1. PRAYER
Dear Father,
You are the God of peace, the one who calms storms with a word and holds all things together. You are not surprised by anything that shakes us. You know everything about us. Matthew 10:30 (ESV) tells us that “even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” You see what is hidden, you understand what is confusing, and you are able to bring good out of what feels unbearable. I praise you for your power, your patience, and your steady hand over all creation.
I confess that even though I know these truths about you, I often give more attention to the chaos than to your promises. I look at the news, my responsibilities, my relationships, or my fears, and I forget that Christ is still on the throne. I let anxiety rule my heart instead of the peace you offer. I cling to control, wanting solutions on my terms, and I resist the unity you have called your people to live in. My pride, impatience, and self-protection get in the way of harmony, trust, and gratitude. Please forgive me for doubting your goodness and for acting as if peace is out of reach.
Thank you that you do not turn away when my faith wavers. You are patient and kind, even when I am restless and unsure. You have promised that “the peace of Christ” can rule in my heart, not as a temporary relief, but as a steady and quiet strength. Thank you for calling us into one body, for reminding us that we do not walk alone, and for providing joy even in difficult days.
Lord, help me to live out Colossians 3:15 in both belief and practice. Teach me to let Christ rule in my heart instead of my fears. When conflict arises, help me seek unity in your name. When life feels loud, draw my attention back to you. Replace my urge to demand my own way with a desire to listen, love, and follow your lead. Take the chaos around me and shape it according to your good purposes.
Help me to be grateful for the experiences you give me. Help me to show gratitude for the growth you are producing in the trials I face. Let your peace guard my thoughts, direct my decisions, and quiet my worries. And when I forget, gently remind me that your peace is not fragile, but is rooted in Christ himself.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
2. MEDITATION
3. SONG
https://youtu.be/bFr_nJVRXGA?si=1D_IhKXHHzKxGc99
4. NARRATIVE
- A Choice and a Surrender: Joy is deciding to value what is good while surrendering the need to control life's outcomes.
- Mixed with Sorrow: Deep spiritual joy does not erase grief; instead, it lives right alongside our shared human tears and vulnerability.
- A Long, Loving Look: True presence comes from contemplation—simply paying attention to the real world with awe and wonder.
- Found in the Small Things: Joy thrives in simple, ordinary acts, nature, humor, and quiet community connections. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Tears of Joy and Sadness
Sunday, June 15, 2025The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
—Galatians 5:22–23In the Christian Scriptures, we are reminded that joy is a fruit of the Spirit in all circumstances. Father Richard Rohr describes a personal experience of simultaneous deep sadness and profound joy.
In 1985 my Franciscan superiors gave me a year’s leave to spend in contemplation. It was a major turning point in my life and ultimately led to the formation of the Center for Action and Contemplation. The first thirty days of my “sabbatical” were spent in the hills of Kentucky, in Thomas Merton’s hermitage at Gethsemani Abbey. I was absolutely alone with myself, with the springtime woods, and with God, hoping to somehow absorb some of Merton’s wisdom. That first morning, it took me a while to slow down. I must have looked at my watch at least ten times before 7:00 AM! I had spent so many years standing in front of crowds as a priest and a teacher. I had to find out who I was alone before God without those trappings.
Walter Burghardt’s definition of contemplation as “a long loving look at the real” became transformative for me. The world, my own issues and hurts, all my goals and desires gradually dissolved and fell into proper perspective. God became obvious and ever present. I understood what Merton meant when he said, “The gate of heaven is everywhere.” [1]
I tried to keep a journal of what was happening to me. Back then, I found it particularly hard to cry. But one evening I laid my finger on my cheek and found to my surprise that it was wet. I wondered what those tears meant. What was I crying for? I wasn’t consciously sad or consciously happy. I noticed at that moment that behind it all there was a joy, deeper than any private joy. It was a joy in the face of the beauty of being, a joy at all the wonderful and lovable people I had already met in my life. Cosmic or spiritual joy is something we participate in; it comes from elsewhere and flows through us. It has little or nothing to do with things going well in our own life at that moment. I remember thinking that this must be why the saints could rejoice in the midst of suffering.
At the same moment, I experienced exactly the opposite emotion. The tears were at the same time tears of an immense sadness—a sadness at what we’re doing to the earth, sadness about the people whom I had hurt in my life, and sadness too at my own mixed motives and selfishness. I hadn’t known that two such contrary feelings could coexist. I was truly experiencing the nondual mind of contemplation.
References:
[1] Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (Doubleday, 1966), 142.Adapted from Richard Rohr, What the Mystics Know: Seven Pathways to Your Deepest Self (Crossroad, 2015), 61–63.
Ya’ Wahyu, untitled (detail), 2024, photo, Unsplash. Click here to enlarge image. Two children splash in sun-warmed water: every droplet and ripple radiating joy.
- Where do you see small, quiet moments of peace in your day?
- How does your definition of "grace" change when life gets loud and heavy?
- What does it mean to rely on God's strength instead of your own?
5. MEDITATION
6. SHARING
7. PRAYER AND INTENTIONS
Dear God...
We ask for joy in our lives. Help us to find happiness in the simple things and to share our joy with others. Let our laughter and smiles be contagious, spreading positivity wherever we go. May we find joy even in the midst of challenges.
Thank you for the moments of joy that brighten our days. Help us to cherish them and to seek out more opportunities for happiness. May we find joy in our relationships, celebrating the connections we have with family and friends. Help us to recognize the beauty and wonder in the world around us, finding joy in nature and the everyday miracles of life.
Guide us to be sources of joy for others, bringing light and happiness into their lives. Let us approach each day with a joyful heart, grateful for the opportunities and experiences that come our way. Thank you for the gift of joy. Help us to embrace it fully and to spread it generously to those around us.
Amen.
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."
- Philippians 4:4
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