SADNESS WILL BECOME JOY - 05/26/22 (Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest)

John 16:16-20

Jesus said to His disciples: “A little while and you will no longer see Me, and again a little while later and you will see Me.” So some of His disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that He is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which He speaks? We do not know what He means.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask Him, so He said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052622-weekday.cfm

For more information on the Memorial of St. Philip Neri, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/may-26---saint-philip-neri-priest/

Blessed Memorial of St. Philip Neri! What does it mean when Jesus told them that a little while, the disciples would not see Him and a little while, they would? This was the same question that the disciples were asking of themselves. Since we are near the end of the Easter Season with Pentecost Sunday, we are aware that Jesus did not just die, but He rose from the dead. The disciples would not see Him because He was inside the tomb, but they would see Him and rejoice because of our Risen Lord. 

When Jesus decided to address their question, He said that the world would rejoice while they would mourn. It is an unfortunate reality that many unbelievers rejoiced when they saw the our Lord was crucified. They rejoiced because the One who was always telling them to repent was crucified. Jesus Christ bore our sins when He offered Himself to the Father on the cross. His message to His disciples were also applicable even today. In our culture, the sins become the source of rejoicing of many people. Even if some actions are contrary to God's Word and teachings, there are some people who enjoy doing it because of the pleasure they may get from them. 

And, as faithful Catholics, we may feel sadness because of the sins we see around us. It may be out of love for them that we desire for other people to receive eternal life rather than reject it. We can also experience sadness as we are opposed and ridiculed by some people who follow worldly ways. Yet, this is an opportunity to be patient, remain at peace and bear the faults of one another instead of hating them. Jesus answered His disciples when He saw in their hearts the desire to understand what our Lord meant. In the same way, Jesus is also inviting us to reflect on our own experiences and why we encounter such trials in our spiritual journey. When we ask the Lord in our prayers, He will lead us to the same response He gave to the disciples. Our grief will become joy. 

Our sadness will become joy. The disciples became joyful when they saw our resurrected Lord. We also remember that when Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples no longer saw Him in the same way they saw Him before. And yet, the promise of Christ that they would see Him is about heaven where we will behold the glory of God for all eternity. This is the everlasting joy that awaits us if we are faithful to His teachings, commandments, and promises amidst the difficulties of our lives. As we also celebrate the memorial of St. Philip Neri, may he imitate his life. He also experienced many insults and wrong doings from others, but they were unable to take away the brightness of his joy. After all, St. Philip Neri is the patron saint of humor and joy. It's because his happiness is centered on Christ. By placing all of our hope and trust in Jesus, our hearts will be filled by the fire of God's mercy and our sadness will become joy.  

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic