“God made us for joy. God is joy, and the joy of living reflects the original joy that God felt in creating us.” ~ Pope Saint John Paul II

Joy springs from a grateful heart.” ~ Pope Francis

Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence.” ~Pierre Teihard de Chardin

I offer these three quotes about joy to invite you to reflect on what brings you joy and how joy manifests its presence in your life. May these words encourage you and me to cultivate a joyful spirit as a way of living and experiencing the Divine.

Taking a moment myself, here is a small sampling of the ways I experience joy:

• watching a family of geese cross the street or paddle across a pond
• watching my cat look out our back door, mesmerized by what he sees
• enjoying peanut butter on toast with a banana and chai tea latte for my morning breakfast
• awakening to the dawn of a new day silently appearing through the windows
• sharing moments with a friend or family member
• writing, journaling, resting in silence, and noticing what nudges me or invites my attention
• listening to my spouse play the violin

From my more extensive list, I noticed how much nature is a plentiful source of joy. Hobbies, friends and family, and pets and animals are other delightful additions to my joy list. Joy can certainly be found in simple things anytime and anywhere and can be profoundly simple. And, as Henri Nouwen wisely tells us, “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

Notably, St. Dominic was known as a joyful friar who “wherever he went, conveyed an enthusiasm for the gospel.”¹ His joyful disposition is what earned him this title because when he was confronted by heretics who planned to kill him, the “would-be assassins simply looked at him” and “were totally disarmed and compelled to change their minds when they saw his joyful countenance welcoming them.”² Who are the joyful spirits in your life?

As I write this blog, I am also mindful that because some of us suffer from chronic physical pain, we might ask if joy is possible when we are experiencing pain. My learning is that joy is the antidote that infuses us with hope and gives us the boost we need to cope with or diffuse the grasp that pain may hold in our lives.

Interestingly, in writing this blog and searching for inspirational quotes on joy, I experienced a serendipitous moment of joy when my search results included a link to Amanda Zurface’s website tagged, “I am Here to Help You Find Joy.” I was delighted to find her website because I remember Amanda often embodying a joyful presence as a student and library worker at Ohio Dominican University (a sponsored ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Peace), where I served as a librarian. I encourage you to read more about her purpose and mission in bringing joy to others on her content-rich website and check out her offering of “50 Quotes About Joy to Inspire You.”

Now, I invite you to pause and jot down how you experience joy. Let your life speak to you about what fills you with joy. May you find joy within yourself and with others, and know God’s presence greeting you with joy.

As we go about our day, let us remember that “God made us for joy,” as noted in the quote above by Saint John Paul II. We might ask, how can we bring more joy into our lives and the lives of others? Maybe you are being called to live a joy-filled life as a religious sister and want to explore this possibility. If so, I invite you to contact one of our Vocation Ministers, who enjoy helping you discern God’s call in your life and who you are called to be.

• ¹ “Dominic de Guzman: Joyful Friar.” domlife.org/dominican-family/dominican-history/dominic-de-guzman-joyful-friar. Accessed: October 2, 2024
• ² Queen of Peace Monastery. “St. Dominic & The Transfiguration.” August 7, 2021, https://www.dominicannunsbc.ca/news/2021/8/7/st-dominic-amp-transfiguration. Accessed: October 3, 2024