lawrenced

The joy of living

For some living is joyful and for others it is unwanted and burdensome. For those who have found their life as a joyous one are those who found ‘the secret of living’. The secret of joyful living consists in the joy of being, in the joy of receiving, in the joy of giving, in the joy of celebration, in the joy of sharing and in the joy of fullness of life –the true loving. A word about each of the above mentioned aspects.

THE  JOY  OF  BEING

To experience the joy of being at any given moment is a very precious gift the risen Lord keeps offering it to us. The experience of the joy of being was the foundational experience of the Lord of History. Even before the starting of His ministry, Jesus found God’s delight and favor in His Baptism at the Jordan. The renewal of the baptismal vows at the Easter services is a strong reminder to all of us of our foundational experience of God’s delight and favor. We find the goodness of the Baptismal experience of Jesus foreshadowed in Scripture and detailed at the beginning of St.Mark`s Gospel. St.Mk 1:9-11 (Baptism of Jesus). It would do immense good to one self, if one spends some time considering these points in a prayerful consideration.

Who am I? What am I gifted with? I am a …. Girl/Boy; Woman/Man … I am a Gujarati.. Rajasthani.. Malayali.. Goan... Tamilian.. I am an Indian…. Spaniard…. American….. I have not earned these precious gifts. But these gifts are God’s delight and favor in me. However the true acceptance of this precious gift lies in our ability to go beyond our individual gifts of each one of us and to own our common origin by asking a simple question “Whose am I?”. We are God’s heirs.

THE  JOY  OF  RECEIVING

There is tremendous joy among kids when someone, on the occasion of a celebration starts distributing sweets. But when that same person distributes his life-long savings to his sons and daughters, the scenario changes. One rarely experiences the joy of innocence as witnessed among the kids. The focus here is on the one who receives. The receiver needs to have the innocence of a child, the humility of a child, a heart to honor the giver of the gift and above all the ability to enjoy the gift. The disciples came to Jesus and asked, “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”. So he called a little child to him and set the child infront of them. Then he said “I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”(Mt18:1-4).Children are the real symbol of “true receiving”. They also pose a great challenge to the parents and the society to offer what is noble and praiseworthy for their joyous living and for their posterity.

                   So take time out to cherish the gift of yourself, your family members and near and dear ones. Be grateful for all those people who have made you what you are today. Draw a line and mark your life graph starting with Zero. Fondly recall and mark your milestones both big and small and thank the Lord.      

THE JOY OF GIVING

True joy lies in giving. But those who are engaged in giving may not necessarily experience the true joy of giving. A true giver is one who wishes the good of the other, promotes the good of the other, and sustains the good of the other. We learn a lot from nature and mother earth how to be true silent givers and not expecting anything in return. Such persons identify themselves with the happiness of others. True giving is its own joy. “ If you want to be truly happy then do good to those who can not pay you back”(Lk14:13-14) and do good to those who hate you(Lk 6:27-28). Jesus on the cross represents the reality of the Supreme Love, giving His entire self to those who killed Him by offering total forgiveness and loving every one whether they had accepted Him or not. 

          Consider  how would you like to identify with the happiness of others especially with the neediest in your work place, at home, while travelling…? Are you able to love your near and dear ones expecting nothing in return? Just loving them as they are.. is there anybody in your life that you need to offer the gift of forgiveness?.

THE  JOY  OF  SHARING

No one in this world can escape the experience of suffering. However when it is shared with an intimate friend or life partner or mentor, or anybody who honors and respects that suffering, the sharing is welcome relief to the sufferer. It is a deep spiritual experience to realize that we are honored, respected and loved by none other than the Creator and the Lord while we endure suffering. The true joy of sharing lies in the readiness to share the suffering of others especially of the most needy. Jesus’ free association with prostitutes, sinners, outcasts, gentiles, lepers, women, children, young and old left an indelible mark of God’s love in the human history. “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do it to me”(Mt 25: 40) 

          It is good to spend some time in planning your day how you are going to share your time and your resources to alleviate the suffering of the needy. Above all allow the Lord to well up true joy in you.

THE  JOY OF  CELEBRATION

The celebration of life takes many forms – Birthdays, weddings, pilgrimages, a short or a long vacation, cultural festivals, religious festivals, a quite moment with loved ones – such are the occasions when the celebration of life takes place. But the real joy of celebration lies in the attitudes of owning the celebration, contributing to the celebration, and participating in the celebration may enhance the joy of celebrations. However the true joy of celebration of life is having Emmanuel in one’s heart. In the Gospel of St.John we are pleasantly surprised to notice the miracle at the wedding at Cana reported as “ the first of  His signs”(Jn 2:11) 

Look into your calendar and plan your personal/family /friends outings or your presence at some celebrations. Think about your contribution to make that event a more joyous one. Take the initiative to promote a meaningful celebration which is economically viable.

THE  JOY  OF  FULLNESS  OF LIFE

          A qualitative mark of the celebration of Easter is a threefold movement towards the fullness of life, namely individually collectively, and cosmically. Our joy will be complete only if we are ready to be part of being one with the Risen Cosmic Christ. “ All things were made through Him” (Jn 1:4) and brought forth to  New Creation through the power of Resurrection. This oneness will bring a renewed hope-filled life for all. To realize this goal we need to join hands with the people of all nations, creeds and casts. Awareness and action should include the connectivity of the human with the rest of Creation. Enhancement towards this triadic reality is a fitting tribute to the celebration of Easter.   

          Think about your contribution to make our planet a pollution-free and cosmic-friendly one. Promote anti-war and anti-deforestation awareness and actions. Care the depleted earth and deprived society.

In short the joy simply overflows into all aspects of life. And it is the result of having accepted the deep reality of ‘ the image and likeness of the creator’ in oneself and in the others. The test of this truth lies in our ability to accept the ‘the image and likeness of the creator in a special way in my fellow bothers and sisters – especially of the neediest and in the rest of the creation’. Jesus has shown us the way and revealed the truth of each one of us through His birth, works, death and resurrection. He invites each one of as His co-sharers of joy of living. It is up to us to accept it or reject it.

Fr.Lawrence Dharmaraj S.J.

The writer is a spiritual counselor at the Gujarat Vidya Deep –The Regional Inter-diocesan Seminary for the theological studies, Sevasi-Baroda. Gujarat, India,391101.E-mail: lawrenced6@gmail.com