December 9, 2011
The Second Half
Rejoice!
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
Since the third Sunday of Advent is almost here, we are doing our best to write about joy. However, one of us has a toothache and is finding it is hard to focus on joy when a tooth hurts. By the time you read this, the tooth will no longer be a problem. We are also taking care of our grandsons and being in their presence makes it possible to be joyful regardless of whatever obstacles pop up. Our grandsons are reminders of the joy that surrounds us even in the presence of pain. If we pay attention to the pain, it begins to take over, but when we live in gratitude and focus on joy, the ache grows less. That seems to be a good thing to remember because as we age, most of us must live with the nuisance of at least a little pain from something.
This Sunday we remember we are called to be people of joy regardless of what comes into our lives. Joy supports hope and hope in Christ gives us peace of mind. Mother Teresa said, “The best way to show our gratitude to God and people is to accept everything with joy. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.”
One of the reasons we enjoy working with RCIA is that we find our own faith renewed by the fresh fire of love burning in the hearts of our catechumens and candidates. Last weekend, our RCIA group met for an hour before the Rite of Welcoming. During our time of reflection one of the things our candidates and catechumens expressed was the joy they are finding in their faith.
The youngest in our group this year, a man in his mid-twenties, always has a wonderful spirit of peace and joy about him. Until he shared his story, none of us would have guessed he had overcome great obstacles to be with us. Unable to find work after high school, he wandered from place to place and lived one cold winter in an unheated, abandoned building. He said that during those years he thought of himself as an atheist, but he kept searching for something to give meaning to his life. Finally, he found what he was looking for when people from a Catholic Worker house befriended him. They introduced him to the writings of Dorothy Day and her life inspired him to surrender to Christ. He has since returned home to his parents and attends college near our parish. Through RCIA he is discovering who he is in Christ and his path has turned from one of despair to hope, peace and joy.
Romans 15:13 encourages us: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Beethoven wrote “Ode to Joy” after he had lost his hearing. We each have the power to write our own “Ode to Joy” with our lives even when our joints ache, our eyesight and hearing fade, or we must face difficult situations. We are bearers of the joy of Christ and such joy is our great gift to share.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.