Desideriamo in qualche modo la vita stessa, quella vera, che non venga poi toccata neppure dalla morte; ma allo stesso tempo non conosciamo ciò verso cui ci sentiamo spinti. Non possiamo cessare di protenderci verso di esso e tuttavia sappiamo che tutto ciò che possiamo sperimentare o realizzare non è ciò che bramiamo. Questa « cosa » ignota è la vera « speranza » che ci spinge e il suo essere ignota è, al contempo, la causa di tutte le disperazioni come pure di tutti gli slanci positivi o distruttivi verso il mondo autentico e l'autentico uomo. La parola « vita eterna » cerca di dare un nome a questa sconosciuta realtà conosciuta. Necessariamente è una parola insufficiente che crea confusione. « Eterno », infatti, suscita in noi l'idea dell'interminabile, e questo ci fa paura; « vita » ci fa pensare alla vita da noi conosciuta, che amiamo e non vogliamo perdere e che, tuttavia, è spesso allo stesso tempo più fatica che appagamento, cosicché mentre per un verso la desideriamo, per l'altro non la vogliamo. Possiamo soltanto cercare di uscire col nostro pensiero dalla temporalità della quale siamo prigionieri e in qualche modo presagire che l'eternità non sia un continuo susseguirsi di giorni del calendario, ma qualcosa come il momento colmo di appagamento, in cui la totalità ci abbraccia e noi abbracciamo la totalità. Sarebbe il momento dell'immergersi nell'oceano dell'infinito amore, nel quale il tempo – il prima e il dopo – non esiste più. Possiamo soltanto cercare di pensare che questo momento è la vita in senso pieno, un sempre nuovo immergersi nella vastità dell'essere, mentre siamo semplicemente sopraffatti dalla gioia. Così lo esprime Gesù nel Vangelo di Giovanni: « Vi vedrò di nuovo e il vostro cuore si rallegrerà e nessuno vi potrà togliere la vostra gioia » (16,22). Dobbiamo pensare in questa direzione, se vogliamo capire a che cosa mira la speranza cristiana, che cosa aspettiamo dalla fede, dal nostro essere con Cristo.

[Papa Benedetto, Spe Salvi n.12]

1. We have already heard several times from St Paul that "joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit" (Gal 5:22), as are love and peace, which we have discussed in previous catecheses. It is clear that the Apostle speaks of true joy, that which fills the human heart, certainly not of a superficial and transitory joy, as worldly joy often is.

It is not difficult, to an observer moving even along the lines of psychology and experience, to discover that degradation, in the field of pleasure and love, is proportional to the emptiness left in man by the fallacious and disappointing joys sought in what St Paul called the "works of the flesh": "Fornication, impurity, libertinage . . . drunkenness, orgies and the like' (Gal 5:19, 21). To these false joys can be added - and they are often linked to them - those sought in the possession and inordinate use of wealth, in luxury, in the ambition of power, in short, in that passion and almost frenzy for earthly goods that easily produces blindness of mind, as St Paul warns (cf. Eph 4:18-19), and Jesus laments (cf. Mk 4:19).

2. Paul was referring to the situation of the pagan world, to exhort converts to beware of iniquities: "Ye have not thus learned to know Christ, if ye have indeed hearkened unto him, and have been instructed in him, according to the truth which is in Jesus, whereby ye must lay aside the old man with the former conduct, the man that corrupteth himself after deceitful lusts. You must be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and true holiness' (Eph 4:20-24). It is the 'new creature' (2 Cor 5:17), which is the work of the Holy Spirit, present in the soul and in the Church. Therefore the Apostle concludes his exhortation to good conduct and peace this way: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were marked for the holy day of redemption" (Eph 4:30).

If the Christian "grieves" the Holy Spirit, who lives in his soul, he certainly cannot hope to possess true joy, which comes from him: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace . . ." (Gal 5:22). Only the Holy Spirit gives the deep, full and lasting joy to which every human heart yearns. Man is a being made for joy, not sadness. Paul VI reminded Christians and all people of our time of this in his apostolic exhortation 'Gaudete in Domino'. And true joy is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

3. In the Letter to the Galatians, Paul told us that joy is linked to charity (cf. Gal 5:22). It cannot therefore be a selfish experience, the result of disordered love. True joy includes the righteousness of the kingdom of God, of which St Paul says that "it is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 4:17).

