Joy of being - a Lenten resolve.

Lent is fast approaching!  Yesterday in CCD class, I instructed my 8th grade students to review the virtues which we have been studying the past few weeks, and choose one to especially reflect upon and practice throughout Lent. Of course, a good teacher should exemplify the truths that she teaches, most particularly in religion, right? ;) As I have mentioned a time or two before, joy is a virtue that I often reflect upon, am working towards, and pray for the grace to make it more of an immediate habit. My intense focus and fast-moving mind (and probably lack of enough sleep due to a nursing baby) often causes me to react to situations and interactions with far less cheerfulness, positivism, and grace than I should. My husband gently reminded me of this recently, and as I have been pondering what things to focus on improving during Lent, his suggestions feel opportune. I desire true joy of being so that I may radiate more of our Lord's joy to those I encounter, so they may know the depth of His eternal mercy and love. This, I strongly feel, is our special business as women; to impart joy, beauty, and love to our fellow man and the world around us. We were created with a soul and body that desires to love, a spirit that seeks to create and beautify, and a mind that quickly perceives what is needed to achieve balance and harmony. Now, to daily impart all this with a calm and collected demeanor, and a smile? As an authentic joy must go hand in hand with peace of spirit, we must trust our Lord to help us balance the complexity of our days and attend to each matter yes, diligently, but also with peaceful acceptance and sincere joy. One of my favorite saints, St. Gianna Berreta Molla, was a true model of the joyful, peaceful, wife, mother, and Christian woman who balanced perfectly the spiritual with the trials of the physical life, and I often return to her story and words. Here are St. Gianna's thoughts on the reasons to smile...

Hymn to the Smile

To smile at God, from who all gifts come to us.

To smile to God, the Father, with ever more perfect prayers to the Holy Spirit.

To smile at Jesus, drawing near him in Holy Mass, in Communion, in visits to the Blessed Sacrament.

To smile at him who personifies Christ, the Pope; at him who personifies God, our confessor, even when he calls us to mortification.

To smile at the Holy Virgin, model upon which we must pattern our lives, so that whoever looks at us may be led to good thoughts.

To smile at the guardian angel because he was given us by God to guide us to paradise.

To smile at parents, brothers, and sisters, because we ought to be torches of joy, even when they impose duties on us that go against our pride.

To smile always, pardoning offenses.

To smile in the Association, banishing any criticism and murmuring.

To smile at those whom the Lord sends us during the day.

The world seeks joy but does not find it because it is far from God.

We, full of the joy that comes from Jesus, carry joy in our hearts with Jesus. He will be the strength that helps us.

Since we know that we find our joy in the Lord, what better place to start our day than in front of the tabernacle, where He resides, waiting and yearning to relieve our burdens and fill our souls with His joy and love? I have been able to go to morning Mass now and again, but feel that in order to gain a deeper joy and peace, I must make an effort to increase my attendance. St. Gianna again confirmed this for me:

"To be an apostle...the soul ought always to be in grace, that is, ought to be the temple, the living tabernacle; I ought to have the divine life in me to be able to communicate it to the souls that surround me. Let us often think that with grace, with Jesus in our hearts, we are "Alter Christus". We will certainly not only keep from committing sin, but we will bring joy everywhere, the fragrance of Christ."

Love that phrase - the fragrance of Christ! What woman does not want to have a lovely scent? What better place to acquire the perfect aromatic combination of love, joy and peaceful fulfillment than from His dear presence? St. Bonaventure refers to the Lord as being the complete and eternal source of these things at the end of his 'Prayer after Communion'..."May Thou alone be ever my hope, my entire assurance, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my fragrance, my sweet savor, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession and my treasure  in Whom may my mind and my heart be fixed and firmly rooted immovably henceforth and for ever. Amen." If we ask for this sweet fragrance humbly with the fervent desire to share it with others, how can He refuse? Ladies, join me this Lent in more frequent Mass attendance and ask of Him the privilege to become fragrant flowers of His love, so that we may bring His warmth, beauty, and peace to the world through our joyful countenances.

Dear St. Gianna, pray for us!

Dealing with joy.

It's been a week of colds and teething. As the weather chills, so have our immune systems. We have been pretty good with our vitamins and herbal teas, but are lacking in the department of sleep. Andrew's schedule has been incredibly busy and Michael is still working on some teeth; hence, not much rest for us parents which has greatly hindered our ability to get better. Andrew has lost his voice several times this week, making an already packed week of meetings and teaching, extra challenging for him.  At least I don't have a full blown cold (yet); have been teetering on the fence line for a few days and am feeling the worst today. This weekend has been the worst for Michael so far; I have never seen him this fussy and distraught. Poor little guy keeps rubbing his ears and his mouth, expressing his discomfort with faces, and being extremely needy. And he has a cough to boot. I've been keeping him warmly dressed and inside for the most part - hopefully he will kick that cough this week. Needless to say, it has been a tiring and draining week for me. Providence brought this to my attention and I had to smile at Cardinal Dolan's cheerful frankness:

