We look too often for occasions for suffering in our lives and not often enough for occasions of joy.
It is true that the cross strikes us more often and that it hurts our shoulder, but let us think of all the joys God showers upon us and for which we seldom think of thanking Him because we take them as a matter of course.
We must develop the happy gift of discovering everywhere the joys of the good God. The Father has scattered them broadcast, as in a family on New Year's Day and on the feast of St. Nicholas, gifts are hidden in various parts of the house to give the little ones the pleasure of being thrilled over their own cleverness in finding each hidden treasure.
We are not sufficiently convinced that God is good, infinitely good, that He is the good God.
Even in trials we ought to say that this is His Goodness intervening for us, because we were becoming too much attached to earth; of ourselves we had not the courage to make a sacrifice; He takes the lead to help us.
Thus always and everywhere, we must seize the least opportunity to bring sunshine into our life.
One day someone entered a child's room and finding him seated in a shaft of sunlight where sparkling grains of dust were dancing, asked him what he was doing there. The little one, his eyes bright with joy, answered, "1 am drinking in the sunshine."
We have not drunk deeply enough at the Source of Living Water, or at the clear fountain of Revelation; and consequently the Gospel is not for us the delightful sunshine which the ray of light filtering through the opening in the shutter was for the child at play. He was feasting on a dream. The ray of sunshine at which we can drink is the stream of blood and water which St. John saw flowing from the side of Christ. Would we ever lack perfect joy if we drank from this living stream?
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Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
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