BRIDGEPORT—“Joy is the serious business of heaven,” said Fr. Frank Hoffmann quoting the writer C.S. Lewis on Gaudete Sunday in his homily for the weekly online Mass from the Catholic Center.
Filling in for Bishop Frank J. Caggiano on the Third Sunday of Advent, Fr. Hoffmann reflected on the meaning of Christian joy as rooted in the understanding that Christ has conquered death.
Fr Hoffmann, who serves as Vicar for Clergy in the Diocese, said that joy is more than a feeling of happiness and is rare in our lives, perhaps accompanying the birth of child, a wedding, or in his case an ordination.
“May 26, 1990, was a day of great joy in my family and especially for me,” he said, referring to the day of his ordination. It was a day in which he found himself smiling a lot and also shedding tears of joy, thinking about all that had brought him to that moment.
“It always struck me as a curious thing that those experiences are marked by proverbial tears of joy,” he said, adding that the joy comes out of our deeply rooted awareness of human suffering and limitations.
“There are still realities inside of us that undercut everything in this world–the reality of sin, the choice to offend God and hurt one another, and the fact we will die,” he said.
The reality of sin makes any rejoicing in this world a reminder that it’s not all that it’s meant to be, he said. “We believe when we’re finally with the Lord all that will change. We will be rejoicing without limits.”
Joy is a word that is connected with Christmas and perhaps has almost become trivialized by its over-use, he said, noting that true joy is about much more than “just being happy.”
“Synonyms for joy include exultation, rapture, delight and exhilaration of the spirit,” he said.
Referring to the reading from Isaiah, “I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul,” Fr. Hoffmann said Christian joy reaches the very depth of our being.
The Season of Advent reminds us that joy has not come in its fullness yet, but it brings the promise that “the incompleteness we experience is closer than ever to ending,” he said.
“We share a joyful face because God has loved us so much. He has become one of us and shared the joy of his Kingdom. Let us rejoice in the great love the father has had for us,” he said.
“With the reality of death being conquered, joy is what is left to be serious about. Rejoicing will be most important thing we do.”
The Bishop’s Sunday Mass is released online every Sunday morning at 8 a.m. and available for replay throughout the day. To view the Bishop’s Sunday Mass, recorded and published weekly, click this link or visit the YouTube Mass Playlist.
For information on the Sunday Family Rosary every Sunday at 7:30 p.m. visit: https://formationreimagined.org/sundayfamilyrosary/
