Everyone has that certain pleasure in life that if removed from their life would not be good for the health of those around them. My wife’s pleasure is her morning coffee and mine is ice cream. A lot of people like to unwind from a long day with a glass of wine, or start their morning by reading the paper. These things all bring us pleasure and we need these pleasures in our life to lift our spirits and help ease the stress of life.
Is God one of our pleasures? If so, what attracts us to Him? Why do we even go to church? Sometimes at church, it feels as if we just go through the motions and forget the joy that brought us there in the first place. Are we going because we are supposed to go or because we really want to go? We may know when to sit and stand and can recite the responses, but we sometimes act like robots as we just go through the motions. Since Christmas falls on a Saturday, do we have to go to church on Sunday as well? Is this holy day an obligation this year? We shouldn’t try to find ways to get out of going to church, but we should look to find ways to go more often. There is no rule that says we have to dash to the parking lot as soon as the priest processes past our pew during the recessional hymn. Where do we have to go in such a hurry that we can’t stay for one or two more minutes and finish singing a song to the God who loves us with all of His heart?
I was filled with so much joy when my family and I went to the Christmas vigil Mass. The church was packed and everyone was dressed up. It warmed my heart to hear the crowd singing and glorifying God together. This is how it should be ideally every weekend. If we don’t go to visit God frequently and spend at least a little time each week praising Him, our spiritual life will run dry. When our spiritual life runs dry, our souls are more vulnerable to sin and we will have less inspiration to do good.
If we don’t nurture our relationships, the love will eventually dry up. If we take the pleasures out of life, we will more easily tire from the stresses of life. I definitely don’t act like a robot when I eat ice cream. I enjoy every bite of it. When I do things that I love, I try to be fully present in the moment. If I don’t understand something that I like, I try to learn more about it so I can more fully enjoy it.
We need to make sure we keep some logs on the fire or work at restarting the fire of love within us towards God. If we find our spiritual life drying up, just return to Jesus and ask for His help. He will add flavor to the bland, make the ordinary extraordinary, and bring the joy back in our lives. When we rediscover the meaning behind why we do things, we will be happier and our spiritual lives will grow beyond measure.
