The Lord, through St. Paul, commands and graces us to rejoice in Him always (Phil 4:4). No matter how many problems we have, no matter how bad we feel — the fact that we are "in the Lord" dwarfs everything else. How can we let a little cloud or two eclipse the Son?

When we fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2), the Son of God (Mk 1:1), He will reveal to us our heavenly Father (Lk 10:22; Jn 14:6), Who is the Source of our joy. Jesus and the Holy Spirit will show us our Abba (see Gal 4:6) rejoicing over each one of us with gladness and renewing us in His love (Zep 3:17). We will see the reality that God Himself, our Abba, is at this moment singing joyfully because of us, His adopted children (Rm 8:15; Zep 3:17).

Abba's joyous singing is quite contagious — especially for His children. In the presence of Abba, we find ourselves breaking out into song and singing our parts in the Trinitarian musical. Our everlasting songs of joy drown out our passing sorrows. We "rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice!" (Phil 4:4)

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 16, 2018

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