We hear in many of the Gospels, Jesus talking about true joy; and this made me wonder - what exactly is true joy. So, the last time I was with my Spiritual Director, I asked her - what did Jesus mean when he talked about true joy - and isn't joy and happiness the same thing?Well her answer surprised me a bit, though once I thought about it, it made sense. Happiness comes from the actions and things of this world - it is a feeling -- as when you look outside to a pleasant sunny morning or perhaps you are in a public place and you look down at your child to see them actually behaving or your husband puts his socks in the laundry without being asked - or even greater - your husband puts his dirty dish in the dishwasher instead of just leaving it in the sink (yes, this would be a wonder and would bring great happiness in my home - lol.) But all those things which brings happiness is based on the weather and the behavior of another person. It could be when you score the perfect outfit - or you ordered something on line and when it came it actually fit - trust me - that would be true happiness. But happiness can be diminished and even disappear by other's actions too.
But joy can only come from the Lord - it has nothing to do with the actions of things in this world - in fact it has nothing really to do with our physical actions - it is a product of God's love for us and of our love for Him. And that is what it is connected to - Love. God's love is eternal, unfathomably great - it is always there - it is constant -- and the more we love God and do His Will - the more joy we receive - for our hearts and souls are then in sync with the Father. And joy - cannot go away based on our mood or our actions - or lack of actions -- it is a permanent fixture.
I can have happiness without great love - you cannot have joy without it.
Well, as I said this all seemed to make sense once I thought about it - but I wanted to do a little research on joy and happiness. And I wanted to know what it truly is based on in Catholic teaching- so I turned to two sources - Pope Francis and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. And here is what I found:
Pope Francis in his homily of May 31, 2014 said "likened this joy given by God to the joy a mother embracing her baby after childbirth, because it is a joy 'purified' by the suffering of labor. The joy of the Christians, is a 'joy in hope.'"
And in the Catechism I found "Joy can be described as a more complete, ecstatic, consuming passion where happiness is an emotion/a feeling. Happiness is our response to events in this world/outside influences we find happiness is a response to happenstance, contentment, good luck, prosperity or good fortune, Happiness is connected with pleasure." CCC 1723, 1720, 301
Pope Francis put joy it in terms all mother's can understand; that immense feeling of new life coming into the world and how it is tied to our hope in the Father; and the Catechism gave a good explanation of happiness and how it is connected with pleasure and not joy.
So, what does all this mean to me right now - right here on earth - typing my blog on my kitchen table? Well, for one thing - I know that joy is something I want; it is not something I can get by my actions or the actions of others - and I know I want to receive as much of the Father's love as one could receive. I want to experience complete joy! And as a bonus - come this Christmas - when we will sing "Joy to the World," I will know we are actually singing "God's Love Comes in to the World."
