JO Y F UL MI S S IONA RY DI S C I PL E S
Joyful: Give Your Heart Daily
Can you imagine the tension that must
have been present at the Last Supper? After
three years of traveling with Jesus through-
out his public ministry, the apostles must
have been amazed, bewildered and, yes,
fearful. They heard Jesus tell them multiple
times that he would be handed over to the
gentiles, be crucified, suffer, die—and then
rise from the dead. They had witnessed
miracle upon miracle and experienced his
power when he sent them out to preach,
drive out evil spirits, and heal (Mk 6:7-13).
They had experienced his love and compas-
sion as they traveled endless hours with
him and he spoke to their hearts—both in-
dividually and as a “band of brothers” and
the original fathers of the Church.
Jesus began to explain the new reality
that would come into being for his apos-
tles and future disciples. In chapter 14 of
John’s gospel, we read that Jesus explained
that the Holy Spirit was coming, that Jesus
would not leave them orphans, and that
they would soon experience a greater inti-
macy with God than ever before: “On that
day you will realize that I am in the Father
and you are in me and I in you” (Jn 14:20).
To further illustrate the new level of in-
timacy the apostles (and future disciples as
well) of Jesus would have with God, Jesus
explained that “I am the vine and you are
the branches” (Jn 15:5a) and “By this is my
Father glorified, that you bear much fruit
and become my disciples” (Jn 15:8). Jesus
then instructed the apostles to remain in
his love and that by keeping his command-
ments they would remain in his love.
Upon telling them of this new reality
that was to come, which would be depen-
dent on their whole-hearted commitment,
Jesus revealed, “I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and your joy might
be complete” (Jn 15:11). The apostles knew
the joy Jesus had and displayed! No more
attractive joy and love had ever graced the
earth than the joy and love of Jesus, because
his was a divine joy and a divine love in per-
fect communion with his Father and the
Spirit and free from all sin.
At Pentecost, all of the apostles (except
for Judas) would be imbued with that joy
through the Holy Spirit. But first . . . they
scattered when Jesus was arrested. At some
point, the apostles had a choice to make:
keep running or turn back.
By the time the apostles arrived in the
Upper Room at Pentecost, they had turned
back to their fate as disciples of Jesus. They
were locked in the Upper Room with fear
until the Holy Spirit utterly transformed
them. From then on, they were all in.
This isn’t to say they wouldn’t make mis-
takes in their apostolic mission, but it is to say
that their hearts from that day forward would
be given over fully to Christ and his mission.
However, this commitment surely had to
have been made repeatedly by the apostles as
they encountered persecutions abroad.
How did they stay committed? How do
we follow suit?
He Really Is With Us
The apostles received incredible prom-
ises from the Lord before he took physical
leave of their presence at the Ascension. At
the Last Supper, Jesus told his apostles that
“whoever has my commandments and ob-
serves them is the one who loves me, and
whoever loves me will be loved by my Fa-
ther and I will love him and reveal myself to
him”(Jn 14:21). After his resurrection, Jesus
likewise told his apostles, “Behold, I am
with you always, until the end of the age”
(Mt 28:20b). The Lord’s promise to his
apostles, and us as well, which we do well
to take to heart, is that he really is with us.
At every moment of the day, Jesus is
right there waiting to encounter us. As
Pope Francis notes, “Whenever we take a
step towards Jesus, we come to realize that
he is already there, waiting for us with open
arms” (EG, no. 3).
The true joy of being a disciple of Jesus
flows from not just choosing to acknowl-
edge and encounter Jesus (as critical as this
is), but choosing to go all in with Jesus by
giving him your whole heart uncondition-
ally every day. That’s a life changing en-
counter with Jesus! We remember that the
rich young man went away sad in the gos-
pel of Luke because he didn’t go all in with
Jesus when Jesus asked him to do so.
Some of the most joyful words to flow
across the lips of a disciple of Jesus are, “I’m
all yours Lord, do with me what you will!”
In his will we find true joy.
A major aspect of living as a joyful
How to Grow in
Friendship with
the Holy Spirit
Here are practical tips for cultivating
a relationship with the Holy Spirit,
another mark of a joyful missionary
disciple!
• Ask for a daily infilling of the Holy
Spirit. Each morning, simply ask
the Holy Spirit to imbue your mind
with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and
enable you to bear the fruits of the
Holy Spirit in abundance. Joyful
missionary disciples abound in the
fruits of the Holy Spirit—they’re the
bait for the Jesus fishing company!
• Begin to cultivate a relationship
with the Holy Spirit throughout the
day. Ask him to lead you and to
help you see what he wants you to
see. Frequently surrender yourself to
his will.
• Attend a workshop or program,
such as Called and Gifted, to help
you to discover what your God-
given charisms are.
• Receive the gift of baptism in the
Holy Spirit if you have not already
done so. Baptism in the Spirit is
a beautiful gift God has given to
the Church. A great way to receive
this gift is to attend a Life in the
Spirit seminar. While it comes forth
as a great fruit of the Charismatic
Renewal, it is not only for those
who enjoy that expression of the
Catholic faith.
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