joy
Rejoice
Easter Sunday 2022
Deacon Tom Vert
Preached: April 17, 2022
“This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad!”
This refrain from the psalm we sung today is to me the best description of how Easter is to feel for us.
We rejoice, we are happy, smiles are bigger, hugs are tighter, the sun seems brighter and the world a better place!
Why?
Not because we get to have chocolate or coffee or desserts again that we gave up for Lent, though that is nice!
No – it’s because on this day, we celebrate Jesus conquering death and the gift of eternal life opened for each and every one of us!
The three days in the tomb are over, the stone is rolled away and life is never the same again!
The Son of God has risen; the Christian faith begins from this solid foundation and never turns back.
We rejoice also because we are thankful – the first verse of the psalm is actually:
“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”
We thank God for all the blessings He has bestowed on us – especially how he hears us – we rejoice in these phrases from the psalm:
“I called on the Lord – and he answered me”
“The Lord is at my side – I do not fear”
“The Lord is at my side to help me”
“The Lord is my strength and my might”
These verses speak of a close relationship – a close connection. This is what we have been aiming at for these past forty days. Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving – we get closer to God and the path He has chosen for us.
We are becoming more and more reliant on His strength and His steadfast love!
I love the word “steadfast” in this verse – it means unwavering, unfaltering, persistent, firm, loyal and dedicated.
God’s steadfast love never wavers – it is available to us as we go through the trials and challenges of life.
And this is why we rejoice – and the word “rejoice” here is the Greek word – “chairo” –, which means to rejoice because we have a close relationship with God. We recognize and embrace His steadfast love.
This is not a stranger we have heard about or an acquaintance we casually meet – but we are to rejoice because we have a God who walks with us side by side on our journey of faith.
We have a God who wants to be as close to us as our own spouses and children, a God who wants to talk to us each and every day and help guide us to be more like him.
He makes himself available to transform us, little by little, step by step, closer and closer till we become “Christ-like”! This past Lent and truly every past Lent give us this time of focus to allow God to transform our hearts little by little.
This is His promise – I will never leave you or forsake you! I am there for you – all you have to do is ask!
This gift of joy is given to us in our baptisms and we renew it again!
In the Scriptures we are told that this gift of joy not only makes us happy but also helps to transform us!
Joy we are told can do five things:
- It makes it easier to pray – when we are in a joyful spirit, it is easier to take a few minutes and spend time with God
- It also makes us more open to the Word of God – in a joyful spirit we can listen to God’s word and He speaks to us and we are able to hear His message, as we are not clouded or distracted or frustrated with all the other things in life!
- If we are joyful, we find it easier to care for others in our lives as we are less self-focused but instead more other focused.
- When we are joyful, it is easier to forgive – if we remember the story of the prodigal son – the Father rejoiced and celebrated when his son returned – it is hard to hold a grudge when you are filled with joy and love
- And finally, when we are full of joy – it is easier to give thanks! If we think to our own lives this is true. I would say the 3 most joyful days of my own life were my wedding day and the days my two children were born. How much more joyful and thankful could I have been – I don’t think much – its this overwhelming feeling of happiness – and that is what we are called to today – give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His steadfast love endures forever!
Remember that the Greek word for thanksgiving is “eucharistia” or the Eucharist!
This is what we celebrate at mass – we give thanks for everything that God does in our lives – we thank God for being available to us, even when we sometimes aren’t looking for Him or even ignore Him – he is still there – he is still calling to us – come to me when you are weary and weak and I will give you rest!
We have so many things to give thanks for and so we want to praise God!
And so we sing “Alleluia”!
Alleluia is a conversion of the Hebrew phrase to praise Yahweh – or praise God.
We say or sing Alleluia in so many ways during this Easter season, every song, every prayer, we add it on.
It’s like loading your plate at the Mandarin buffet!! You keep loading it on!!
We load on Alleluia because we are joyful, we are happy, we are thankful and so we praise God for all he has done before, but also, just as importantly, for everything He is still doing now!
This is the day!!
The psalm does not say, “That was the day” as if it was only historical; or “one day soon” as if it’s only in the future to be happy – but instead “this is the day” the Lord has made!
There is an important message here for us – to live each day, one day at a time – to live in the present and make the most of it.
If we live in the past or focus too much on the past, it can hold us back from becoming who we are supposed to be. Some times we can live in the past and think that the “baggage” of our life holds us back from doing great things.
If we live in fear or worry about the future, it can paralyze us from enjoying what today can bring us.