It is evangelical righteousness, consisting in conformity to God's will, obedience to His laws, personal friendship with Him. Outside this friendship there is no true joy. Indeed, 'sadness as an evil and vice,' St Thomas explains, 'is caused by disordered self-love, which . . . is the general root of vices' (S. Thomae, Summa theologiae, II-II, q. 28, a. 4, ad 1; cf. ibid., I-II, q. 72, a. 4). Especially sin is a source of sadness, because it is a deviation and almost a distortion of the soul from God's righteous order, which gives consistency to life. The Holy Spirit, who works in man the new righteousness in charity, removes sadness and gives joy: that joy we see flourishing in the Gospel.

4. The Gospel is an invitation to joy and an experience of true and deep joy. Thus in the Annunciation, Mary is invited to rejoice: 'Rejoice (Khaire), full of grace' (Lk 1:28). It is the crowning of a whole series of invitations formulated by the prophets in the Old Testament (cf. Zech 9:9; Zeph 3:14-17; Gl 2:21-27; Is 54:1). Mary's joy will be realised with the coming of the Holy Spirit, announced to Mary as the reason for the "Rejoicing".

In the Visitation, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and joy, in the natural and supernatural participation in the exultation of her son who is still in her womb: "The child has rejoiced with joy in my womb" (Lk 1:44). Elizabeth perceives her son's joy, and manifests it, but it is the Holy Spirit who, according to the evangelist, fills both of them with such joy. Mary, in turn, just then hears the song of exultation gushing forth from her heart, expressing the humble, clear and profound joy that fills her almost in fulfilment of the Angel's "Rejoice": "My spirit exults in God, my Saviour" (Lk 1:47). Mary's words also echo the prophets' voice of joy, as echoed in the Book of Habakkuk: "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in God my Saviour" (Hab 3:18).A prolongation of this rejoicing occurs during the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple, when, upon meeting him, Simeon rejoices under the impulse of the Holy Spirit who had made him long to see the Messiah and had prompted him to go to the Temple (cf. Lk 2, 26-32); and in her turn, the prophetess Anna, so called by the evangelist, who therefore presents her as a woman consecrated to God and interpreter of his thoughts and commands, according to the tradition of Israel (cf. Ex 15, 20; Jdc 4, 9; 2 Kings 22, 14), expresses with praise to God the intimate joy that also originates in her from the Holy Spirit (Lk 2, 36-38).

5. In the Gospel pages concerning Jesus' public life, we read that, at a certain moment, he himself "rejoiced in the Holy Spirit" (Lk 10:21). Jesus expresses joy and gratitude in a prayer that celebrates the Father's benevolence: "I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the learned and the wise and revealed them to the little ones. Yes, Father, for it pleased you" (Lk 10:21). In Jesus, joy takes on its full force in the impulse towards the Father. So it is with the joys stimulated and sustained by the Holy Spirit in people's lives: their secret vitality directs them in the direction of a love full of gratitude towards the Father. All true joy has the Father as its ultimate end.

To the disciples Jesus addresses the invitation to rejoice, to overcome the temptation of sadness for the departure of the Master, because this departure is a condition laid down in the divine plan for the coming of the Holy Spirit: "It is good for you that I am going away, because if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you; but when I am gone, I will send him to you" (Jn 16:7). It will be the gift of the Spirit that will bring the disciples great joy, indeed the fullness of joy, according to the intention expressed by Jesus. The Saviour, in fact, after inviting the disciples to remain in his love, had said: "This I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full" (Jn 15:11; cf. Jn 17:13). It is the Holy Spirit who puts into the hearts of the disciples the same joy as Jesus, the joy of faithfulness to the love that comes from the Father.

St Luke attests that the disciples, who at the time of the Ascension had received the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit, "returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were always in the temple praising God" (Lk 24:52-53). In the Acts of the Apostles it appears that, after Pentecost, a climate of profound joy had been created in the Apostles, which was communicated to the community in the form of exultation and enthusiasm in embracing the faith, receiving baptism, and living together, as evidenced by "taking meals with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and enjoying the sympathy of all the people" (Acts 2:46-47). The book of Acts notes: "The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 13, 52).

6. Soon would come the tribulations and persecutions foretold by Jesus in announcing the coming of the Paraclete-Consoler (cf. Jn 16:1ff). But according to Acts, joy endures even in trial: we read that the Apostles, when they were brought before the Sanhedrin, flogged, admonished and sent home, returned "rejoicing that they had been outraged for the sake of the name of Jesus. And every day, in the temple and at home, they did not cease to teach and to bring the good news that Jesus is the Christ" (Acts 5:41-42).

