“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.”

“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.” ― Rumi: (1207 – 1273: Persian Poet)

RESPONSORIAL PSALM: (PS 146:1B-2, 6C-7, 8-9A, 9BC-10)
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts
The LORD shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, through all generations! Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

Sometimes our own faith requires painful decisions and a measure of discomfort. Maybe there was a time when you knew you needed to go to Confession, and it took all your will to approach the priest. Afterward, you experienced a freedom that would have been impossible had you not humbled yourself and received the grace of the sacrament. Or perhaps you have endured illness, either yours or that of someone close to you. You couldn’t understand why there was such suffering, but as you walked through it, you saw opportunities to grow closer to Christ. You discovered his presence and his love in ways you normally wouldn’t have seen.

Just because things look bleak, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a “happy ending” coming. We can listen to the words St. John Paul II used to say, “Be not afraid!” Trust God to walk with you through your challenges, and in the end, you’ll find a joy that overflows.