The law of God is written on every human heart…When we live by God’s law…..The fruit of that lifestyle is joy

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St John’s Gospel…The text is short but it’s packed with a powerful message….”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”………Jesus tells it like it is…He is telling us very clearly…..In order to “remain in his love” we must “keep God’s commandments”…….There is a misconception today…People say all the time….”I believe in Jesus”….GREAT…But Jesus is not looking for “believers” - Believe it or not - He is looking for followers!…He is telling us….If we want to “remain in him” we have to keep his commandments…..Not my words…So don’t shoot the messenger…What else does Jesus tell us today?….He links keeping his commandments to us having joy - Interesting - Do you believe that?……”I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete”……Another misconception is debunked today…..The world “thinks” it can do “whatever it wants” and in doing so we will be “happy”…..Nothing can be further from the truth……Our joy is deeply linked to living according to the will of God….Everyone says, even out loud that they want to be “happy”…..But do we do the things that make for real and lasting happiness in one's life?……Far too many people “think” being Catholic is an “oppressive” way to live…Nothing could be further from the truth…The law of God is written on every human heart…When we live by God’s law…..The fruit of that lifestyle is joy……Don’t take my word for it…The only “guy” in the history of mankind who rose from the dead just told you so.

“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me”

Life is about choices…It really comes down to that….We choose to be happy by the choices we make daily…It really is as simple as that!….I can talk to someone for a matter of five minutes and just by the tone in their voice can I tell if their heart is pure and free - I bet you can as well……Why would a person not want to be happy?…..Why would a person not want to have peace?…….When you surround yourself with authentic Catholicism…You will find immediately “that crowd” is filled with joy…Its tangibly perceived!…Mother Teresa used to say…”Joy is the net that will caught many souls”….And its true….Our joy is deeply connected to the laws of God that are written on our heart and when we choose to not live by those laws….We lose our joy….You can not “fake” being happy…..Just as when you are filled with joy - Its very transparent for the world to see…..I will ask it again….Why would a person “trade-in” their joy for something that in the end will betray them and will not and can not last?…..Years ago I was eating lunch at a local restaurant in my hometown and the waitress was a young girl around say sixteen years old…I remember her because as she spoke to me, I could tell there was “no life” in her eyes…Her tone was “lifeless as well”….As she waited on our table I thought to myself - How can someone so young be so “lifeless”?…Her lack of joy was palatable…I have seen that in adults but not in young people…..I still remember this encounter to this day…Because it made me so sad…..Why do we value “things” that “suck the life out of us”? - Literally!….Jesus is not a monster nor is His Church!….When we live by the Natural Law and try our very best to live within and by the will of God…There are many benefits…One of them is joy!….Do we want to be happy?….Really!...The world says it does….But does it?

Say among the nations: The LORD is king. He has made the world firm, not to be moved; he governs the peoples with equity.

Today at Mass Jesus tells us that joy and his commandments are linked….”The world” tells us something different…But as we get older, we see for ourself the consequences of “bad choices”…Years ago I ran into a friend from high school at an airport….Paul Pak was ALWAYS a joyful person…I had not seen Paul for years….When I saw him at the airport what immediate jumped out at me was, he was EXACTLY the same…He was still filled with joy!…He had a big smile on his face, there was a light in his eyes and there was no duplicitous tone in his voice…I later found out that Paul was studying to become a Deacon of the Catholic Church and me and my family attended his ordination at the Cathedral of Newark when he was ordained…Paul did not change one bit!….Jesus came to give us joy and our joy is linked to living our Catholic faith…There are no two ways about it…..The law of God is written on every human heart…When we live by God’s law…..The fruit of that lifestyle is joy