And Her Name Is Joy

Lately, I have been meditating on the virtue of charity and the peace it brings.

“The fruits of charity are joy, peace and mercy…it fosters reciprocity…” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1829).

In other words, loving others leads to joy, peace, and mercy. It also opens up others’ hearts towards’ the giver and inclines one to be more willing to help him/her out in the future.

I am gifted with a tremendously generous mother who is always showering love upon me in a thousand little ways. Most recently, she brought me back an ornament that is a cardinal with a green shiny hat on it that says, “Joy.” Now, I have developed a love for cardinals since I heard that a saintly young wife and mother that passed away last year loved them. I also love the color red since it is so dramatic. Seeing these birds is so rare that it is a pleasant surprise to see one any time. Walking through my neighborhood, if I see one, I quickly text a mutual friend of the woman that passed away. It’s a sign of connection and comfort for those who have lost loved ones.

Even now, as I am writing this, the cardinal is perched on my desk, cheerily encouraging me in my work. The word “JOY” in all capital letters is the virtue that our local saint radiated. I was not even close friends with her but saw her beautiful smile and the outpouring of affection she had from friends due to all the good works she did.

I understand how love is linked to joy and peace, for I get the same type of light feeling after an intense work-out that I get after an hour of volunteering at my church parish. Any time I look outside of my little world and extend my arms to others, I feel on top of the world and like life has meaning again.

Mercy is related to reciprocity for me. I just came back from serving food to our Church Christmas decorating committee, not because I don’t have a million other things to do two days before Christmas but because of the law of reciprocity. One of the women that graciously opens her home to us for our weekly gospel reflections asked the group if we would help. I went because I knew that she would do the same for me in a heartbeat. I also had the experience of volunteers showing up unexpectedly to help me with tedious details for church projects when I worked for the church years ago. Because I was helped and received mercy, it was easier to give mercy.

There is nothing like personal experience to drive home a particular point.

References

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2^nd ed. Retrieved from http://ccc.usccb.org/flipbooks/catechism/index.html#468/z