices of our faith brings a resiliency and a joy that even the scientific community finds intriguing.
Joy is a net which catches souls. It is the undeniable sign of the Holy Spirit in one’s life. So cultivate joy. Pray daily. Persevere through the dry times. Don’t stop praying just because it gets hard. Practice the works of charity. Don’t stop looking for ways to give and to help those in need just because COVID places certain limitations on our activity. God provides plenty of opportunities for us to grow in Joy even during times of captivity and persecution.
Throughout these final weeks of Advent, may the Holy Spirit free us from all that diminishes our joy, may he preserve us throughout times of discouragement, that we may cultivate true, authentic, and undeniable Christian joy as we await the coming of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
No comments:
Post a Comment