“I would encourage you to be missionaries of joy,” Pope Benedict XVI proclaims in his Message for World Youth Day 2012. “Joy is at the heart of Christian experience…God wants us to share in his own divine and eternal joy, and he helps us to see that the deepest meaning and value of our lives lie in being accepted, welcomed and loved by him…God offers us an unconditional acceptance which enables us to say: ‘I am loved…If God accepts me and loves me and I am sure of this, then I know clearly and with certainty that it is a good thing that I am alive.’…God wants us to be happy. That is why he gave us specific directions for the journey of life: the commandments. If we observe them, we will find the path to life and happiness. At first glance, they might seem to be a list of prohibitions and an obstacle to our freedom. But if we study them more closely, we see in the light of Christ’s message that the commandments are a set of essential and valuable rules leading to a happy life in accordance with God’s plan. How often, on the other hand, do we see that choosing to build our lives apart from God and his will brings disappointment, sadness and a sense of failure…Christians are men and women who are truly happy because they know that they are not alone. They know that God is always holding them in his hands.”

Tune in to Real Life Radio (94.9 FM/1380 AM) each Monday at 3:10 p.m. for Leo Brown’s discussion of the weekly question on his “Diocese Live!” program. The live broadcast is also accessible at www.realliferadio.com.