Prompt: Describe one simple thing that brings joy to your life.

Christ is Risen!

Life is all hustle and bustle. It is easy to get caught up in work, school, and the minutia of everyday life. And yet, the search for joy is something apparent in our lives. We sometimes seek joy in the latest iWhatever, a relationship, or a particular circumstance. And yet, when these things happen, the joy comes and quickly leaves. These pseudo-joys give us joy for a bit and then leave us numb. Even places like Disneyland try to coin the phrase “happiest place on earth”, wanting you to associate the theme park with happiness. Yet this happiness is also short-lived.

But you say “I don’t want conditional joy or fleeting joy. I want an everlasting joy.” To which I reply, “Me too!”. Where is this everlasting joy? This everlasting joy is not rooted in a thing but rather a Person.

Christ is The Joy. He tells us that He will give us joy that no one can take away (John 16:22). This joy that He gives to us is Himself. He offers Himself to us, dwelling in us and living as the fountain of joy in our hearts. It is not that we will never feel sorrow or sadness, rather we are comforted in Him through the joy that He gives to us.

Think of the things that bring you joy and see how short-lived they were. Now imagine our Lord who gives us Himself. He is limitless and having given Himself to us, offers a limitless joy. This is how the Apostle Paul can write about joy while in prison. He speaks of joy as internal joy rooted in Christ (Phil. 4:4). This is how St. Polycarp can offer himself as an aroma of incense, thanking God to be worthy of death and being counted among the martyrs.

May we all be reminded of the joy that God has given us so that when seeking joy, we seek more of Him.