This, after all, is the condition and lot of Christians, as St Paul reminds the Thessalonians: "You have become imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word with the joy of the Holy Spirit even in the midst of great tribulation" (1 Thess 1:6). Christians, according to Paul, repeat in themselves the paschal mystery of Christ, which has the Cross as its pivot. But its crowning glory is the "joy of the Holy Spirit" for those who persevere in trials. This is the joy of the beatitudes, and more particularly the beatitude of the afflicted, and of the persecuted (cf. Mt 5:4, 10-12). Did not the Apostle Paul say: 'I rejoice in the sufferings I endure for you . . ." (Col 1:24)? And Peter, for his part, exhorted: "Inasmuch as you share in Christ's sufferings, rejoice, that in the revelation of his glory you may also rejoice and exult" (1 Pet 4:13).

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to kindle in us more and more the desire for heavenly goods and make us one day enjoy their fullness: "Give virtue and reward, give holy death, give eternal joy.

Amen.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 19 June 1991]

"Do not be afraid", especially in difficult times: this was the message that Pope Francis reiterated in the Mass celebrated on Friday 30 May in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. A message of hope that spurs one to be courageous and to have "peace in one's soul" precisely in trials - sickness, persecution, everyday problems in the family - certain that true joy will be experienced afterwards, because "after the darkness there always comes the sun".

In this perspective, the Pontiff immediately pointed to the testimony of Saint Paul - a 'very courageous' man - presented in the Acts of the Apostles (18:9-18). Paul, he explained, 'did many things because he had the strength of the Lord, his vocation to carry the Church forward, to preach the Gospel'. Yet it seems that he too was afraid at times. So much so that the Lord one night, in a vision, expressly invited him "not to be afraid".

So even St Paul 'knew what happens to all of us in life', that is, having 'a little fear'. A fear that even leads us to review our Christian life, perhaps asking ourselves if, in the midst of so many problems, after all "it would not be better to lower the level a little" to be "not so Christian", seeking "a compromise with the world" so that "things would not be so difficult".

A reasoning, however, that did not belong to St Paul, who 'knew that what he was doing did not please either the Jews or the pagans'. And the Acts of the Apostles recount the consequences: he was taken to court, then there was 'persecution, trouble'. All this, the Pontiff continued, also brings us 'back to our fears, to our fears'. And one wonders whether being afraid is Christian. After all, the Pope recalled, "Jesus himself had it. Think of the prayer in Gethsemane: "Father, take this cup away from me. He had anguish". But Jesus also says: "Do not be afraid, go ahead!". It is precisely of this that he speaks in his farewell speech to his disciples, in the Gospel of John (16:20-23), when he tells them clearly: "You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice"; moreover, it will mock you.

Which, then, punctually happened. "Let us think," remarked the bishop of Rome, "of those spectacles in the Coliseum, for example, with the first martyrs" who were led to "die while people rejoiced" saying: "These fools who believe in the Risen One now let them end up like this!". For many, the martyrdom of Christians "was a feast: see how they died!". What Jesus told the disciples has therefore happened: "the world will rejoice" while "you will be in sadness".

There is, then, "the Christian's fear, the Christian's sadness". Besides, the Pope explained, "we must tell ourselves the truth: not all Christian life is a feast. Not all of it! One weeps, many times one weeps!". The difficult situations in life are many: for example, he noted, 'when you are sick, when you have a problem in your family, with your children, your daughter, your wife, your husband. When you see that your salary doesn't reach the end of the month and you have a sick child and you see that you can't pay the mortgage on the house and you have to leave'. It is "so many problems that we have". Yet "Jesus tells us: do not be afraid!".

There is also "another sadness", Pope Francis added: that "which comes to all of us when we go down a road that is not good". Or when, 'to put it simply, we buy, we go and buy the joy, the joy of the world, the joy of sin'. With the result that 'in the end there is emptiness within us, there is sadness'. And this is precisely "the sadness of bad cheerfulness".

