Open yourself to feel the joy around you

Do you recall when you last felt joy and delight? In a world where we are bombarded with life and all of its details, I think joy might escape sometimes, unheeded in our rush to finish our to-do list. We do have to get those things done. We have responsibilities to our families, to our jobs, to society.



For adults, the moments of pure joy can be few and far between. And we probably take so much time trying to figure out if that moment actually was joy that we miss it.


This makes me think of Lily when she and I are rolling around on the floor playing “Wheeerrrre’s Lily?”. This is a game we made up together wherein I pretend not to see her, and look for her everywhere but right in front of me, where she is standing and waiting for me to say, “Ooh! There she is!”, and then we giggle together. This can go on for about 20 minutes! Lily and I are both so completely in the moment, present, full of joy and delighted to be there in one another's company.
Tuesday’s responsorial psalm made me think of this:


“The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.”


The Lord does take delight in us. We need to remember that when we are being less than delightful. The festive language of the psalm contrasts with a more stern reading from Corinthians, where we are told the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The list of those of us who will not inherit is pretty exhaustive and a good reminder to be true to God and to ourselves, to our true selves where there is joy.


How do we open ourselves up to joy? The Gospel gives us a clue. Jesus goes to the mountain to pray. Take time for yourself to pray even if your mountain isn’t quite so mountainous. Quiet time, even if it’s in the shower or in your car after dropping the kids off or late in the evening when you’re loading the dishwasher or at your computer.


Jesus then came down from the mountain and chose the Twelve. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. You can’t do it all yourself.


Be in the moment, be present and feel the power of joy. The Lord takes delight in his people.