Can You “Practice” Joy?
Google Image How should you judge whether a Mass, or church service, was good or bad? For me, among the criteria is whether or not you leave happier than you went into church. But not in the same sense as being happy because your stock went up, or your team won, or your daughter was student of the month. No, it’s a deeper sense of happiness that is probably better described as “joy.” “Joy” is a term you don’t hear much these days. Is that because the world has a deficit of joy? Maybe. An online dictionary equates happiness with joy, both described as emotions that result from “ good fortune, pleasure, or contentment.” One dictionary’s secondary definition of joy is “ a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated,” and w e’ll get back to that second definition. But for the Christian, joy is much more than a passing emotion. Contrasts Happiness and Joy The Catholic archbishop of Melbourne in Australia, Peter Comensoli, contras