Question 7.117

7.117 Why, then, is Christian joy no longer understood?

For Saint Paul, joy is the distinctive mark of the Christian. Recall how he liked to exhort the Christians by telling them: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. … Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil 4:4-6). Without prayer there is no true joy. Similarly, Paul exclaimed: “Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I shall rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance” (Phil 1:18-19). Prayer is the source of our joy and serenity because it unites us to God, who is our strength. A sad man is not a disciple of Christ. Someone who relies on his own strength is always saddened when it declines. In contrast, a believer cannot be in sorrow because his joy comes from God alone. But spiritual joy depends on the Cross. By beginning to forget ourselves for the Love of God, we find him, at least obscurely. And since God is our joy, this joy is proportionate to our selfdenial and union with him.

Jesus himself invites us to live a life full of generosity, a life of giving but also of joy. Pope Francis speaks a lot about the simple happiness of the Gospel. In his apostolic exhortation Evangeliigaudium, “The Joy of the Gospel”, he writes: “With Christ joy is constantly born anew” (EG 1). The Holy Father correctly points out that it is necessary to pray daily so as not to lose this sweet fullness. The many demands of the world can torment Christian joy. One can even say that worldly happiness cannot understand Christian joy. We must be happy to follow Christ in all circumstances. The battle always proves to be rough, for there is no lack of sufferings. A smile does not come naturally when we face suffering and disappointment. If God truly possesses us, if Christ abides in us, joy always returns.

Indeed, joy cannot be forced; it springs spontaneously from an interior source that is God. His love constantly leads to true happiness. Thus, the peoples of the rich nations that have abandoned God are always sad, whereas the poor nations of believers radiate a true joy; they have nothing, but God is a constant light for them because he dwells in their hearts. I was able to observe this again during my last trip to the Philippines, with the pope, in January 2015.