Is There Passion? Is There Joy?

Often times, we perceive that we would be so much happier if only we could zero in on what we're passionate about. In other words, passion leads to happiness but there is a different approach when it comes to joy. Joy leads to and sustains passions!

"The joy of the Lord is my strength." - Psalm 28:7

Yes, when it comes to joy, it kind of works the other way round. When Jesus is the source and summit of our lives, He is the source and summit of our joys! If the joy of the Lord truly rests in our beings, we will become increasingly passionate of whatever He calls us to and we will be open to the creative work of the Holy Spirit in each one of us to reach out to others in different ways for different times and seasons.

The Joy of the Gospel is all about getting the priorities right, we first gain the joy of the Lord and then, go forth to glorify Him in our families,workplace or studies and ministry. We work from joy and not for joy because joy is independent of surrounding circumstances. If things turn out well, all glory to God, if things don't quite fall through, no worries at all because we are not working for joy but from joy.

Our call as Christians is not primarily to strive but to abide in His presence which gives us a sense of hope, peace and joy that the world cannot give. If we are too busy doing things, we can tend to forget that we are human beings and not human doings. Jesus asks us to sit at His feet, abide in His presence, run to the Sacraments, devour the Scriptures, pray with communities, let Jesus speak to you! As we receive Jesus and all that comes with Him, including joy, we can evangelize more effectively. We cannot give what we do not have! Pope Francis hits the nail in the head,

The problem is not always an excess of activity, but rather activity undertaken badly, without adequate motivation, without a spirituality which would permeate it and make it pleasurable. As a result, work becomes more tiring than necessary, even leading at times to illness. Far from a content and happy tiredness, this is a tense, burdensome, dissatisfying and, in the end, unbearable fatigue.

Mama Mary is aware of this and she wants to help us set things straight, help us cultivate a "spirituality which would permeate it" . When Mama Mary said to Jesus at the Wedding Feast at Cana,

"They have no wine" in a sense, she was saying, "They have run out of joy."

God wants to pour new wine into our lives this Christmas and He needs you to meet Him halfway by preparing new wine skins! Otherwise, the wine skins would burst! The amazing thing is, even what he requires of us on our part, that is, to prepare new wine skins, He is inviting us to draw close to Him so that He can aid us in transforming our old wine skins to new ones. Therefore, let us allow God to transform the old into the new this Advent by going for adoration be it physically or online and just be still and silent in His presence as He speaks, works and transforms!

May the New Wine that we receive this Christmas bring about lasting and contagious joy that sets us on mission to set the world on fire for Jesus and may that fire spread like wildfire!

Let Jesus be the source of our joy and may joy be the driving factor to passionately preach the gospel to our families, colleagues, classmates, strangers and to the ends of the world.

Now, that's the proper order!