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On Joy, Briefly: Benedict, Francis, and St. John Paul

On Joy, Briefly: Benedict, Francis, and St. John Paul

Last updated on: September 4, 2015 at 7:19 am by Tom Zampino

On Joy, Briefly: Benedict, Francis, and St. John Paul 2015-09-04T07:19:56-05:00 Tom Zampino

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At times, joy may seem so very elusive.

At times, we might not even know what joy is, or how to find it.

But we have to understand that joy is more than a feeling.

It’s more than a simple, fleeting emotion.

It comes from within.

It comes from who we are.

It comes from who we have become.

And it radiates outward because of whose we are.

While surely there are many others, here are a few brief thoughts on joy spoken by Benedict, Francis, and St. John Paul.

Perhaps you’ll find something here, if even just a word or two, upon which to build this brand new day.

Benedict XVI:

Something I constantly notice is that unembarrassed joy has become rarer.

Joy today is increasingly saddled with moral and ideological burdens, so to speak.

When someone rejoices, he is afraid of offending against solidarity with the many people who suffer.

I don’t have any right to rejoice, people think, in a world where there is so much misery, so much injustice.

I can understand that.

There is a moral attitude at work here. But this attitude is nonetheless wrong.

The loss of joy does not make the world better – and, conversely, refusing joy for the sake of suffering does not help those who suffer.

The contrary is true.

The world needs people who discover the good, who rejoice in it and thereby derive the impetus and courage to do good.

Joy, then, does not break with solidarity.

When it is the right kind of joy, when it is not egotistic, when it comes from the perception of the good, then it wants to communicate itself, and it gets passed on.

In this connection, it always strikes me that in the poor neighborhoods of, say, South America, one sees many more laughing happy people than among us.

Obviously, despite all their misery, they still have the perception of the good to which they cling and in which they can find encouragement and strength.

In this sense we have a new need for that primordial trust which ultimately only faith can give.

That the world is basically good, that God is there and is good.

That it is good to live and to be a human being.

This results, then, in the courage to rejoice, which in turn becomes commitment to making sure that other people, too, can rejoice and receive good news.

Francis:

And here the first word that I wish to say to you: joy!

Do not be men and women of sadness: a Christian can never be sad!

Never give way to discouragement!

Ours is not a joy born of having many possessions, but from having encountered a Person: Jesus, in our midst; it is born from knowing that with him we are never alone, even at difficult moments, even when our life’s journey comes up against problems and obstacles that seem insurmountable, and there are so many of them!

St. John Paul II:

God made us for joy.

God is joy, and the joy of living reflects the original joy that God felt in creating us.

Have a safe and restful Labor Day Weekend!

UPDATE: A prior quote used here had been mis-attributed to Francis. Accordingly, I have substituted an authentic one, above.

Peace

All Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons (Various)

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