Holy Joy!

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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My word for the week is “holy joy." The words stood out in the opening (“collect”) prayer at the start of Mass. It was hard to contain my emotion as the full congregation joined in song together. This past weekend our Bishop reinstated the Sunday Mass obligation, and the full pews reflected the change.

4-yr-old Serra helped keep me from being too elated! Although her exuberance was heartwarming, like when she spontaneously danced through some of the songs, there was a lot of redirecting throughout Mass!

“Serra, don’t hit your chin on the pew!”
“Serra, please don’t hold your blankie up in front of other people.”
“Only speak in a whisper, okay?”

On one occasion, I could hardly keep from laughing aloud at her antics. We were all kneeling. I was singing with my eyes closed. Suddenly, I felt the abrupt sensation of hair against my teeth! I opened my eyes to see that Serra had sneakily picked up some of my braided locks and put them in my mouth for a moment while I sang.

Her wide eyes and mischievous grin were too much for me to correct at that point.

As I asked the Lord what He wants me to do about this word, holy joy, I admit I’ve felt mostly overwhelmed. Many things are falling back in place now as the world reopens, such as concerts on my calendar, and travel plans that don’t get cancelled. But in the same way that staying home all of the time was a major adjustment, it feels like an exhausting task to switch our entire schedule and mindset again. “Am I doing this wrong?” I wonder.

Are you familiar with this passage: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30

(Sitting with the Lord in silent prayer for a couple of minutes as I write this.)

What came to me is that Jesus instructed us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” And so, the Lord is allowing my needs each day. When I feel weary and burdened, He’s allowing that, too. And He is ready to give me His yoke, and his burden, in place of my own. 

If you’re feeling similarly today—weighted down with responsibilities of one sort or another—maybe we’re in the right place, after all.

P.S. I just noticed that I only focused on the first half of my Word for the Week. It turns out that every time “joy” is mentioned in the Bible, I take it personally because Joy is my middle name. My question this week has been, “How do you want me (Joy) to be holy this week, Lord?” 

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