Jesus said to his disciples:
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete— John 16:23-28
The peace of the Lord be with you. Someone once coined the phrase “what a difference a day makes”. So true. Yesterday, the reflection focused on suffering; and today the focus is on joy. I read somewhere that there is difference between happiness and joy. If I remember correctly, happiness was thought be temporary; whereas joy has a lasting more permanent quality.
It is no big surprise that this joy Jesus speaks of in the gospel today is linked with knowing and calling upon God. Joy comes from knowing God, because to know God, is to know the source and summit of ones life. Knowing, or having a relationship with God, prompts the deepest levels of our being to only desire God’s will for us. With this desire actively living in our souls, we then long only for those things God gives us or has planned for us, as we call upon Him. To be in possession of this, is to have deepest and most precious of treasures life can offer — or, as Jesus says, complete joy.
Most loving God help me, help us, to know you more intimately, more deeply so that the peace world cannot give, may reside in our souls so we may experience Your eternal joy promised to us by Jesus. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.