Pope: true joy 'is not living for laughs, but peace of heart, given by God
Today we are content with a "non-joyful culture", "a culture where we invent many things to have fun", many "bits of sweet life", but which do not fully satisfy. In fact, joy is "not something that is bought in the market", "it is a gift of the Spirit" and also vibrates "in the moment of trouble, in the moment of trial".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Christian is joyous, and their joy "is not to live with laughter and mirth", nor "to be funny", but it is the peace of the heart, that " only God can give us" said Pope Francis at Mass this morning at Casa Santa Marta.
He was inspired by a passage from the first letter of Peter and the passage from the Gospel of Mark (10: 17-27), in which the rich young man is told who is unable to give up his wealth.
The true Christian, highlighted Francis, cannot be "dark" or "saddened". "Being a man and a woman of joy", he reiterated, means "to be a man and a woman of peace, it means to be a man and a woman of consolation".. It is “joy that Christians breath”, he said. Christians express themselves joyfully. Joy cannot be purchased or forced. “No”, the Pope said, “it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The one who puts joy in our hearts is the Holy Spirit”.
Memory is the solid rock on which the Christian finds joy. Remembering “what the Lord has done for us…regenerates us”, the Pope continued. That memory generates hope for what is to come in the future when we will meet the Son of God. Memory and hope allow Christians to live joyfully, and peace is joy lived to its perfection: Joy does not mean living from laugh to laugh. No, it’s not that. Joy is not entertainment. No, it’s not that. It is something else. Christian joy is peace, peace that is deeply rooted, peace in the heart, the peace that only God can give. This is Christian joy. It is not easy to foster this joy.
Pope Francis lamented the fact that today’s culture contents itself with fragments of pleasure that never satisfy completely. Since joy it is a gift of the Spirit, it vibrates even “in turbulent moments and in the moment of trial”. “There is a healthy restlessness, and there is another which is not healthy – that which seeks security above all, which seeks pleasure above all. The young man in the Gospel was afraid that if he gave up his wealth he would not be happy. Joy, consolation: this is our breath as Christians.”
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