Joy in the Presence of the Lord

Prayer for the Day

O Blessed Lord, You have drawn us into the circle of Your life.  Open us to accept the wonders of this new life to carry forth Your will, a life of love, justice and mercy.   Amen.

Reflection

"Come with joy into the presence of the Lord."  (Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5) This psalm calls most of us to make a change in our attitude.  The psalmist calls us to sing with gladness because we know the LORD is the God that created us and tends to us like the shepherd does the sheep.  We should enter God's gates with thanksgiving and praise because the LORD's kindness endures forever.

Look around you in a crowd, at work, in a classroom, or in church.  Watch people during your morning commute, or when they are at play.  How many people are smiling, echoing an inner joy; how many people seem happy with where they are and what they are doing?  If we truly believe that God is all about us throughout creation, then every minute of every day we are in the presence of the LORD.  It would make sense that we come with joy into that presence!  Most of us feel awed by the sunrise, the flutter of a butterfly's wings, the persistence of the ant, the life force of a weed, or the color of a rainbow—Don’t we recognize God’s hand it this?  Do we smile with gratitude and joy when we see people treating each other with respect?  Do we express thanks and praise each minute of each day that we are in the presence of the LORD? 

This psalm reminds me of a conversation I had after Mass last Sunday with a deacon and the sacristan about the altar servers at our parish.  The bells are rung during the consecration, but you’d never know it!  It’s almost like they’re embarrassed to ring the bells for fear of waking up the congregation!  So the last couple of Sunday’s I have taken it upon myself to find the altar server who was in charge of ringing the bells and encourage him/her to ANNOUNCE THE PRESENCE of our LORD by ringing the bells LOUD AND LONG! As I write this reflection, I have to wonder if I “practice what I preach” as I witnessed at a Mass recently in Bakersfield.

The altar server was obviously aware of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  I could tell because the second the priest held up the Host and said “This IS My Body”, the server rang the bell loudly.  He kept ringing it until the priest placed the Host back on the altar and genuflected.  What was so profound for me was that both the priest and the server were smiling a joyful smile as the Host was held high for at least 30 seconds and the server didn’t stop ringing the bell once!  The same happened at the consecration of the wine into the Precious Blood of Jesus.  The obvious joy of the priest and altar server at being in the presence of Christ Himself was contagious and made this Eucharistic celebration one I will try to remember every time I approach the altar to receive our Lord and whenever I am privileged to present our Lord to others in my duties as a Eucharistic Minister.

I don't smile as much as I would like.  I let the cares of the world, the burdens of life, and the responsibilities of being a husband, son, father, grandfather, and “breadwinner” cloud my joy in just being in God's presence.  I know I need an attitude change.  So my prayer today is for the grace to smile more, to be more confident in God's care and less burdened by my self-imposed expectations - to be more joyful. And to try and spread that joy that comes with knowing that I am in the presence of God always!