"Lord knows there are plenty of Good Fridays in our lives...but, they will not prevail. Easter will. As we Irish claim, 'Life is all about loving, living, and laughing, not about hating, dying, and moaning.' That's why a crabby, griping, whining believer is an oxymoron! That's why we say, 'Joy is the infallible sign of God's presence.' "

Lord also knows I've had a few Good Fridays in my day. And I've learned to deal. But God asks us to do more then deal. In addition to trusting Him to carry us through the tough times, He asks us to forge them joyfully. Joy. Such a tiny word, but packed with purpose and meaning. I've always been very good with dutifully and punctually carrying out my obligations and fulfilling my commitments, but I've never been good with the "rejoice always" part. In fact, I fail in that area way too often. This is why I chose the title "Joy of Being" for my blog; to constantly remind me that not only have I much to be joyful about as a daughter of God, but that only in Him, do I find complete joy of being and that only through Him, will I be able to impart that joy of being to family, friends and strangers. Sure, it's a breeze to smile when the going is easy and smooth. However, being human, it's more likely that some insecurity, frustration or weakness of temperament will haste to turn that smile into a frown. What does Scripture say?

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

"...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produce hope, and hope does not disappoint us..." Romans 5:3-5

"Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
Romans 12:12

"Count it all joy, my brethren when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." James 1:2-3

And so, if we strive to remain daily in His presence and invite Him into our various trials, will not the "task" of remaining joyful no longer be a "task" but a automatic response to the consolation found in Him? In other words, a gift from the Lord?

"You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound." Psalm 4:7

"Splendor and majesty go before him; praise and joy are in his holy place."  
1 Chronicles 16:27

"Then all who take refuge in you will be glad and forever shout for joy. Protect them that you may be the joy for those who love your name." Psalm 5:12

"My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips, when I think of you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy." Psalm 63:5-7

Such wealth of comfort found in His Word, these quotes being only a mere fraction! Through our faith and trust in Him, the Lord grants us joy. Joy begets peace. Joy begets hope. Joy begets stronger love. Aren't those the principles I want our life and house to revolve around? There's a saying somewhere that the mother is the heart of the household. Also, that a mother's heart in the classroom of her child. It's true. I've got a little man around who grows ever-aware of my state of being and reactions to life's curve balls and who will soon be following my lead, not to mention a husband who in his own human imperfection, is likely to react according to my reactions...ample reasons to check/change my habits, no? Resolve: to bless my family by being more joyful in all circumstances, and by so doing, to bring God's presence more keenly into their midst.

"Joy is the serious business of Heaven." ~ C. S. Lewis

Yes, sir. The best of reasons to practice now.

"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
Isaiah 51:11

In perfect conformity

This week I had the great joy of reading St. Alphonsus Liguori for my Mystical Theology class. At this point in our life, Andrew and myself are making some bigger decisions and I often worry about whether or not we are following God's will in the true sense of the phrase; not what we think or want God's will to be for us, but that we truly yearn to be in the very center of the Divine Will in every decision we make. St. Alphonsus offers some simple and beautiful encouragement on this point:

"Our whole perfection consists in loving God who is so deserving of our love. And so the more closely the will of an individual is united to the divine will, the greater will be that person's love. Those who love God are always content because all their pleasure lies in fulfilling God's will even in difficult circumstances, with the result that their very troubles are turned into delight at the thought that they give pleasure to their beloved Lord by accepting them. This is the wonderful peace which surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7), all the pleasures of the senses and all other worldly gratifications, which, because they are without depth and are transitory, allure our senses for a passing moment but do not satisfy the spirit in which alone real happiness can dwell. Some people want to serve God, but they set conditions about the employment, the place, the companions. If their expectations are not met, they work with an ill-will of give up altogether. People like that lack inner freedom, and, since they are slaves of self-love, they gain little from what they do. The devout, those who follow the will of God are like the sun, always radiant with serenity no matter what happens because their happiness is in thief conformity to the will of God. And so they possess unalterable peace."

Are we to be joyful in our circumstances no matter how unpleasant? Of course.

"When you feel troubled by some negative experience, remember that it comes from God. Say to yourself immediately, "This is God's will" and then be at peace. It is true, as I have said, that when someone unjustly offends you, God does not will that person's sin nor share in the malice; but it is also true that God is at work through the act by which you are persecuted or robbed or injured. In this particular sense your suffering is in accordance with the will of God and comes to you from his hands. Chastisements, do not come from God for our ruin but rather so that we might change our ways and be saved. Confident of this, we should abandon ourselves to God's will, which is always for our good. Let us then place ourselves in his hands, for he will surely take care of us. My Beloved thinks of my good and I will think of nothing but of pleasing Him and of uniting myself to His will in all things."

I'm thankful for the saints who provide us with endless wisdom for all facets of life. Lord, we desire to always do Your will, for we trust that you know our needs and desires even before we know them.