The Source of Our Joy

Just pour out your heart to Him. He shall hear it. Several years ago, while kneeling before my Eucharistic Lord in Adoration during a silent retreat, I was overwhelmed with the desire to pour out my heart and soul to Jesus. I began to weep silently. As the tears began to flow, I started writing these words from the depths of my heart: “Lord, deliver me from the depths of my own personal hell. Deliver me from the darkness within my soul. Deliver me from the bondage of the snares and traps of the Devil. Deliver me, Lord, from the fear deep within that keeps me from loving You fully. Deliver me from my sinful pride, from my self-reliance, from my guilt and shame that keep me from being still to know that You are God. Deliver me from the self-hatred that keeps me from embracing my King’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. Deliver me, Lord, from the inclinations toward sin. Help me, Lord, to allow You to be God and me to be Your child.” After pouring out my heart to my Eucharistic Lord Jesus Christ, He gently began to speak in my heart these most tender and healing words: “My child, I have come to set you free from all your bondages. I enter into the garden of your heart. I root out the sin of pride. It is rooted up and tossed into the sea. I cast out all your fear with My perfect love. I shower you with My ocean of mercy and love, which is never-ending. I clothe you with purity. I clothe you in the white garment of salvation. I call to you, my precious child. Come and allow Me to hold you and wash you clean. I toss your stony, sinful heart into the depths of hell. I give you a new heart. I place my heart in your heart. You are washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb. You are my beloved child. You are My Light for the world to see. Walk in My Light and bring others to me so I can set them free.”  May these words bring you comfort and peace. No matter what you are going through at this moment in your life, there is hope and healing. Allow Jesus to enter into the mess of your life. He is the Healer of your heart. Jesus is waiting for you.

Remember, He sees everything, He knows everything, Nothing goes unseen. As a mental health therapist, I am seeing an increase in the number of people who are distressed over the unfairness of life, even to the point of clients referencing the book of Job in session. Although recourse to Scripture as well as biblical literacy is refreshing, this points to a deep sense of anguish that many are feeling in our society today. A frequent complaint arises out of the wrong and injustice others have done to my clients, inflicting long-lasting wounds which are no fault of their own. While collaborating with clients to help bring healing, I have found that directing people to God and the promises found in Sacred Scripture have proven to be the most helpful for healing.  A Greater Plan  There are times the words of the psalmist will resonate with us all: “O Lord… how long shall the wicked exult?” (Psalm 94:3). More than any other biblical figure, the hardship that befalls Job is hard to explain. Saint Augustine seems to provide the best explanation, one that is not only helpful for my clients but for us all: namely, that sometimes God allows suffering in order that a greater good may come about. When unfairness and trials arise, it is also important to bear in mind that God is not finished with us, and we do not see God’s greater plan at present.  “For now, we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face….”(1 Corinthians 13:12) Quite often, suffering and pain are the crucible by which we are refined and transformed. The lives of the Saints demonstrate this, as does the life of Pope Francis.  In the psalmist’s lament as with our desire for justice, Scripture and the Church remind us that there will be a day of reckoning, a final judgment when all deeds will come into the light. 2 Corinthians 5:10 reads: “For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.” We will thus be judged and rewarded for our deeds, to the point of receiving treasures in Heaven; people will receive their just dues (and comeuppance). Scripture tells us God is just, and Jesus said in Luke 8:17: “For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.” Thus, we need not worry, for ultimately, all things will be made known and corrected. Granted, we should not hope that those who have harmed us will suffer, but rather pray for those who have inflicted wounds upon us and love them as our Savior commands. Regarding the Final Judgment, the Catechism of the Catholic Church articulates the following: “We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and understand the marvellous ways by which His Providence led everything towards its final end. The Last Judgment will reveal that God's justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by His creatures and that God's love is stronger than death” (CCC, 1040). Therefore, as we are wronged and wounded by others, we must bear in mind that ultimately justice does prevail. Look into Yourselves Sadly, we must admit that sometimes our own sins cause suffering and injustice in the lives of others. When this is the case, we must repent above all and try to make amends if possible, always attempting to live a virtuous life as Jesus commanded, which demonstrates our love for Him (John 14:15). Although everyone will get their comeuppance, as the Bible assures us, we should be careful not to wish retribution or harm on others. Such emotions are toxic to us and a danger to our souls.  If we find ourselves focusing on the speck in the eye of our brother or sister, or cannot stop ruminating on the harm they have done us, or even worse, wishing harm on another because of how they have wronged us, we need, no, we must do forgiveness work. We need to pray for God’s grace for those who have wronged us and for ourselves. Bishop Robert Barron reminds us in his new book entitled Prayer that not forgiving blocks the flow of God’s grace in us, and that is precisely why Jesus commands us to forgive others. Perhaps that is why forgiveness features so prominently in the Lord’s Prayer and Christ’s teaching (Matt 6:14-15). As we overcome the feelings of unfairness, which are bound to occur at times in this fallen world, we need to turn to God for help in forgiving and letting go. 