The psalm tells us the Lord is our strength close at hand – we are to put our confidence in Him!
This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad!
And as Christians, we are called not only to live this message, but also to share it!
In the first reading St Peter tells us – we are witnesses! And we are called to testify to the truth, the story, and the message of God! This is not a message to the 12 apostles only, but a message to each and every one of us!
In the gospels we are told that Mary Magdalene and the disciples ran to spread the message of Christ risen from the dead. They didn’t saunter back or talk to people weeks later – they ran!
In our baptism we are called to be the running messengers – we are called to spread the message of joy!
It is truly a great message for the world right now as people have so many worries and are so busy each and every day.
The message of God’s steadfast love being available in trying times is one that we all need and one that we are all called to share. We are called to reach out in even the smallest of ways to let others know that God loves them.
It might be as small as a smile, or maybe to just stop and listen with 100% attention. Or maybe someone needs to a small visit or help around the house.
Each of these examples shows God’s joy by taking the focus away from ourselves and instead to shine the light on someone who needs us!
In the second reading we heard the same thing – “seek the things that are above”! Seek the message of joy – seek God’s love that is waiting for you!
So I ask you to make a mental note that as you start each day as you stand in front of the mirror – say this to yourself:
This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad!
Joy Amidst Uncertainty
Feast Of The Holy Family 2020
Deacon Robin Mendonca
Posted: December 27, 2020
The Holy Family lived During a Time of Uncertainty
When we think of the Holy Family, of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we tend to think that here is the perfect family. The images we see during the Christmas season of the nativity scene are quite endearing, however, the gospels show us Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived in a time of great uncertainty. In many ways their times and our times have some similarities. They might not have been in a lockdown because of COVID-19 but there was lots of political turmoil, religious persecution and economic uncertainty.
Remember just a couple days ago on December 25 we celebrated the King of the universe being born, not in a hospital or in a palace, but in a dirty, smelly stable surrounded by farm animals.
These types of uncertainties are a part of our lives as well
These types of uncertainties that we see in the life of holy family are things that we too also experience because our own families and our own individual lives can have lots of uncertainty. And uncertainty can be something that is quite painful and can cause a lot of mental anguish especially when we stop to think about all the various areas from which this uncertainty can come from be it our health, the strength of relationships within our families, our financial position or the prospect of what the future holds for us.
With this we can wonder, what’s this upcoming new year going to be like? What’s the next few years going to look like? Will we get back to normal? What’s my job going to look like? What’s school going to look like? Am I going to be happy? Fulfilled? How am I going to manage? And so on.
The only certainty we have is the past
In many ways, what we’re seeking is certainty with our lives and certainty with what the future holds. But that’s a real challenge because, try as hard as we possibly can, we can never guarantee ourselves a future which is free of ambiguity. In some ways the past tends to be more certain than the future.
Because when we look back at the past we can realize how we’ve been guided to where we are today, we can see the various obstacles that we’ve been able to get through and the blessings that we’ve received along the way. But also, we tend to remember the past because the past is certain, and we know we can’t change it. Think about how we like to tell old stories and reminisce about fond memories.
One of the reasons we do this is because, first off, we can look at those things in the past and think about what we like about them and how they made us feel. I’m not saying that all past memories are good memories but we’re using this as an illustration to show that generally speaking the past has a certainty to it whereas the future tends to carry more uncertainty. And when it comes to the future, we can let the lack of security and the lack of certainty steal our joy from us. But is there a way to have joy even when things are uncertain?
Joy in uncertainty?
Well I think scripture shows us that this is certainly possible. Think about the time when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would be the mother of Jesus. The angel simply came, announced this news, Mary submitted to the Lord’s will and then the Angel left. No other instruction on how to handle the fact that she was pregnant was provided to Mary. No instruction was provided to her on how she would break this news to Joseph, her fiancé was provided. No preparation was given about how she and Joseph would raise Jesus.
She wasn’t told that Jesus would be born in a stable in Bethlehem, that three wise men would come visit them, that Jesus would get lost in Jerusalem, that St. Joseph would die an early death and that would eventually Jesus would die on the cross. None of this was revealed. Mary and Joseph had to take things day by day and have FAITH that God was present in their lives.[1]
Faith is the Answer
And now the same is true for us. Just like the Holy Family who had to have faith that God was with them, so do we have to have faith that God is with us, within us and is in control of our lives especially during this time of pandemic, lockdown and isolation. And this is the key to having joy amidst uncertainty. Now faith is a virtue and virtues are gifts from God but that doesn’t mean we have no part to play. On our part it takes practice and growing in the habit of this virtue.
