Today I am going riding with a priest friend. We were going mountain biking, but the recent rain has turned our plans to the road instead. My coughing is a little less, but still very annoying. Yesterday I visited someone in the hospital. As soon as I walked into the room, I could hardly keep from coughing. So I had to cut my visit a bit short.
I am ready for some spiritual renewal. Maybe what I need is a retreat, maybe I need a vacation - something to clear my mind and my heart of the cobwebs that have collected. In the Gospel today, Jesus says to remain in His love so that His joy might be in us, and our joy might be complete (see John 15:9-11). In this world, it is easy to start looking for our joy in imperfect things - people, activities, objects, even feelings. Unfortunately, all of these lose their luster after awhile, and none of them can really fulfill us (even though they may seem to at first). The desire for joy will only be filled when we have the joy of Christ in us, when we live in His love.
Oh those words are so easy to write, and I believe them, but they can be difficult to live. We are corporal beings, and we need other people, material things, and human activity. Still, it is possible to focus our attentions on the One who can invest our life with true meaning and purpose. And by desiring and doing all things according to the will and for the sake of the Lord, find the peace which the world cannot give.
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