The Horror of the Cross
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I don’t know about you but this seems unrealistic to me. I mean, how can one be joyful all the time? That would probably actually even get on people’s nerves. I am choosing to write about this today because I myself have been fighting some feelings of sadness and gloominess. So, this notion of Christian Joyfulness I am finding a bit perplexing.
Pope Francis recently commented that a Christian without joy has poor spiritual health. Wow! How can that be? I attend Mass a few times a week, as well as Sunday and spend time weekly in Eucharistic Adoration. I have prioritized my prayer time and rarely miss my daily Rosary, sometimes I pray this wonderful prayer twice. I genuinely love the Lord and strive to have a personal relationship with him. I am actively involved in community service and devote my time to spread God’s word and love to others. How can being sad mean I am not a good Christian?
Well, it doesn’t really mean that at all. Pope Francis is referring to an inner spiritual joy that is present within us through Grace. This joy enters us when we invoke and invite the Holy Spirit to dwell within our heart and soul. This Grace enables us to remain joyful even in the midst of sadness, grief, and even devastation. We can do this because we know and feel the living presence of God in our Spirit and are confident in the knowledge that it is only his joy and love that will remain forever with us. The feelings of sadness, despair, loneliness and grief are temporary and will not last. This joyfulness gives us the courage and strength to always remain faithful, and allows his light to shines forth within us and through us. It is a light always more bright and visible amid the darkness. It is a light that attracts those around us like moths to a flame, hopefully kindling a spark within other hearts and spirits. This joyfulness is the greatest venue for evangelization. It also provides us wonderful opportunities to offer all our suffering up to God in prayer and thanksgiving, because it is redemptive and purifies us.
So, as you start your day, reflect that it is indeed the day the Lord has made, and we should be glad and rejoice in it, and be joyful!
I am a wife and mother of two grown sons. Although I am Cradle Catholic, I experienced a profound reversion to the True faith several years ago that motivated and inspired me to dive more deeply into an understanding of the Church and Her teachings, and why She has these teachings and where they come from. Surprisingly, for me, the more I read and discovered, the deeper my love of the Catholic Church and her teachings became. This certainly is a journey that doesn't end, and so as I uncover more amazing facts about our Faith and Church, I just can't help but want to share what I'm learning. So, I began writing for Catholic 365.
I have recently served for a year and a half as the Executive Director of a very active and busy Crisis Pregnancy Center on the West side of Cincinnati. God is so good and does answers prayers, even though He knows at times, we have no idea what we are asking for. The pro life cause is paramount to our times, I am so honored and humbled to have had the experience and opportunity to serve women and the unborn in this capacity! I am also very grateful to God, for allowing me to see for myself, that perhaps such a calling was not His long term plan for me. We go where God seeminly calls us, and for me, that was a return to corporate America. I currently work as a recruiter and sales onboarding specialist where I am helping a Franchising company open and support small businesses that serve seniors and the elderly, giving them opportunities to age in place and live thier final chapters with dignity. It is the other end of the pro life spectrum and such an amazing endeavor!
I love being able to share this great faith of ours and use this platform as a way to express my deep love and devotion to our Lord. We need each other, and this effort has truly become a wonderful way to connect with all of you- my brothers and sisters in Christ!
