“I HAVE TOLD YOU THIS SO THAT MY JOY MIGHT BE IN YOU AND YOUR JOY MIGHT BE COMPLETE.” JN 15:9-11
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.” JN 15:9-11
St. Thomas Aquinas says, “Joy comes from hope and proceeds from love”. He further adds, “Joy is full, when there is nothing more to desire”. He continues in the Summa Theologica, “Hence desire will be at rest, not only our desire for God, but all our desires: so that the joy of the blessed is full to perfection–indeed over-full, since they will obtain more than they were capable of desiring: for “neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).”
Joy is an interesting thing. There is no opposite to joy. Everything I can think of in this world has an opposite, but not joy. Unless we think of spiritual garbage or hell as it’s opposite-Peter Kreeft
The only way joy can be taken away from you is if you stop believing or give up hope and do not love. I can be running on the coldest day in the middle of winter with no leaves and dead grass around me, but still have joy (I still believe Jesus Christ resurrected and saved me). I can be sick on the couch for a week, but still have joy. I can be fasting and still have joy. I can be going through depression and still have joy.
Joy leaps forth from love and hope, a never ending firm belief that we are saved. It can be snatched by the Devil only if you let Him by giving up hope and not loving. Our joy will be complete when we no longer desire God, we will be with Him forever in heaven and our joy will be over-filled because we had no idea how awesome the goodness of God is. God is love, love wills the good of the other and does something about it. God always wills our good and is constantly full of joy.
Today’s challenge: Follow the commandments, pray, believe, hope, love, and never let anyone or anything steal your joy!
Suffering brings joy! St. Francis and his brothers would look for suffering in the most radical ways and deny themselves every comfort in radical ways. They were full of joy!
Perfect Joy according to St. Francis of Assisi
http://www.missa.org/joie_parfaite_e.php
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
Who are we in Christ? What is our true identity? So often we lose sight of who we really are thanks to life and society. When we lose who we are, we can no longer love others. “Love your neighbor as yourself,” to love our neighbor, we first must learn and love who God made us to be. Each and every one of us are beautifully made in God’s image and likeness to love and to be loved. We are all wonderful sons and daughters of Christs and by acting out his words each day through our lives, we might be able to share that love. “In you I find my worth in you I find my identity.” Our identity is so important yet still many people overlook it. Your identity is the fact of being who/what you are. You are a child of God. You will always be loved no matter what you do or how much you have been through. You are always loved. You are never forgotten. The world may try to make us lose sight of what we are, but we have to hold on to the truth. You are a beloved child of God.
We do not understand how good God is, and likely never will during our time on Earth. We have no idea how much we are truly loved, and that is just a fact, God loves us more than we can comprehend. God loves us so much, and all we have to do is keep having faith and keep loving, and we will have joy.
I am a daughter of God, made in His image and likeness. I was made to love and be loved by God. This is my identity as a Christian. God has revealed the mystery of our identity through the scriptures. He sent forth His Son to guide us to him. He wanted to set an example for us. He’s given us the free will to be a follower of Christ. My free will is a part of the identity that Christ has given me.
the part that stuck out to me was when Jesus said “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” This part stuck out to me because Jesus is telling us that his father loves him so much and if we keep the commandments and follow God’s will we will be loved by Jesus as well.