Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2:28

We see pictures almost every day on television of families rushing to meet a husband and a father who has been re-united with them after serving time in Iraq or Afghanistan.

With arms outstretched, their faces are positively beaming as they run to embrace him. Sometimes a little boy is literally airborne as he leaps with outstretched arms into the arms of his father.

This picture shows how closely love is connected to joy. It shows how simply being with someone we love can fill us with happiness-especially if we have been separated for a long time.

This is the kind of joy that Mary Magdalene felt when she first saw the risen Lord. The gospel says she was overjoyed. It’s also the kind of joy that the apostles felt when Jesus rose from the dead. Their hearts were bursting with joy within them when they discovered He was risen!

We know that Jesus is always with us, even if sometimes it feels He is far away. We know that we shouldn’t feel glum just because we don’t sense God’s presence all the time. But this doesn’t always translate into reality for us. This is why specific acts that express our faith can be helpful. For example, try to pray in the morning and before you go to bed, and try to do something concrete to remind you of Jesus’ presence during the day. You may want to bless yourself with the sign of the cross. You could keep an icon or crucifix around your neck. You could pray before the Blessed Sacrament after mass, and on days, like first Fridays, when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in Church.

As you go through your day, you could also say a short prayer of praise every now and then to keep Jesus’ presence in the forefront of your mind. That’s what Brother Lawrence did, and it filled him with joy, even as he worked “among the pots and pans” in the monastery kitchen! You can always put time aside each day to meditate on the scriptures as you are doing now! Do you find this a joy?

This Easter season, resolve to trust more deeply in Jesus’ presence. Then, you’ll be ready to receive His joy more deeply in your heart. Be glad that you have been blessed with so many good friends who share the same spirit of joy as you do.

Fr. Hugh Duffy

* * * Do not miss tomorrow’s blog on Church * * *