The Power of Your Joy

It was May 3^rd, 2003. The time had come for me to make my First Holy Communion. I remember recognizing how special it was that I would be receiving my First Communion with only two others who were dear, childhood friends. I remember a sense of wonder that the Mass would not be at my home parish but at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in downtown Houston. I remember the excitement building as my Grandma and Grandpa arrived followed by aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts and great uncles, friends, and my 2^nd grade teacher.

And I remember receiving the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus for the first time.

I don’t remember much of what I experienced interiorly in that moment, but what took place as I quietly knelt at my pew afterward was powerful and has continued to move me even to this day. It wasn’t something that happened within me (Although I have no doubt that Jesus was pouring out many graces unbeknownst to me!) but something shared by another. As I was kneeling there at the end of my pew, the communion line shuffled past me in the aisle. Suddenly, I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder and I turned to see who it was. I was met by the face of my 2^nd grade teacher who briefly knelt beside me, and I immediately noticed two things about her: there was a huge smile on her face…and she was weeping. She did not say a word, but what I saw in both the smile and tears was that her heart was overflowing with deep joy for me. Right away, I just knew that her joy was so great because I was now filled with the transforming Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist – that He had given Himself completely to me. Despite all the beautiful formation I had received at home and in school during preparation to receive this sacrament, the magnitude of receiving the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Our Lord had not truly moved me yet. But in that moment of receiving the joy of my teacher, something of the wondrous truth of what God has done in giving Himself to little me entered my heart and continues to resound within me, reminding me of His goodness and love even today.

As I recently pondered this little memory, I became aware in a totally new way of the power of joy. Joy that others have shared with me has so often been the bearer of deep truths that have perhaps impacted my heart far more deeply than any words ever could have. As I was seeking deeper meaning in my life, it was the true, lasting joy of dear friends who were living lives rooted in the sacraments and prayer that spoke to me of the peace and purpose that can only be found in Jesus.

When I was discerning religious life and came to visit our sisters, it was encountering the radiant joy of Mother Lucille, our founding sister, that transmitted to me the truth of the abundant life that flows from responding to the call of Jesus in a wholehearted, undivided way. This time last year, as I was preparing to make my first vows, it was the loving joy of my sisters for months ahead of time that opened my heart to an even deeper awe and wonder at the Lord’s unfathomable love for me and this unmerited gift of consecration.

I share these little moments because I feel called on to believe in the simple power of sharing the joy that Jesus has put into my heart. And there is a deep sense within me that He desires that you too would know the gift and power of your joy. It can be tempting perhaps to think that simple, joyful presence isn’t worth very much, but that just isn’t the case! Our words matter, and this can’t be downplayed, yet there are many times that we are perhaps in a store or on the subway or encounter a language barrier and there isn’t an opportunity for speaking. Sharing your joy and delight in the goodness of each soul before you, in the providence of God, or in the beauty of creation is thankfully not bound to the eloquence of words but can be offered in something as simple as a genuine smile or even by just being present to another. Joy that is shared is never lost! It is something like lighting many other candles from one candle (as at the Easter Vigil Mass)—the light only grows as it is given, with nothing lost from the original flame.

St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all.” And what did he give as the reason why we should have an unending joy that is then also seen and received by everyone we encounter? “The Lord is near.” Of all the things my 2^nd grade teacher taught me, it was the lesson learned through her joy that has actually changed my life: the Lord is near—actually impossibly close, most especially through the wondrous gift of His constant presence and gift of self to us in the Holy Eucharist. May we first receive this truth of His loving nearness, letting it transform us and move us (maybe even to tears!), and then proclaim it through our joy. God can and will do this in and through me and through you. Let it be so!

Sr. Magdalene, CFR