THROUGH UNTRUE Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P. There should be a law banning the use of Christian words to name commercial products. When Christian words are used for marketing purposes, they lose their original meaning. The power and influence of the realities they symbolize are diminished. For instance, many people today seldom think of JOY as a Christian virtue or one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They invariably think of it as a detergent or toilet paper. Today, Gaudete Sunday, we retrieve the original meaning of joy, as we anticipate the merriment and festivities of Christmas. And for many of us whose energy has been drained by the pandemic and the serial calamities that we endured, Gaudete Sunday reminds us that joy can be a source of strength. Have you ever thought of joy that way? Many of us think that joy is a by-product of success, material wealth, honor, and popularity. In truth, even if we lack any of those, we can still be joyful. In fact, St. Paul writes that even in the darkest moments of life, we can experience joy and make it a source of strength. We read in one of his letters: “I have been in prison frequently, whipped more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times, the Jews have given me 39 lashes; three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked and stayed in the sea for a night and a day; I was constantly in danger of robbers, in danger of betrayal by false friends; I have labored in weariness and fatigue; I was often sleepless, hungry, thirsty, in cold and darkness” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). In another letter, St. Paul writes: “Rejoice always, I say it again, rejoice! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:4). Since his heart was fixed on rejoicing at whatever comes, no storm or misfortune could steal his joy because he was convinced beyond all doubt that God cared for him. Joy is compatible with adversity. In fact, it is often from our painful experiences that we develop our capacity for real joy. As one poet says: “Joy lies cheek to cheek with the deepest sorrow, and we cannot appreciate one without experiencing the other." To rejoice does not mean to pretend as though we have no problems. St. Thomas Aquinas writes that joy (felicitas in Latin) is the “habitual cheerfulness that allows us to take pleasure in fun, wit, childlike playfulness, humor, and laughter, even in the midst of difficulties, problems, and suffering.” True joy comes from a spirit of GRATITUDE. No matter what we lack or what we suffer, we have many things to be thankful for. Joy makes us praise God because everything that we have now, everything that we are now, is undeserved grace. I often hear people say that they could not attend the Sunday Mass because they have other pressing things to do. As one man said: "I find no reason to thank God today because I spend all my time earning enough for my future. Maybe when I have sufficient savings for a worry-free retirement, I'll start going to Mass and thank God." The sad thing is, when he finally had the time for that, he had found himself in a hospital undergoing an open-heart surgery due to too much work preparing for his retirement.  Sad, isn't it? People who cannot devote a little time to thank God on Sundays, preferring to work for more money and profits, should recall that when God fed the Jews with manna from heaven, He instructed them to gather only what they could eat for one day. The manna they gathered beyond one day’s supply would spoil (Ex.16:22- 23). Indeed, at the root of our joyless workaholism is our lack of faith in God’s providence.