Distractions steal our focus. Tackle it like this… Each one of us has a multitude of instances where God is gently calling us deeper. As He calls us to Himself, we often neglect to recognize that it is Him calling us. We ignore Him altogether; we actively run from Him; we would rather remain where we are in the seemingly comfortable space of the familiar. Oddly, the ‘comfortable’ isn’t usually comfortable or desirable to us at all; rather, it is simply what we know and have grown accustomed to. Rather than opening ourselves up to the new things that the Lord might be inviting us into, we choose instead to cling onto our false sense of comfort and opt to sink our feet right in where we think we are most ‘comfortable.’ I know this can be a battle for me.  The Scripture Way Recently, I read the following Scripture passage, and it stung my heart. Why? Because the Truth of it resonated in me, convicting me, making me aware of my desire to remain in the apparent ‘known’ rather than forging ahead into the unknown space that God often calls us into.  “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, hears My words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.”(Luke 6:46-49) This leaves me pondering. If this is the warning we are to heed, and we know the outcome (that all will be destroyed without a proper foundation and without action), then why is it that I do not do what He commands at times? What is standing in my way from continually building this strong foundation with the Lord? Why is it so easy to allow myself to be lax with my devoted time of silence and prayer, reading Scripture, growing in a relationship with the Lord, and building up the foundation?  Too Many Ways To Wander Off Are my responsibilities as a spouse and a mother of little ones keeping me from doing what He commands? Is it my own sloth and lack of follow-through? Is it the evil one putting blockades and temptations in my way? Surely, all these things contribute to varying degrees. It is no secret that this world offers a multitude of distractions. These distractions, if left to fester, can become full-blown obstacles, robbing us of time and mental clarity.  One such distraction I find myself often struggling with is technology, particularly my phone. I recognize that it has become a source of distraction and largely a waste of time. I know it, I see it, but somehow, I still fall into the trap of indulging in it way too much - catching up with friends, being a part of an online community, scrolling through social media, checking emails, all things that at face value seem harmless…Until they are no longer harmless. The attempt to create a community online has robbed us of time spent in our actual community. The mindless scrolling of social media has left us empty.  It is not so much the presence of social media, but the way in which we use it that has become problematic. The never-ending scroll is like a cyclone that pulls us in. Once you get going, it can be difficult to stop. Here are a few reasons why: 1. IT STEALS OUR TIME: The never-ending nature of the mindless scroll can be dangerous because it is never-ending. While on the surface this may seem harmless, but it is actually robbing us of productive time that could otherwise be spent with the Lord. It often also prevents us from doing what He commands. How many things has the Lord wanted us to accomplish for His Kingdom, but we’ve been ‘too busy’ scrolling instead? 2. IT TRAPS US IN A CONSTANT STATE OF FLIGHT: Scroll, read, react, scroll again…We have been trained to become unacquainted with long-form reading, evaluation, and deep thought. We are losing our ability to think critically and thus stagnating our ability to live fully for the Lord and fulfilling His commands. 3. IT STEERS US AWAY FROM PURPOSE: This is perhaps the scariest of all. We have become utterly distracted from our overarching purpose in life. We are too distracted to engage fully. This is one of the greatest tactics of the devil. All he wants is for us to not do the things the Lord is asking us to dedicate real thought, time, attention, and devotion to. How can we do those things when we are being distracted in every moment of our downtime? What has happened to time in silence and deep thought? Do we ever really get to know ourselves? Do we ever really allow ourselves to think with some sense of depth and purpose? All of these distractions leave us without a foundation, they separate us from God. Let us shed the obstacles standing in our way. Let us control how we use our phones and technology. Let us build a strong foundation and do as the Lord commands.

Discover the greatest source of happiness Not long ago, I had the opportunity to celebrate Mass at the Chapel of the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle, Western Australia. The Gospel for the Mass was from Saint John’s, chapter 15:1-17, which talks about Jesus being the True Vine and the Father, the Vinedresser who cuts away the branches that do not bear fruit.  While reflecting on the Gospel reading, I asked the university students and staff if they use smartphones, and they said yes. I requested a student to show me her new iPhone 16 and asked her about its uses. Instantly, with lots of enthusiasm, she listed several advantages of the device. But when I asked her if she could use her phone when the battery ran out, with a disappointed face, she replied: “No, Father. Without battery power, my phone is useless.” Like a mobile phone without battery power, Christians without union in Christ are also useless. We, the branches, must be united to Him to survive, to draw life-giving sap from Him to bear fruit. This is precisely at the heart of what Jesus wants to convey in John 15:4-5: “I am the Vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing.” Key to Happiness In the world we live in today, we need to be intimately united with God in our spiritual lives. We are useless without Him, without a life of prayer, and without diligent participation in the Sacraments--the most important of which is the Holy Eucharist.  Through the Eucharist, God gives us the grace to live our vocation that He has called us to. The Catholic Church has always declared: “The Eucharist is the source of all graces and the summit of the Christian life.” As the source of all graces, He is our great treasure that we always want in our lives. When we find it, our lives will be filled with authentic joy. We will experience inner peace, and happiness will fill our hearts.