Glimpse of Joy

C.S. Lewis once wrote that talking about God is like asking, “How many minutes are there in the color yellow?” St. Augustine says it another way when describing the Trinity, “I can experience far more than I can understand about the Trinity.”

God can never be fully captured or contained in words or concepts. God must be experienced.

In his autobiography, “Surprised by Joy”, C.S. Lewis says that his return to Christianity was nurtured by his experiences of unexpected, sometimes unexplained, feelings of deep joy, a joy which he came to believe were occasions of real encounters with the presence of God.

Belden C. Lane, in an article entitled Biodiversity and the Holy Trinity says this, “God’s deepest essence is a shared exchange of love (a choreography, a ‘dancing around’ welling up from the center of God’s hidden life, an expression of God’s excess and exuberance of joy. An impulse to shared joy and mutual attractiveness springs naturally from the divine being. Creation itself is a testimony to God’s endless and overwhelming exuberance.”

So, what is it that gets me past the care and concern for so many events which constantly rock our world? At the end of the day I try to remember the glimpses of JOY, sometimes in the outrageous exuberance of creation, sometimes in the encounters with people and events, which bring me “unexplained, unexpected, experiences” of the presence of God.

And I remember Who is in charge. And it’s not me.

– Elisabeth Tiernan, SNDdeN

Sr. Liz's reflection was originally published in the Fall 2019 Edition of Seasons, To view or download the full issue, click here: Seasons, Fall 2019

Meet Sr. Elisabeth Tiernan, SNDdeN

Sister Liz Tiernan lives in the Seattle area and is involved in the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur's Peace and Justice ministry. A gifted teacher who taught in California and Washtington State, she has enjoyed working with urban Native Americans. Click here to read more about her her.