“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I shall say it again: rejoice!” (Phil 4:4). Over and over, Scripture exhorts us to rejoice in our Lord. The Psalms, especially, are full of calls to worship God, praise His holy name, and sing of His glory: “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy” (Ps 66: 1). Rejoicing is a joyful cry of the heart. When we worship—especially when we sing from our hearts at Mass—we outwardly express our inner joy.
“I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant.” (Ex 15: 1)
Rejoicing stretches us up and out of our self-centered way of thinking. We worship God, not ourselves. Think of how someone who’s rejoicing might look. You probably imagined someone singing, having their hands stretched up to the sky, or even jumping. Rejoicing is our body’s response to our inner joy. Rejoicing is energetic! It moves us to action. Perhaps that’s a reason for Scripture’s constant calls to rejoice. It makes our faith active and fun!
We rejoice as an expression of our love for God. We rejoice because it makes us strong: “…rejoicing in the LORD is your strength!” (Neh 8:10). Like Mary, we rejoice in God out of gratitude for the plans He has for us and for His holy, saving sacrifice of the cross: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior” (Lk 1:46-47). We rejoice when we remember all the wonderful ways God has taken care of us: “The Lord has done great things for us, we are filled with joy” (Ps 126:3). We rejoice because Jesus tells us that our “names are written in heaven” (Lk 10:20) and someday we will be there with Him, living our eternal reward forever.
“When you see this, your heart shall rejoice and your bodies flourish like the grass; the Lord’s power shall be known to his servants.” (Is 66:14)
Lord, please fill my heart with joy. Send your Holy Spirit upon me and move me to respond joyfully when I remember all you have done for me and when I think about how wonderful it will be when I see you face-to-face in heaven.
Readings for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
ISAIAH 66:10-14
PSALM 66:1-20
GALATIANS 6:4-18
LUKE 10: 1-12, 17-20