(Note: Edited to accommodate a recent entry)
If you grew up in the Philippines, chances are like me you were brought-up Roman Catholic and according to some (it is said the French think so) we are the most rabid kind!
I'd like to talk about though what I remember though from the religion classes we were taught in school on "the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit". Ok, don't ask me what they all are off the top of my head. I can't give you an answer without having to "cheat" and look for them on Google!
That being said, I'd like to talk about one of them: the sense of joy.
What is joy? Well the simple man-on-the-street answer is that it is like happiness but of a greater kind. There is a sense of profoundness about joy as opposed to just plain being "happy". The thing about happiness though is that it is for itself alone. It is limited and self-centered. We can be happy for the wrong reasons can't we? Like when we see an enemy's defeat or someone whom we dislike suffer a misfortune. We can be happy only for ourselves and not share it with others. We can derive happiness from "substances" and abuses of the body too, but these are only temporary.
Joy however isn't concern with the "self". It is a genuine feeling that begets goodness and encourages it. It wants to be shared and passed on to others. It is deep and attaches itself to the soul and not just the fleeting moments of selfish motives. Thus, it is long-lasting and sustains us.
This is the real essence of joy. In his greatness, the Supreme Being shared this with us deep, transcendental feeling.
As Michael V. sang on a dish washing liquid commercial on TV: "I've got Joy deep in my heart! Deep, deep, down in my heart! . . ."
I'd like to talk about though what I remember though from the religion classes we were taught in school on "the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit". Ok, don't ask me what they all are off the top of my head. I can't give you an answer without having to "cheat" and look for them on Google!
That being said, I'd like to talk about one of them: the sense of joy.
What is joy? Well the simple man-on-the-street answer is that it is like happiness but of a greater kind. There is a sense of profoundness about joy as opposed to just plain being "happy". The thing about happiness though is that it is for itself alone. It is limited and self-centered. We can be happy for the wrong reasons can't we? Like when we see an enemy's defeat or someone whom we dislike suffer a misfortune. We can be happy only for ourselves and not share it with others. We can derive happiness from "substances" and abuses of the body too, but these are only temporary.
Joy however isn't concern with the "self". It is a genuine feeling that begets goodness and encourages it. It wants to be shared and passed on to others. It is deep and attaches itself to the soul and not just the fleeting moments of selfish motives. Thus, it is long-lasting and sustains us.
This is the real essence of joy. In his greatness, the Supreme Being shared this with us deep, transcendental feeling.
As Michael V. sang on a dish washing liquid commercial on TV: "I've got Joy deep in my heart! Deep, deep, down in my heart! . . ."
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