Jn 15:9-11
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Overflowing with Joy
What brings you joy? What fills you with abiding happiness? What makes you feel most alive? Whether being with your loved ones, finding time daily for prayer, pursuing a hobby, spending time outdoors, or anything else, that feeling of true joy is one we sense at the core of our being.
Being a follower of Jesus means, in part, living from a place of abundance and freedom, knowing that we are each created in the image of God and called into fullness of life—a life full of radical love, hope, and joy in the here and now, and a promise of eternal life after our time on earth.
While our faith and beliefs help guide us in how we live, this orientation of ourselves—God’s beloved—toward our creator is not meant to be one of limitation and restriction, but rather one that makes us overflow with joy and purpose. May God’s immense love for and relationship with us be our greatest source of joy among the many other gifts we are given.
— Kristen Schenk is a former Jesuit Volunteer (Belize City 2008-10) and an alumna of Saint Louis University and Loyola University Chicago who now works in healthcare chaplaincy.
Prayer
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord, my God,
I will give thanks to you forever.
—Psalm 30:11-12