In the last post, we referenced the convocation held in
Orlando over this past long holiday weekend of Bishops and other leaders in the
Church in America. I mentioned that while
I have hope the conference will bear fruit, I did, and still do, have some
concerns that some things that should be discussed were not, and I listed what
those were.
Tonight, I would like to focus on what seemed to be the
central theme of the conference, and that is rediscovering the joy
of being Catholic. (The attached
picture which was on all the literature for the meeting seems to back this
claim that this was the central theme.)
It appears this topic, unlike the ones I listed last time, was discussed quite often. That can be a good thing, but I will say
again, there is a “but”.
First off, we must remember, as we have said, that joy is a fruit
of the Holy Spirit. In other words, it
is the result of something else. We defined joy as the “awareness of God’s infinite goodness in our will”. Saint Thomas Aquinas says joy “is caused by love, either through the
presence of the thing loved, or because the proper good of the thing loved
exists and endures in it.” In other
words, we have joy when we are in the presence of God, or we are joyful because
God exists in us, and we rejoice for ourselves in that reality. The key point here is that for there to be
joy, there has to be something else first.
What is that something else?
It is God.
I posited last post that the joy of the Lord comes through the
intellect. That makes sense even more now that we have seen Aquinas’ definition
above. The presence of God, whom we
love, in us, causes us joy. Now how do
we love someone? In order to love
someone, we have to come first know
him or her. Obtaining knowledge is a
function of the intellect. The source of joy is the rational will.
This goes against what our culture says. Our culture says it is all about how we feel.
The emotions are the center of existence. We know we love by how we feel. No, the truth is rather our feelings point
to something deeper and it is the duty of our will and intellects to interpret our feelings, and help us
understand why we feel as we do.
I am concerned about some of the quotes I see coming out of
the conference regarding joy. I will share them here and what my concerns
are with each. I do acknowledge that I
do not have access to any notes from the conference other than media reports,
so I can only go by what I read in the press.
Some of what I have read, however, is cause for concern.
Bishop James Massa
Brooklyn, NY: “I hope that participants go home convinced of something we’ve heard a lot
about in homilies and plenary meetings here—the need to be transformed by the
joy of the gospel. Joy is a response to the call of Jesus. If we’re not able to project that joy, then
we’re handicapped in our roles as missionary disciples. But if we have that
joy, then the gospel becomes immensely attractive to all people, regardless of
their ethnicity, age, sex, or background. The joy of the gospel is contagious.
The gospel is not joy. Yes, it
can produce joy if we let it into our souls, but in and of itself it is not joy. In order for us to let God into our souls, we
have to find it attractive enough to let into our souls, and there is where the
knowing and learning come in. Joy is
also not really a response to anything.
Like we said, it is a fruit of something. God
dwelling in us produces the joy; our response to him cannot produce anything on
its own. When we have joy, it is automatically
projected; we should not separate projecting the joy from having it, as the
Bishop seems to do here. Joy may be
attractive to some or even many people, but I do not believe it necessarily is
attractive to all, as the Bishop implies. Some might think us weird or out of touch when
they see us joyful, and may be repulsed by it, especially if one is steeped in
sin. (In that case, a call to
repentance might be more effective than a projection of joy.) For this reason, joy is not necessarily
contagious. It is also not contagious
as the Bishop implies because it is not really passed from person to person. Someone can see that someone else has joy, but if that person wishes to experience joy for him or herself, it must be the fruit of something that comes from above.
The other quotes I wish to discuss are from Cardinal
Timothy Dolan of New York City. He gave
the homily at the start of the convocation, and here are a few quotes from it:
Joy, as St. Paul teaches, is a fruit
of the Holy Spirit, a gift of God.
I agree with the first part, but not the second. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, but it is
not a gift of God. If it was a gift, it would be one of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, but it is not, it is one the fruits. It is the effect of having God in us.
His presence causes us the joy.
So, it is a fruit growing inside us, not something given to us from the
outside.
A
big part of the reason behind this promising convocation, folks, is that we,
your pastors, believe with Pope Francis that a renewal of joy is essential for a deepening of
Catholic vitality and confidence today.
I am not sure if the Holy Father said this
directly or not. If he did, then this is a statement of a pastoral assessment of
things, not a statement on faith or morals, so it can be disputed in good
conscience. This statement does some truth to it, but it
can be a little misleading, as it appears (to me at least) to suggest that joy
is contagious, and that it will “catch on”.
Well, we noted above, it is not.
It is the effect in our soul
of the indwelling of God. This cannot
come from any human person; it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the word “renewal” is a little problematic. Joy does not “come and go”, it is either
there, or it is not. It cannot be “renewed”. If we “need” anything it is “brand new” joy,
but even that statement is not really true.
We do not really need
joy. We need God, and that will produce
joy.
A lot of this may sound like nitpicking, but I
just feel it so important that we not focus, as this conference seemed to do,
directly on joy itself, and spreading it ourselves, but rather, focus on God,
and let him do the spreading of his gifts, and let him plant the seeds that
will eventually produce fruit, joy just being one of them. Joy is a wonderful fruit of the Spirit, the result of the beloved, God, but there are many other wonderful fruits,
as well (refer to my recent blog post on the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit). Someone who radiates a multitude of fruits has a better chance of leading someone to God than one who just radiates joy.
Let’s keep things in right order, and in perspective.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
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