Joy: Gaudete Sunday, Joy Sunday!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again, rejoice!" -Philippians 4:4.

Gaudete Sunday Mass is one of my favorite liturgical celebrations all year! Clearly, because of the ties with Joy, and the pink/rose liturgical color, and the fact that it's during my favorite season of Advent, but also because I feel like I always am given a new insight of some sort during this week. So let's see what we discover today and this week.

The quote above is not today's responsorial psalm, but it nevertheless clearly embodies the message of joy.  The call to rejoice and verses following this urging (verses 4-8, NAB) are:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again, rejoice!

Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, 

make your requests known to God.

Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your 

hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

It seems to follow, then, that joy for Paul (and the members of the Church in Philippi) is a kind of joy that is complete because of kindness that is visible to everyone.  They rejoice because the Lord is near (although their understanding of "near" was more of an eschatological "near"-- Paul believed that the Second Coming was imminent-- it was coming ANY DAY!).  The joy they embody has no room for anxieties.  He instructs them to pray with petition and thanksgiving so that the peace of God will be bestowed on them.  Why do I love this? A few reasons: first of all, Paul stresses thanksgiving as part of rejoicing.  Secondly, because it shows how important reflection is to fully receive the gift of joy.  

Thanksgiving: Countless times in the Scriptures, Jesus prays to the Father in thanksgiving: after the raising of Lazarus in the Gospel of John and the multiplication of the loaves in Mark, for example.  Thanksgiving is the vocal response to a gift.  Having a joyful attitude of abundance includes living a life in which gifts are recognized as gifts-- that all is seen as gift.  Christ came so that humans “might have life and have it more abundantly.”  It should be no surprise, then, that the very word Catholics use for the Sacrament of the Altar is eucharist, thanksgiving—Jesus freely offers himself as sacrifice, and the only appropriate response is gratitude. Jesus does not insist on this childlike ‘say please’, ‘say thank you’, because otherwise the gifts would be refused, but in order that they may be recognized as gifts. Michael Downey writes that " all that I am and all that I have is first and finally gift.  Prayer is a way of living with, in, and from that gift."  Living within a spirit of thanksgiving induces joy because how else can we respond to gifts, but with an attitude of joy and appreciation?

Reflection: Joy is an equal-opportunity gift and virtue: introverts and extroverts get pieces of this pie. Although many times when I think of joy, I think of an extroverted zeal for life, I am reminded by this passage that joy also holds a highly reflective message. Joy is not only happiness or giddiness, which are more superficial, but joy is a deeply rooted way of being. A way o living in childlike expectation of things that "we could never have asked for or imagined." And there is an element of reflection in that. Perhaps this is why the Willowtree People statue "Joy" looks like this:

Yep. She looks like she is thinking about "these things" -- the true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious things that Paul speaks of.... and I'd also take a gander that she's also contemplating the beautiful. So, as we wait in joyful hope this Advent, let's not forget that joy an thanksgiving go hand-in-hand and that reflection is needed both in our interior hearts and our outward actions.

So Happy Gaudete Sunday and Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe! :) Awesome.

On a totally separate note, I found this amazing blog, run by a sister-- Sister Mary Martha, in fact. I love how she writes with humor, wit, and loving insights. Here's one from way back in 2007 about the Sisters in Habit Situation: Ask Sister Mary Martha  Enjoy! 

Peace,

-Michelle

(And yes, I borrowed the great Advent wreath graphic from Villanova's Office of Mission and Ministry website. Thank you, Chris Janosik. He does a great job with the website!)