Reflection for FRIDAY, 6th Week of Easter.
By
Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Director, Social Action Movement, Don Bosco Bidar
Reflective Reading of the Word of God
John 16:20-23
Your hearts will be full of joy that no-one will take from you
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you will be weeping and wailing
while the world will rejoice;
you will be sorrowful,
but your sorrow will turn to joy.
A woman in childbirth suffers,
because her time has come;
but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering
in her joy that a man has been born into the world.
So it is with you: you are sad now,
but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy,
and that joy no one shall take from you.
When that day comes,
you will not ask me any questions.’
Reflection on the Readings
The mystery of life is that, among other things, it has a spectrum of emotions.
There is happiness and gladness, and there is also sadness and unhappiness.
And of course, we may wonder why can’t we be always happy in life.
Or we may even ask why is there so much unhappiness in life.
And with that, it will be inevitable that we may even ask what is the meaning of life, if life has so much unhappiness.
But we also need to acknowledge that there are happy moments in life.
And as much as happy moments do not last long, neither do sad moments.
Jesus said in the gospel that we will have sadness but our sorrow will turn to joy.
He gave the example of a woman in childbirth in labour pains but her joy will be in her newborn baby.
And as we think about the sufferings of Jesus on the Cross, He endured the pain and even died, but through His suffering and death, He won for us eternal life and victory over sin.
In our sufferings and sorrow, let us look at Jesus on the Cross, and He will give us the hope of the joy and happiness to come.
GOD BLESS YOU
Good morning. Have a nice day.