There are various ways that we can grow in faith but here are two ways we can grow in this. First, it is important that we vigilant over our thoughts. St, Paul, in Corinthians, teaches us that Christians have the ability to replace negative thoughts with godly thoughts.[2] And secondly, we must PRAY because faith in the end is a relationship with God and faith means really believing that the God who made us loves us more than we can ever imagine that he has our life in control and that he will never lead us where His grace will not sustain us.
Today and always, let us ask for the intercession of the Holy Family so that like them we can rejoice in our joyful moments and continue to have that joy even amidst uncertainty.
[1] Talk given by Fr. Mike Schmitz from Ascension Presents
[2] 1 Cor. 2:16
The Path To Joy
3rd Sunday Of Advent 2019
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: December 15, 2019
Someone once said that there is only one relevant spiritual question. What do you think is that one spiritual question? “Why aren’t you dancing for joy at this very moment?”
Are you dancing for joy in your heart at this moment? This Third Sunday of Advent is also known as Gaudete or Rejoice Sunday. Perhaps we might say, “how can I be joyful? I amgrieving right now, or I was just divorced, or I have an illness, or I am unemployed, or any of the many other challenges that we might be facing right now.
But, joy is not a feeling, it is a choice. It is something deep in the heart rooted in a trust in the goodness of God. It is possible to be sad and still have joy deep in our heart, to be grieving and still have joy deep in our heart.
Pope Francis has written two major documents to the church. One is called, The Joy of the Gospel and the other is called, The Joy of Love. The Joy of the Gospel offers a vision for the church in our world today. The Joy of Love offers a vision for marriage and family life in our world today. Both are rooted in the joy that comes when we place our lives into the hands of the Lord with trust.
How do we live as a people of joy, how do we maintain joy deep in our heart during the struggles of life? The Prophet Isaiah, St. James and Jesus each give us some important keys to being people of joy in our readings today.
In the first reading, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of rejoicing, joy, gladness. Isaiah says to speak to those who are struggling, “Be strong, do not fear!” How often do we hear those words throughout the Bible, “Do not fear!” When we allow fear to rule us, it becomes an obstacle to joy.
When we are ruled by fear, it leads us away from love and away from God. Fear can lead us to act against what we know to be good and true. When you see racism, prejudice, bigotry, you can know that the root of these attitudes towards others, is fear. This leads us away from joy. So, first step to keeping joy in our heart is to hear those words of Isaiah, “Be strong, do not fear!”
In the second reading, St. James says “Be patient.” Our time is not God’s time. We are pilgrims, this is not our eternal home. We are on a journey to our true home. We need to be patient when faced with dark moments, difficult times, when we are feeling empty and dry.
I remember being in a desert while visiting the Holy Land. When you looked around in that desert there was just sand, rocks, empty fields that seemed to have no life. But, a week later following a rare rain storm, in that same desert, beautifully coloured flowers bloomed and came to life. That desert that seemed so dead before was now so full of life.
In our lives at times, we have moments when we feel empty, life seems so hard, our relationship with God seems to dry up completely. Then we need to listen to St. James, “Be patient.” Deep down is a new life able to bloom. Be patient and wait for the rain that God will bring, then that joy deep in our heart can come forth again.
In the Gospel, Jesus says to some of the disciples of John the Baptist who came to ask him if he was the one who is to come, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” To have joy deep within us, we need to allow Jesus to come and heal us.
Some of us are blind. We see others, we see life in a way that is hard and resentful. We need to see in a new way, to see with the merciful eyes of God.
Some of us are lame. We have been paralyzed by some situation, a failure, a disappointment. We need to find the strength and hope to get up again and live life with new enthusiasm.
Some of us are lepers. We have cut ourselves off from others and isolated ourselves. We need to be cleansed and reach out to others, be connected again to family and community.
Some of us are deaf. We need to be healed in order to listen to others, to hear the anguish and hurt from people in our family, our workplace, our community.
Some of us are dead. We are not living life, but simply going through the motions. We need to be raised up again to embrace life more fully.
Some of us are poor. Life seems only to be bad news for us. We need to have good news brought to us.
The one relevant spiritual question for all of us is, “Why are you not dancing for joy at this very moment.” We the People of God are called to be a People of Joy.
The path to joy is not to be ruled by fear, but to be patient when in the dark moments of life and to be open to the good news that Jesus brings.
Do not fear, be patient, receive good news. Choose that joy that is lying deep within your heart, allow it to bloom and come to life.