MARCH 31, 2019
7:30 AM, 5:30 PM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES
George William Cooke was born in 1884 in Yorkshire, England. He was a Methodist minister in Wilmington, Delaware; and worked with a group called the Gospel Crusaders that ran gospel revivals and Christian camp meetings.
As a young man, Cooke circled the globe – twice – with Samuel Brengle … a former Methodist minister and the first American to attain the rank of Commissioner in the Salvation Army.
Cooke compiled a book of songs called Gospel Crusade Hymns, and is author of many. Perhaps chief among them titled, “Joy in my heart.” The original lyrics were “I have the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart,” or as it has come down to us nearly 100 years later, “I’ve got that joy joy joy joy, down in my heart.”
This song has found its way into popular culture through a 2016 Volkswagon TV commercial, and a 2015 Coca-Cola advertisement; as well as in a 1992 Simpsons episode (S04E10) as well as countless scenes from the 1960s sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies.
Cooke died in 1951 in Jamestown – situated in Chautauqua County, the western-most county in the state of New York.
Today is Laetare Sunday – the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Similar to Gaudete Sunday – the Third Sunday in Advent, the vestments are of a Rose color [Yes, I know this is pink] to signal that we have passed the half-way point in a penitential season. The Introit – or Entrance Antiphon – for both of these half-way Sundays exhorts us to Rejoice!
Unless you are a well-heeled Latin scholar, you may not realize that while Laetare and Gaudare both mean to rejoice. But there is a distinction. In Advent, the rejoicing (Gaudete) is interior; while in Lent, the rejoicing (Laetare) is exterior.
The internet definition of joy is rather misleading. According to Google, joy is “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” But this is a bit of a mess.
Philosopher Dr. Peter Kreeft states that:
Joy is more than happiness, just as happiness is more than pleasure.And he further elaborates that:
Pleasure is in the body.Happiness is in the mind and feelings. Joy is deep in the heart, the spirit, the center of the self.And so, it would seem that Dr. Kreeft helps to clarify the confusion generated by the internet definition of joy … while being in agreement with Pastor Cooke as to the location of joy … at least, in some part.
Digging a little deeper, St. Thomas Aquinas, the 13th century Theologian, in his Summa Theologia (originally penned in medieval Latin) addresses “Joy” in Question 28 in the Secunda Secundae (that is, the second part of the second part).
My own very terse summation of those four rather lengthy articles is:
Love is the cause of joy.Joy is a participation in the Divine good.Perfect joy is not something we take in, but rather something we enter into.Joy is an act of Love … an effect of Love … the noblest human act.The term St. Thomas Aquinas uses for “Love” is “Caritas” … the highest form of Love – the self-sacrificial total-gift-of-self Divine Love.
Returning to Dr. Kreeft for a wrap-up on Joy,
Everyone wants pleasure. More deeply, everyone wants happiness. Most deeply, everyone wants joy.As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us pray to receive a superabundant outpouring of the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love … most especially Love … Agape … Caritas … so that we might experience in the midst of our penitential practices … the Spiritual Fruit of Joy.
