“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). This Scripture passage, which inspired the theme “Rejoice in the Light of Christ” for the recent Diocesan Catholic Youth Convention, is perhaps one of the most challenging exhortations in Scripture. It certainly isn’t easy to rejoice always. It’s not easy to rejoice when a loved one is taken from you tragically and unexpectedly. It’s not easy to rejoice when times are tough and money is tight. It’s not easy to rejoice when you watch your son or daughter walk away from the Lord. It’s not easy to rejoice while burying your newborn child. It’s not easy to rejoice when depression sets in. It’s not easy to rejoice in suffering. Yet St. Paul exhorts us to “rejoice always”!
I think the key here is that we are called to rejoice in the Lord. Only God Himself can be the true and lasting cause of our joy. Why? Because He never changes. He is the same today, yesterday, and forever. St. Alphonsus de Liguori speaks about this. He says,
“The fool, that is, the sinner, is as changeable as the moon, which today waxes and tomorrow wanes; today he laughs, tomorrow he cries; today he is meek as a lamb, tomorrow cross as a bear. Why? Because his peace of mind depends on the prosperity or the adversity he meets; he changes with the changes in the things that happen to him. The just man is like the sun, constant in his serenity, no matter what betides him. His calmness of soul is founded on his union with the will of God; hence he enjoys unruffled peace.”
If our joy and our peace are dependent upon the things that happen to us, then of course it will be impossible to rejoice always. If, however, we allow the source of our joy to be God Himself – and the gift of relationship with Him that he offers us – then we can succeed in rejoicing always.
Look at what St. Paul goes on to say: “The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4:5). We are able to rejoice always precisely because the Lord is near. We have a God who suffers with us, who makes himself present to us in the midst of the suffering. This is why we can rejoice at all times. When we seek God at our darkest time – in the pain of laying in the grave a life cut too short, in the hopelessness of a lost job and bills to pay, in the heartache that results from bad choices, in the dark tunnel of despair – he reveals His face to us. Our God is a God of life and light. The hope that we have in the light of the Resurrection is cause for rejoicing! So let us this Easter season, be reminded of the truth that the power of the Resurrection always wins out over the darkness of sin and death and suffering, and remembering that, let us be encouraged to rejoice always! “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
By Sarah Houde
No comments:
Post a Comment