Being Joyful Catholics

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seanom

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Hello everybody,
I would just like to highlight something that I have experienced among Catholics in my area. They don’t seem very happy, I don’t know if this is true but why are people so morose?? I myself was like that for a long time but now I realised that we as Catholics should be known by our joy in all circumstances. I try to smile now as much as possible also out of evangelisation. I kinda think that if people see us in and out of Church with a warm smile on our face’s then they’ll wonder what it is that makes us so happy. Any possible reasons that people may not be able to see the joy in knowing Christ and and being a member of his Body??
 
Spend some time with Jesus in a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel … and you might be totally surprised by being overcome with joy.

Try it.
 
I would guess the problem is poor catechesis. I can’t imagine anyone knowing what being Catholic truly means and being morose all the time. As the above posters have indicated, spend some time in adoration of the blessed sacrament and joy will be freely had.
 
I went to the Christmas mass at a parish in my folks’ hometown, the families there really gave the impression that they didn’t want to be there. The people weren’t very enthusiastic as we sang the hymns and went through the liturgy. I made sure to sing very loudly; I was happy to be there, even though I was by myself (my family is not Catholic, and didn’t want to come) and I was trying to spread my enthusiasm to the other people around me. I think the priest heard me and appreciated my upbeatness. 😛
 
There are …so many Catholics in the world…so yes among them are those who do not live the joy of knowing Christ as we ought.
Sometimes this is some more tempermental thing --remember though that Christian Joy can exist without the “emotion” of joy…especially in suffering.

Sometimes they are not living the Catholic Faith (sinning mortally thought they were baptized into Christ…but of course we are not to judge …we do not know if they have or not (unless they tell us etc))…some have thus become more ‘of the world’ then “in the world and of Christ”…some contracept etc etc…or some just need more knowledge of Christ and the Faith…need a renewed encounter with him in prayer, the Sacraments, Sacred Scripture etc…we all need of course to continuely be renewed in our mind: vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20090628_chius-anno-paolino_en.html keep reading after the first parts…)

Sometimes we need more mortification and prayer…etc etc etc…(we can all struggle…allow the thorns to grow up…)

But yes let us pray for an increase in Faith in the Risen Lord for all of us…and to live the joy of being in him!
 
"Christian joy thus springs from this certainty: God is close, he is with me, he is with us, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as a friend and faithful spouse. And this joy endures, even in trials, in suffering itself. It does not remain only on the surface; it dwells in the depths of the person who entrusts himself to God and trusts in him.

Some people ask: but is this joy still possible today? Men and women of every age and social condition, happy to dedicate their existence to others, give us the answer with their lives! Was not Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta an unforgettable witness of true Gospel joy in our time? She lived in touch daily with wretchedness, human degradation and death. Her soul knew the trials of the dark night of faith, yet she gave everyone God’s smile. In one of her writings, we read: “We wait impatiently for paradise, where God is, but it is in our power to be in paradise even here on earth and from this moment. Being happy with God means loving like him, helping like him, giving like him, serving like him” (The Joy of Giving to Others, 1987, p. 143). Yes, joy enters the hearts of those who put themselves at the service of the lowly and poor. God abides in those who love like this and their souls rejoice. If, instead, people make an idol of happiness, they lose their way and it is truly hard for them to find the joy of which Jesus speaks. Unfortunately, this is what is proposed by cultures that replace God by individual happiness, mindsets that find their emblematic effect in seeking pleasure at all costs, in spreading drug use as an escape, a refuge in artificial paradises that later prove to be entirely deceptive. "

Pope Benedict XVI
Angelus 16 December 2007

"However, since this is only possible by remaining united to him like branches to the vine (cf. Jn 15: 1-8), he chose to remain with us himself in the Eucharist so that we could remain in him.

When, therefore, we nourish ourselves with faith on his Body and Blood, his love passes into us and makes us capable in turn of laying down our lives for our brethren (cf. I Jn 3: 16) and not to grasp it for ourselves. From this flows Christian joy, the joy of love and the joy to be loved. "

Pope Benedict XVI Angelus 18 March 2007
 
“The words of Saint Peter shed one final ray of light on faith: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet 1:6-9). The life of Christians knows the experience of joy as well as the experience of suffering.”

Pope Benedict XVI Porte Fidei (quotes First Letter of Peter)
 
“Moreover, our radical belonging to Christ and the fact that “we are in him” must imbue in us an attitude of total trust and immense joy. In short, we must indeed exclaim with St Paul: “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8: 31). And the reply is that nothing and no one “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8: 39). Our Christian life, therefore, stands on the soundest and safest rock one can imagine. And from it we draw all our energy, precisely as the Apostle wrote: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4: 13).”

Pope Benedict XVI

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20061108_en.html
 
  • Never knowing the state of our soul.
  • Constant worry regarding the state of our loved one’s souls.
  • The us against them situation we find ourselves perpetually in (regarding secularism and the sexualized world we live in).
  • Feeling woefully alone amongst others - similiar to above
  • Unable to even turn on a television set without being clammored by an overly sexulaized culture.
  • The constant disagreement with our protestant brothers in Christ.
  • Doubt
To name a few.
 
