Pope: Lulling oneself in endless sorrow is not Christian

At the General Audience, Francis dedicated his catechesis to sadness, inviting us to distinguish between its "friendly" face that spurs us to seek salvation and the "constant affliction" devoid of hope that festers the heart. "Let us not forget to pray for peace: war is always a defeat".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Even sadness, when it ends up becoming "lulling in endless pain", can become a vice in the spiritual life of the believer. Pope Francis said this today when he dedicated his Wednesday general audience with groups of pilgrims in the Paul VI Hall to this sentiment.

Continuing the cycle of catechesis on vices and virtues, he focused on sadness, understood as "a dejection of the soul, a constant affliction that prevents man from feeling joy in his own existence".

Francis invited us to distinguish: there is in fact a "friendly sadness which leads us to salvation", as that experienced by the prodigal son in the parable (see Luke 15:11-20) who, precisely because he felt great bitterness, reached rock bottom himself and decides to return to his father's house.

“But there is a second sadness - explained the pontiff - which is instead a disease of the soul. It is born in the heart of man when a desire or a hope vanishes", as happened to the disciples of Emmaus (Lk 24,21).

“The dynamics of sadness – Francis further observed – is linked to the experience of loss. In the heart of man, hopes arise which are sometimes dashed. It may be the desire to possess something that cannot be obtained; but also something important, such as an emotional loss. When this happens, it is as if the man's heart falls off a precipice, and the feelings he experiences are discouragement, weakness of spirit, depression, anguish."

It is an experience that we all live: “someone, after a time of turmoil, relies on hope; but others wallow in melancholy, allowing it to make their hearts gangrenous.” Sadness thus becomes "the pleasure of non-pleasure", it is like "taking a bitter sweet, without sugar, and continuing to suck it".

“Certain protracted mourning, where a person continues to widen the void of those who are no longer there – the pontiff warned – are not typical of life in the Spirit. Certain rancorous bitterness, whereby a person always has a claim in mind that makes him assume the guise of the victim, do not produce a healthy life in us, much less a Christian one. There is something in everyone's past that needs to be healed. Sadness can transform from a natural emotion into an evil state of mind."

The pope recalled that the desert fathers described this state of mind as "a worm of the heart, which erodes and empties those who host it. But it can be fought easily - he added - by cherishing the thought of the resurrection of Christ. However full life may be of contradictions, of defeated desires, of unfulfilled dreams, of lost friendships, thanks to the resurrection of Jesus we can believe that everything will be saved. Jesus was not resurrected only for himself, but also for us, to redeem all the happiness that remained unfulfilled in our lives."

Finally, like every week, greeting the groups of pilgrims present, the pontiff invited them not to forget the wars: "the tormented Ukraine, Palestine and Israel, the Rohingya, many wars that are everywhere - he said -. Let us pray for peace, because war is always a defeat."

In conclusion the Holy Father entrusted the young people, the sick, the elderly, the newlyweds "to the Virgin of Lourdes whom we will celebrate next Sunday: may she accompany you with maternal tenderness on your journey".