But if the Lord does not hide the sadness, he does not leave us with this word alone. He goes on to say: 'But if you are faithful, your sadness will be changed into joy'. Here is the key point: "Christian joy is a joy in hope that comes. But in the moment of trial we do not see it'. It is in fact "a joy that is purified by trials, even everyday trials". The Lord says: 'Your sadness will be changed into joy'. A difficult discourse to get across, the Pope acknowledged. You can see it, for example, "when you go to a sick person, to a sick person who is suffering so much, to say: cheer up, cheer up, tomorrow you will have joy!". It is a matter of making that person who suffers "feel the way Jesus made her feel". It is "an act of faith in the Lord" and it is also for us "when we are in the dark and see nothing". An act that makes us say: 'I know, Lord, that this sadness will be changed into joy. I don't know how, but I do!".

These days, the Pontiff observed, in the liturgy the Church celebrates the moment when "the Lord went away and left the disciples alone". At that moment "some of them may have felt fear". But in everyone 'there was hope, the hope that that fear, that sadness will be changed into joy'. And "to make us understand well that this is true, the Lord takes the example of the woman giving birth", explaining: "Yes, it is true, in childbirth the woman suffers a lot, but then when she has the child with her she forgets" all the pain. And "what remains is joy", the joy "of Jesus: a joy purified in the fire of trials, of persecutions, of all that one must do to be faithful". Only this "is the joy that remains, a joy hidden in some moments of life, which is not felt in bad moments, but which comes later". It is, indeed, 'a joy in hope'.

Here then is 'the message of the Church today: do not be afraid', be 'courageous in suffering and think that after comes the Lord, after comes joy, after the darkness comes the sun'. The Pontiff then expressed the hope that 'the Lord will give us all this joy in hope'. And he explained that peace is "the sign we have of this joy in hope". Witnessing this 'peace in the soul' are, in particular, many 'sick people at the end of life, with sorrows'. Because precisely 'peace,' the Pope concluded, 'is the seed of joy, it is joy in hope'. If in fact "you have peace in your soul in the moment of darkness, in the moment of difficulty, in the moment of persecution, when everyone rejoices in your evil", it is a clear sign "you have the seed of that joy that will come later".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 31/05/2014]

«A very short time»: we are not in the waiting room

(Jn 16:16-20)

The human communion of the first disciples with the Master was suggestive, not exhaustive. It must now be renewed.

This takes place in the Jesus’ passage from the world to the Father. Thus in the journey and dialogue outside all circles, to which the apostles themselves are called.

The earthly separation from the Lord was dramatic. But today too we are driven to live and grow in the 'outgoing Church'.

A shift that forces the faithful in Christ to move from community sisters and brothers to an all-encompassing relationship with the human family.

The immediate perception would become unbreakable: Jesus must go and leave us alone so that we can enter the Mystery, in search.

So that it is the Risen One and the totally Other to emerge in this detachment, in the mist and night of the reiterated Exodus, all real and all new.

For us too, certainty becomes a problem; stability knows shocks.

We are not protégés - as in pagan religion, where the gods descended into our difficulties and sided with friends.

There is a severance from representations of God, even from our common way of thinking of the Risen One.

He becomes an echo of the soul - leading. And he becomes 'body', that is, Church; as well as “call” to the shattering of idols, to outgoing witness.

The evangelizing activity of the genuine apostles goes hand in hand with the Lord, and reflects His events, teaching, and type of confrontations.

In this way, the Living One becomes present and active in us, seamlessly.

Jn reflects a question-and-answer catechesis addressed to those who could not understand the meaning of the Master's death and asked for explanations.

Well: «a very short time» or «within a short time» are expressions that reaffirm and mark the continuity between the experience of physical closeness to Jesus and the ‘vision’ of the Risen One.

Transfigured and Lord in-us, He is the same Master that we recognize in His earthly life, including the less happy aspects. E.g. of rejection, denunciation, reproach.

Just like one who does not know how to be in the world.

These are priceless moments: times of rediscovery of cosmic and divine nearness, obviously purified of illusions of glory or social conformity.

Despite hostile environment, the inner situation of the disciple does not change: it is one of ‘permanent unity’ and is not interrupted, indeed it becomes more incisive and goal-directed.

Faith is penetrating Relationship: even today, no longer linked to feeling, ritual experience, or the signs of an established civitas christiana - but to the sharpness and incisiveness of personal adhesion.

Does He sometimes seem to vanish? Immediately after a doubt arises, everything is turned upside down.

Frankness in the harsh confrontation with established power or conformist ideas makes Him suddenly Present.

Alive and pungent, but astonishing.

It's true: when everything smacks of sadness and trial, in an instant the situation is reversed.

It is the moment of profound Happiness: of the ‘vision’ of the [invisible] Friend manifesting Himself in his Wisdom and concrete strength.