“Moreover, our radical belonging to Christ and the fact that “we are in him” must imbue in us an attitude of total trust and immense joy. In short, we must indeed exclaim with St Paul: “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8: 31). And the reply is that nothing and no one “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8: 39). Our Christian life, therefore, stands on the soundest and safest rock one can imagine. And from it we draw all our energy, precisely as the Apostle wrote: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4: 13).”

Pope Benedict XVI (emp added)

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20061108_en.html
 
“Moreover, our radical belonging to Christ and the fact that “we are in him” must imbue in us an attitude of total trust and immense joy. In short, we must indeed exclaim with St Paul: “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8: 31). And the reply is that nothing and no one “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8: 39). Our Christian life, therefore, stands on the soundest and safest rock one can imagine. And from it we draw all our energy, precisely as the Apostle wrote: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4: 13).”

~ Pope Benedict XVI (emp added)

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20061108_en.html
 
Some cultures are bombarded by scrupulosity. No idea if that applies in this case.

My spiritual director cautioned me about inadvertently getting infected by Jansenism which migrated from * Louvain and then to Ireland and then to the United States.

There have been some recent scandals that might have been severely offputting to some.*
 
“Moreover, our radical belonging to Christ and the fact that “we are in him” must imbue in us an attitude of total trust and immense joy. In short, we must indeed exclaim with St Paul: “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8: 31). And the reply is that nothing and no one “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8: 39). Our Christian life, therefore, stands on the soundest and safest rock one can imagine. And from it we draw all our energy, precisely as the Apostle wrote: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4: 13).”

~ Pope Benedict XVI (emp added)

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20061108_en.html
 
seanom said:
Hello everybody,
I would just like to highlight something that I have experienced among Catholics in my area. They don’t seem very happy, I don’t know if this is true but why are people so morose?? I myself was like that for a long time but now I realised that we as Catholics should be known by our joy in all circumstances. I try to smile now as much as possible also out of evangelisation. I kinda think that if people see us in and out of Church with a warm smile on our face’s then they’ll wonder what it is that makes us so happy. Any possible reasons that people may not be able to see the joy in knowing Christ and and being a member of his Body??
Click to expand...
Just curious, is this impression based on Sunday Mass or daily Mass or an intimate acquaintance with these Catholics? Because I had the same impression when I was first converting, but the Catholics I have met and gotten to know a bit at daily Mass seem very warm and joyful to me.
 
Student09 said:
Just curious, is this impression based on Sunday Mass or daily Mass or an intimate acquaintance with these Catholics? Because I had the same impression when I was first converting, but the Catholics I have met and gotten to know a bit at daily Mass seem very warm and joyful to me.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I wouldn’t judge people by the way they are at Mass or doing religious things like prayer, etc. I mistakenly mistook my priest as being stuck up and stuffy the first time I saw him before Mass. He’d walk through crowds of people at the back of the church to get to the sacristy and he wouldn’t acknowledge anyone around him. Then when he’d say Mass he wouldn’t smile and he looked apathetic throughout his sermon. When he’d turn around to face the people he’d stare at the ground. (You can probably figure out where I’m going with this.) Yes, this was a TLM, and I was completely unaware that FSSP priests are taught not to look at the congregation during Mass and to look at the ground when they turn around. I also learned that Mass was a serious affair and that prior to Mass the priest was in his own world so to speak.

As time went on and I got to get to know my priest outside of Mass, well, lemme just say I was completely wrong about him. He’s probably one of the most amusing people I’ve ever met.
 
In mass in my hometown, many people seemed to be there more out of the spirit of necessity and pattern than out of genuine want to be in the Church. That’s not to say that this was the case for everyone, it just seemed this way. There were many families that actually looked like they were invested in the Mass and the message that was being portrayed.

In the college town I’m now living in, it’s a very different feel entirely. It is incredibly wonderful to see younger people around my age that are vastly in tune with their spiritual lives, and that look eager and joyful to be in Mass, and to participate in all kinds of Church events. I hope that this is a sign of a new generation of spiritual brothers and sisters that will help bring a surge of spirituality to our world.
 
I’m glad to find this thread.👍 I myself have been concerned from time to time about morose expressions on a lot of faces and a seeming general lack of joy.
As some of the posts here mentioned reasons for this, I think I have my answers.
I’m guessing the stronger the faith, the greater the joy. So I’ll just remember every day what my favorite confessor tells me every time, to “pray for an increase of strength in faith, in hope, and in love.”
 
Bookcat said:
“Moreover, our radical belonging to Christ and the fact that “we are in him” must imbue in us an attitude of total trust and immense joy. In short, we must indeed exclaim with St Paul: “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8: 31). And the reply is that nothing and no one “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8: 39). Our Christian life, therefore, stands on the soundest and safest rock one can imagine. And from it we draw all our energy, precisely as the Apostle wrote: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4: 13).”

Pope Benedict XVI

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20061108_en.html
Click to expand...
 
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