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Gospel Reading for May 22, 2025 – John 15: 9-11
JOY
Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.”
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When we love someone, we are always thoughtful of that person; not only when we see the person but even in the absence of that person. When we happen to be in a store, we think of what we can buy there that we can give that person and we always remember to pray that the person will be safe, etc.. These things may seem trivial, but this is what a loving relationship is all about, and there will always be JOY IN GIVING AND RECEIVING.
There are those of us whose relationship with Jesus is dichotomized. We think of him only when it is time for us to pray or when we are in Church (except maybe, when we are in dire need of his help). If we wish to really experience the joy of a loving relationship with Jesus, we have to make him live in us. One simple example is to make a daily prayer of offering to him everything we do during the day. This way, even if a task is quite difficult or challenging, we do it gladly and give our very best because who of us would want our offering to be like that of Cain in the Book of Genesis? While humanity will benefit from our love for Jesus, we ourselves benefit because we become the best version of ourselves.
Sharing this very nice children’s song from Kid’s Praise, I GOT THE JOY, JOY, JOY …
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy,
joy down in my heart,
down in my heart,
down in my heart.
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy,
joy down in my heart;
Down in my heart to stay!
I’ve got the love of Jesus,
love of Jesus
down in my heart,
down in my heart,
down in my heart.
I’ve got the love of Jesus,
love of Jesus down in my heart;
Down in my heart to stay.
And I’m so happy, so very happy;
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!
And I’m so happy, so very happy;
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!
