August 16th, 2015 - The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him that you may be radiant with joy‚ " - Psalm 34: 5-6

My friend Marianne is one of the most joy-filled people I know. Her laughter is frequent, genuine, and contagious. You simply can't help but feel happier after having a conversation with her.

She and I shared a classroom together when we both taught theology at a Catholic high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It became clear to me right away that Jesus Christ was the source of her joy. I watched as she fostered an intimate relationship with Him through daily Mass, prayer, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Soon I found myself falling more and more in love with the Lord as well, because of the beautiful witness of her faith and devotion as a young adult.

During that year Marianne and I often commiserated about the various difficulties that we were facing with our students. I had my bad days, and she had hers, but in the midst of these struggles her joy endured like the glowing embers of a fire. Even when she wasn't outwardly "happy", you could tell that she had hope, deep hope in the abiding love and presence of God.

The French Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once wrote, "Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God." I can truly say that I have met the Lord through Marianne. She radiates the joy that I hope to someday feel more fully in heaven. It is no surprise that God's love shines through her, because she has conformed her life to the words of this Sunday's Psalm: "Look to him that you may be radiant with joy."

Marianne recently decided to dedicate her life more totally to Christ by joining the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Cleveland, Ohio. Please say a prayer for her! I hope that her example will inspire you, as it has inspired me, to fall more in love with Jesus and follow Him more closely, so that you may experience His joy more completely.

Lord Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go - let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by my example - by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for You. Amen. (John Henry Cardinal Newman)