Incarnation that continues in the critical witnesses and in the assemblies that are configured as the luminous Awakening of the Lord.

They face the same Passion of love and do not shy away from problems: they make them flourish as God's vital Newness.

[Thursday 6.a wk. in Easter, May 29, 2025]

«A very short time»: we are not in the waiting room

(Jn 16:16-20)

The human communion of the first disciples with the Master was suggestive, not exhaustive. It must now be renewed.

This takes place in the passage of Jesus from the world to the Father. Therefore in the journey and dialogue outside any circle, to which the apostles themselves are called.

The earthly separation from the Lord was dramatic. But even today we are impelled to live and grow in the 'outgoing Church'.

A shift that obliges the faithful in Christ to move from community brothers and sisters to an all-encompassing relationship with the human family.

The immediate perception would become unbreakable: Jesus must go and leave us alone so that we enter the Mystery, in search.

This is so that it is the Risen One and the totally Other that emerges in this detachment, in the mist and night of the reaffirmed Exodus, all real and all new.

For us too, certainty becomes a problem; stability knows shocks. 

We are not protégés - as in pagan religion, where the gods descended into difficulties and sided with their friends.

There is a detachment from representations of God, even from our common way of thinking of the Risen One.

He becomes an echo of the soul, guiding. And it becomes 'body' i.e. Church; as well as 'call' to the shattering of idols, to outgoing witness.

The evangelising activity of the genuine apostles goes hand in hand with the Lord, and reflects his events, his teaching, his type of confrontations.

In this way, the Living One becomes present and active in us, seamlessly.

Certainly, the approaching events take on their own configuration - each time particular.

But for Faith in the victory of life over death, we understand: everything is configured in the ways that allow us to express the deepest core of being, our feeling called.

Fontal, authentic joy.

As disciples, we unfold the Risen One in the history of each one: death resurrection manifestations... personal, unprecedented even in the sign of travails - for each believer.

In such a typically Johannine perspective (and practical action) the death-resurrection, the glorification at the right hand of the Father [Ascension] and the Gift of the Spirit become simultaneous.

Like a 'new order' of things [so-called Return to the End of Time].

In short, the integral event of the humanising Messiah allows the believer to feel in communion with God, and united to the Son - without any caesura or temporal delay.

The Faith-Vision catches the innovative and creative Spirit of the Father at work, to build the definitive world.

Therefore, the Judgement from the Cross is now, it will not take place after a nerve-wracking wait, in a distant moment.

Church Time thus does not become 'intermediate'. Nor can it justify dark and empty forms of spirituality.

The impact with the divine challenges and exposes. Yet it possesses its own, unique density.

The tribulations would be there - even very serious, full of embarrassment and unprecedented - but they would drag the consciences far beyond the bewilderment and the sudden unfulfilling.

In the experience of the envoys, placed face to face with the Mission, the enigmatic 'in a little while' would have nothing impenetrable about it.

We 'see' it in the Spirit, but not only in the heart.

It is for an Announcement together - without intimism. Free relationship with reality and the Living One, 'from' ourselves.

Jn reflects a question-and-answer catechesis addressed to those who could not understand the meaning of the Master's death and asked for explanations.

The masters of the ancient religion of consensus rejoiced at the disappearance of that subversive and heretic who instead of keeping quiet and making a career had been a thorn in the side of their prestige - and earnings - finally done away with and shamed.

By now a failure and rejection even by God.

Well, "a very short time" or "within a short time" are expressions that reaffirm and mark the continuity between the experience of physical closeness with Jesus and the 'vision' of the Risen One.

Transfigured and Lord-in-us, it is the same Master that we recognise in his earthly life, including the less happy aspects. E.g. of rejection, denunciation, rebuke.

Just like one who does not know how to be in the world.

These are priceless moments: times of rediscovery of cosmic and divine closeness, obviously purified of illusions of glory or social conformity.

Despite the hostile environment, the disciple's inner situation does not change: it is one of permanent unity and is not interrupted, indeed it becomes more incisive and goal-directed.

Faith is a penetrating relationship: even today, no longer linked to feeling, ritual experience, or the signs of a monopolistic and consolidated civitas christiana - but to the acuity and incisiveness of personal adhesion.

Does it sometimes seem to vanish? Immediately after a doubt arises, everything is turned upside down.The frankness in the harsh confrontation with established power or the ideas of devotion good for festivals and all seasons, makes Him suddenly Present.

Vivid and uncomfortable, but astonishing.

