I had the pleasure to participate in the Colorado Springs Diocesan High School Spring Rally on March 15-17, 2013. The guest speaker was Anna Scally. She is the President of Cornerstone Media, Inc., in Santa Rosa, California. Anna is an inspiring workshop and youth rally speaker, youth ministry training, consultant, and disc jockey. She is a loving, Spirit filled presenter who holds the sacred story of the youth and gives them instruction through their music to learn life values that will be helpful in leading a Catholic Christian life. My heart was so on fire to witness the passion, reverence, and joy of the youth in living their faith. The deep desire for prayer and having conversations with God daily. Their joy was infectious!

In the language of spirituality…Joy is not merely human emotion but a spiritual experience. It is the fruit of the spirit…a grace. Joy comes from a place outside of ourselves, or from so deep inside that we cannot reach it by will. This is why CS Lewis said “surprised by joy.” Joy has come to us in the midst of suffering and at the end of endurance. It breaks into the prison of our misery and pain and for a moment we forget ourselves and are free.
In the words of St. Augustine, ”Joy is the song of our soul, a spontaneous response of the human spirit when it is able to step away beyond the confines of its own ego and find itself in the presence of God.”

We are in the midst of Holy week. We know how the journey ends. The responsibility lies within us to embrace Jesus, to walk each step, to wipe the beads of sweat and blood, to help hold up the cross, to enter the tomb of darkness, and leap for joy in the resurrected Christ. The Youth look to us to see if the words of our faith and our actions mirror the Catholic faith in reverence, passion, and JOY. We are all one body of Christ, so let us together love and hold sacred the others story in Christ.

Blessings,
Sister Mary Colleen