Are*****You******Joyful?******

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anon64350612 said:
When did joyfulness become a requirement for being a good Catholic? Is anyone else tired of having their facial expression monitored for expressions of “joy”?
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On the contrary, I think it is a reflection of being a good Catholic.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…

That being said, there are far too many self appointed fruit inspectors.

Facial expression reflects emotions, which may be happy, or they may not. Feeling sad or otherwise does not negate a joyful state of the spirit.
 
ShowersofRoses said:
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kill051:
whenever a complete stranger on the street exhorts me to ‘Smile!’, I am reminded of Adorno’s theory.
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You’re in San Jose, right? How often are strangers on the street telling you to smile?? That is so bizarre.
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It has happened more times than I care to remember.
 
no i am not “joyful”

there are far too many troubles in this post-christian, secular world

am i supposed to be “joyful” ?

maybe when notre dame wins a football game;

that pretty much covers my “joyfulness”
 
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There are a few (name removed by moderator)uts by Bishop Robert Barron in the Youtube on Joy. In one of those he used the Beatitude as key to Joy.

So yes, we are called to be joyful people, not crazy or mad, but our joy arises from our inner peace when our thought is above everything else but founded and formed in the Beatitude.
 
I have a God parent who is an extremely fervent Catholic Christian and she is always joyful and talking about Jesus.
On the other hand,I have seen many Christians who don’t have this “inner joy” but have “average effect”.

What causes this inner joy and how does it come about?
It appears be different from happiness.
 
Thanks Guanophore,
but why do some Christians have it and others not have it please?
 
i think we have to be realistic

“joyfulness” is a tough virtue to embrace in this secular, post christian time

the culture of death prevails
 
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I felt Joy once, it came from no where I was driving at the time and actually shouted stop, it lasted about 1 second and I had to shout stop, I can tell you our human condition is not ready for Joy it nearly floored me. But I also find another kind of joy in my family and nature
 
I feel full of joy after Holy Communion.Sometimes I feel an overwhelming feeling of happiness going about everyday things,have to skip or dance (on my own haha) or sing to the pets,I don’t know,but to me that’s feeling joyful…full of joy.
 
I wonder what your facial expression has to do with joy?

I am filled with joy but it’s like the bottom of the sea it isn’t always seen, but it is always there. Absolute bliss, joy and calm.
 
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Rozellelily said:
but why do some Christians have it and others not have it please?
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I think it is related to a sense of where one is rooted. We are to be “in” the world, but not “of” it. If we have a strong sense we are pilgrims, and that our home is elsewhere, then we are not as likely to be so despondent about what is happening in the world, which is passing away.
brian_custer said:
i think we have to be realistic

“joyfulness” is a tough virtue to embrace in this secular, post christian time

the culture of death prevails
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I don’t think anyone can look at what human beings have done to the planet, and the culture, and not experience sadness and grief. If one does not, then they don’t have much empathy.
 
Reminds me of how years ago I was trying to convince a good Catholic woman on a Catholic dating site to go out with me. She told me one of the reasons she thought that we would not be a good match was because she knew I was a serious guy and I was only smiling in one of my pictures and people who are not always smiling make her uncomfortable. Because, in her mind and in her words “It is only natural to smile when you are happy so obviously something is wrong when people do not smile all the time” by this time I was convinced that she had a abnormal obsession with smiling so I decided I did not want to go out with her anymore lol. She’s a good woman though, we became Facebook friends and I’m guessing that she matured out of her view that not smiling = something is wrong.

My default facial expression is not “smiling” but I am content the overwhelmed majority of the time.
 
I agree with you.

There’s nothing worse than pressure being put on people to always “be happy.”

And nothing puts me in a bad mood faster than when someone says “Smile!” 😀😁😆😎😆😁😀
 
I try to express joy as much as possible, but sometimes my disabilities make me feel so tired. I have multiple disabilities, including two chronic illnesses. I might also have a genetic condition that causes multi-systemic problems. I try my best to not show my chronic illness dominating over me…but it’s hard. But I know the Lord is always with me, which makes me so much happier and joyful. Life is difficult, but I’m really happy that our God is always here with me, and our Blessed Mother is always praying for me. <3
 
Joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Spiritual Joy.


“Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:17-20)

This passage in Matthew’s Gospel helps us to understand the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are the observable behaviors of people who have allowed the grace of the Holy Spirit to be effective in them. The tradition of the Church lists 12 fruits:

charity

generosity
joy

gentleness

peace

faithfulness

patience

modesty

kindness

self-control

goodness

chastity

Open yourselves to the Grace of the Holy Spirit
 
Actually, yes. For example, me looking at the floor, thinking about something… Other person, looking at me, saying “SMILE!!!” as if there is something wrong with me for not smiling at the floor…
 
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