Joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about things that are happening but still choose joy. Our joy does not have to be fake in order to keep up appearances. It can be real if we live with the connection to God’s unconditional love for us. Joy does not mean that we need to absent ourselves from reality. There can be many things that happen in life that can cause pain, sickness, loss and the grieving process etc. But at the same time, God can give us the joy that comes from exercising our faith, our hope and our love. We feel joy when whatever is going on in our life is put in perspective. We can ponder the many ways we have been blessed in the past in the hope that great things will be happening in our future. How many times has God brought us out our difficulties or at least enabled us to learn from them. For the Christian, we have the experience of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. We have experienced the same pattern in our own lives. St. Paul says, “O death, where is your sting.” Joy is the gift of the Holy Spirit which we can access with God’s help. Let us choose joy and be a great witness to those around us as Pope Francis proclaims in his “Joy of the Gospel.” How have you experienced joy recently? Have you ever chosen joy is the face of difficult situations? How does you faith give you hope and joy? O God, help joy be my response to your unconditional love for me. Your comments…….