What is the source of our joy as Christians? We cannot seek our ultimate joy in temporal pleasures, financial gains, successes in our endeavors, favorable relationships, material things, pleasant experiences, etc. These joys, innocent as they may be, cannot satisfy us.
The joy of the Christian is the joy of salvation, i.e., the joy that comes from experiencing the Savior’s presence and saving actions in our lives. We find this joy when we receive His mercy and forgiveness, experiencing the power of His grace. We keep this joy by paying attention to what He is doing within us, for He promises: “My joy will be in you, and your joy will be complete” (Jn. 15:11). We are fulfilled in this joy when we are transformed by that grace and become who He calls us to be.
But how can we receive this joy of salvation when we are discouraged or do not feel the Savior’s presence in our lives?
Firstly, be attentive to Jesus’ presence and actions within you.
The psalmist says, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). We need to cultivate inner silence in order to be attentive to the saving actions of Jesus within us and to cooperate with Him in them. We must be both attentive to and anticipating with hope these saving actions. We must take care not to be focused exclusively on what is happening to us from without, from our environment—as this will impede us from seeing the work Jesus is doing within us.
As a model of holiness, we can learn from Mary, who found joy in all circumstances of her life because, no matter what she was going through, she “kept all these things pondering them in her heart” (Lk. 2:19).
Secondly, seek to mature in your trust in Jesus.
Jesus said, “Blessed is he who does not take offense at me.” He knows that many of us will take offense at Him, because life can be unfair, and we do not get the things that we want. We do not always sense God’s love or see Him acting in the way that we expect Him to act.
Our disappointment or “offense” can lead to many things. We might give up on our prayer life or desist from frequent reception of the sacraments of the Eucharist or Confession. We might become rebellious and give in to a life of sin. We might abandon our life of service because if God’s not working for us, then why should we work for others?
Amidst these temptations, we ought to remember the scriptures, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Is. 55:8). With practice, we can perceive these moments of chaos in our lives as divine invitations to mature in our trust in God. The more that we trust in Him in these moments, the more we are open to the joy of our salvation.
Thirdly, practice patient love.
St. James remarked about patient love, “You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is near.” Such patient love allows us to recognize what the Savior is doing in our lives and to cooperate with Him. We should follow the examples of the prophets when it comes to practicing patience with God in His actions in our lives, as we are instructed, “Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.”
We should also be patient with ourselves and with others; “Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged” (Jas. 5:7-10). We cannot be saints overnight, and we also cannot demand the same from others. The more patient that we are with God, ourselves, and others, the more that we can experience the joy of salvation and sense the Savior working within us.
In the Eucharist, Christ, the one-and-only Savior, is present and active in us, no matter what we are experiencing in our lives. He is always doing something to fill us with His love and life and make us more like Himself. Let us pay attention to what He is doing within us, cooperate with Him, and we will no longer miss out on experiencing the profound joy of salvation.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Photo by Joanna Wheeler on Unsplash
