Experience Fullness of Joy in Him
There is a song by contemporary Catholic singer and songwriter Matt Maher entitled “Lord, I Need You.” Whether we recognize it or not, our greatest need is our need for God. This truth is so easily and often forgotten with the busyness of life. The words to the song are:
Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here, I find my rest
Without You, I fall apart
You’re the One that guides my heart
(Refrain) Lord, I need You; oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness,
oh God, how I need You
Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
Where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
When I cannot stand I’ll fall on You
Jesus, You’re my hope and stay
When I listened to the song again recently, I was deeply moved by the line, “Holiness is Christ in me.” The word “holiness” can seem vague, perhaps stirring in our minds something unattainable or reserved only for priests and religious. However, the carefully chosen words of the song get to the heart of what God desires for us: He burns with love for us and calls us to be united with Him, to be one with Him.
God is One
We know and believe that the Lord our God is One; there is no division or separation in Him. There are three Persons in one God Who are a perfect union—an indivisible oneness. This is the mystery of who God is, that He is One and we use the word “holy” to describe Him because “holy” means one. (Dt 6:4) God is holy in Himself, the source of all holiness. Interestingly, the Latin word for devil is “diablos,” which means division. The devil divides: his strategy is to divide and conquer, starting in our own hearts and then in our relations with others. His intention is always separation, tearing apart, and, consequently, destruction.
Our heavenly Father calls us to be like Him: To be one, in and with Him, to live without division and separation. Due to the effects of original sin, responding to this inner call of God to be one with Him, one within ourselves and one with others—that is, to be holy—is beyond our natural capability and strength. Holiness is not something we can attain ourselves; we cannot be holy through our own willpower.
An image that comes to mind that captures this truth is that of a small child standing in the presence of his father. The toddler wants to be in his dad’s arms but cannot get there alone. The child cannot jump up into his dad’s arms. So how can this happen? As he towers six feet over the child, the father leans over and scoops him up, holding him close to his heart. This includes the willingness and desire of the child to be embraced and held close in oneness with his father. This picture of the love and strength of the father in bending down and picking up his child illustrates how our heavenly Father bends down and lifts us up to Himself.
Jesus Desires That We Be One with Him
The Good News portrayed in this example teaches us that Jesus provides the power through the grace of His Holy Spirit for us to become one with Him—and, therefore, to become holy. Through the gift of the Person of the Holy Spirit—the gift of God’s love—we are called into this very relationship of love between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus refers to this relationship as friendship, saying, “I no longer call you servants…I have called you friends.” (Jn 15:15) God makes us worthy of this friendship by giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us.
Jesus went on to say, “As the Father loves Me, I also love you. Remain in My love.” (Jn 15:9) To remain in the love of Jesus means to remain in the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can follow the Lord’s commands. The commands, the loving direction of our friend Jesus, are that we live in accord with His will and what pleases Him, and since He is perfect love, His commands will always be what is best for each of us. It is then that we begin to love ourselves properly and return His love, which is now ours, by loving God Himself. And we begin to love others as Jesus has loved us.
Being One with Jesus Brings Joy
Jesus teaches us how to grow in holiness—to follow Him—through cooperating with the power of the grace of His Holy Spirit, and then He gives us the result of our efforts. “I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be full.” (Jn 15:11) Living according to His commandments brings oneness, wholeness and holiness, which brings joy. Everyone desires joy, and it is the ultimate goal. Through our friendship with Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we receive interior joy as we are drawn into the inner life of the Blessed Trinity.
In the biblical account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, we witness Jesus burn with love for this personal friendship with each of us. When Jesus meets the woman at the well, He asks her for a drink of water, which opens a conversation between the two of them. When the woman questions why Jesus, a Jew, would ask her, a Samaritan, for water, He responds, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” (Jn 4:10) When the woman asks for this living water, Jesus tells her to get her husband. She responds that she does not have a husband. With great love and tenderness, Jesus confirms this, and in fact, that she has had five husbands. In further conversation, Jesus reveals to her that He is God—the Messiah.
During her encounter with Jesus, the Samaritan woman’s sins are exposed. At the same time, she recognizes that she is truly loved in a pure and unconditional way, unlike anything she experienced before. In being loved and finding the greatest freedom through being forgiven, the woman is filled with exuberant joy and goes to tell everyone in the city that she has encountered the Son of God and our Savior.
This is a call for each of us: Jesus desires that you and I be united with Him, to be one with Him. Setting aside time for daily periods of silence to reflect on a Gospel passage of Scripture and being faithful to Sunday Mass provide opportunities for us to meet Jesus. Let us seek, with the help of His grace, to be united with Jesus in our everyday lives through constant growth in love for Him and for those whose lives we touch, thereby experiencing the fullness of joy in Him!
Story by Ann Lankford, Director of the Office for Catechesis and Evangelization
Published in the September/October 2024 issue of Catholic Life Magazine