In the midst of life’s struggles, it can be difficult to be joyful, especially when we are denied physical closeness with those who give us the most joy during perhaps the most joyful season of the year.

Yet, in his 1st Letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul reminds us that there is always something to be joyful for, to pray for, to be thankful for: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in...