Advent Joy
I think I have distinguished the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness seems to be a bit more physical contentment that signals life is good and things are going well. Perhaps, there is no real anxiety pressing upon us, no hostility, or no real lingering anger. The cause of happiness can be some new celebration such as the birth of a child, a recently won championship, the purchase of a first home, a new dream job, the anticipated excitement for the upcoming holiday season, and the like. It may be a good feeling from some achievement, a good workout, a clean bill of health, the successful completion of a semester at school, or a well-earned retirement that invites some indulging like not setting an alarm. It may be contentment for another or others, like fences mended, the awarding of a scholarship of a neighbor, or a couple announcing they are pregnant. It is often felt that happiness is somewhat fleeting or temporary. You are only champions until the start of the new season. The dream job may soon offer a lot of challenges and headaches that can zap that initial happiness.
It may also be argued that one’s happiness depends on externals. Few are happy on a summer vacation of persistent clouds, cold, and rain. Many struggle with the ordinary, the boring, the laborious, and the humdrum. In trying to get youngsters to appreciate their parents’ many sacrifices, I asked them to notice if their parents have huge smiles on their faces when going to work. Perhaps, parents would rather do many other things, but sacrifices are needed and may not always be the happiest experiences. I was so delighted this weekend to receive a picture from my niece of her and her husband with their kids at Peddler’s Village, Lahaska, PA (a charming, historic "village" with shopping, dining, a beautiful place to go during the Christmas season) sipping hot chocolate…parents opting for hot spiked apple cider! I replied that I was so happy to see them out as a family and not in a gym like usual. She responded that they had basketball all morning but did the family thing later. A full day of happiness. On Sunday, I was visiting a parishioner of my parish, Our Mother of Consolation Catholic Church, who was reflective about his life concluding that it has been one filled with great happiness. This assessment is a gift accompanied by blessings and gratitude. So, happiness can be measured as an overview of a task, a season, or one’s lifetime.
Joy is totally other, a constant, often selfless love, almost always interior that resonates with an exterior comfort, reassurance, satisfaction, and confidence. This joy can arise in doing for others especially when they are most in need. Joy is profoundly spiritual, based on a relationship with the God who loves us always, no questions asked, no measuring up, no qualifications. Joy comes from unmerited, unconditional love, that is beyond understanding but empowers us to live in it and share it with others. It is the bedrock of who we are. Many things may be plaguing us at the moment, but our interior joy allows us to deal with them and see as God sees. So, a rainy day is not a miserable day for it comes from God. Perhaps, it is an offer to accomplish things on that to do list.
For me, so much is God’s providence. On the day of the recently held election, I received a copy of Jesuit Greg Boyle’s new book Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times. Our parish is reading it for our Advent Zoom Book Club. It is based (my perspective) on two premises: we are all unshakably good (no exceptions) and we belong to one another (no exceptions). I think we all find these rather daunting but recognize them as fully on target. Lived well, they bring us to a cherished belonging as a community, the likes of which we may be fortunate to known and experience in the deepest recesses of our soul, embraced by God, palpable love in silence. Cherished Belonging, forming the foundation for an inexpressible Joy. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15: 11)
Fr. John Fisher, OSFS
Pastor of Our Mother of Consolation Catholic Church
Philadelphia, PA