It is true: when everything smacks of sadness and trial, in an instant the situation is reversed.

It is the moment of profound Happiness: of the Vision of the invisible Friend manifesting Himself in His real Wisdom and strength.

Incarnation that continues in the critical witnesses and assemblies that take the form of the Lord's luminous Awakening.

They face the same Passion of love and do not shy away from problems: they make them flourish as the vital Newness of God.

To internalise and live the message:

Is your testimony diluted and sleepy, or is it intense, insightful, pungent?

1. Listening to the words of Psalm 126[125], one has the impression of seeing before one's eyes the event of the "new Exodus" that is sung of in the second part of the Book of Isaiah: the return of Israel from the Babylonian Exile to the land of her fathers after the edict of the Persian King Cyrus in 538 B.C. It was thus a repetition of the joyful experience of the first Exodus, when the Jewish people were released from slavery in Egypt.

This Psalm acquired special significance when it was sung on the days when Israel felt threatened and afraid because she was once again being put to the test. Effectively, the Psalm contains a prayer for the return of the captives of that time (cf. v. 4). Thus, it became a prayer of the People of God in their historical wanderings, fraught with dangers and trials but ever open to trust in God the Saviour and Liberator, the support of the weak and the oppressed.

2. The Psalm introduces us into an atmosphere of exultation: people were laughing, celebrating their new-found freedom, and songs of joy were on their lips (cf. vv. 1-2).
There is a twofold reaction to the restored freedom.

On the one hand, the heathen nations recognized the greatness of the God of Israel: "What marvels the Lord worked for them!" (v. 2). The salvation of the Chosen People becomes a clear proof of the effective and powerful existence of God, present and active in history.

On the other hand, it is the People of God who profess their faith in the Lord who saves: "What marvels the Lord worked for us!" (v. 3).

3. Our thoughts then turn to the past, relived with a shudder of fear and affliction. Let us focus our attention on the agricultural image used by the Psalmist: "Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap" (v. 5). Under the burden of work, their faces are sometimes lined with tears: the sowing is laborious, perhaps doomed to uselessness and failure. But with the coming of the abundant, joyful harvest, they discover that their suffering has borne fruit.

The great lesson on the mystery of life's fruitfulness that suffering can contain is condensed in this Psalm, just as Jesus said on the threshold of his passion and death: "Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit" (Jn 12: 24).

4. Thus, the horizon of the Psalm opens to the festive harvest, a symbol of joy born from the freedom, peace and prosperity that are fruits of the divine blessing. This prayer, then, is a song of hope to turn back to when one is immersed in moments of trial, fear, threats and inner oppression.

But it can also become a more general appeal to live one's days and make one's decisions in an atmosphere of faithfulness. In the end, perseverance in good, even if it is misunderstood and opposed, always reaches a landing place of light, fruitfulness and peace.

This is what St Paul reminded the Galatians: "If [a man] sows in the field of the flesh, he will reap a harvest of corruption; but if his seed-ground is the spirit, he will reap everlasting life. Let us not grow weary of doing good; if we do not relax our efforts, in due time we shall reap our harvest" (Gal 6: 8-9).

5. Let us end with a reflection on Psalm 126[125] by St Bede the Venerable (672/3-735), commenting on the words by which Jesus announced to his disciples the sorrow that lay in store for them, and at the same time the joy that would spring from their affliction (cf. Jn 16: 20).

Bede recalls that "Those who loved Christ were weeping and mourning when they saw him captured by his enemies, bound, carried away for judgment, condemned, scourged, mocked and lastly crucified, pierced by the spear and buried. Instead, those who loved the world rejoiced... when they condemned to a most ignominious death the One of whom the sight alone they could not tolerate. The disciples were overcome by grief at the death of the Lord, but once they had learned of his Resurrection, their sorrow changed to joy; then when they had seen the miracle of the Ascension, they praised and blessed the Lord, filled with even greater joy, as the Evangelist Luke testified (cf. Lk 24: 53).

"But the Lord's words can be applied to all the faithful who, through the tears and afflictions of this world, seek to arrive at eternal jubilation and rightly weep and grieve now, because they cannot yet see the One they love and because they know that while they are in the body they are far from the Homeland and the Kingdom, even if they are certain that they will reach it with their efforts and struggles. Their sorrow will change into joy when, after the struggle of this life, they receive the reward of eternal life, as the Psalm says: "Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap' (Homily on the Gospel, 2, 13: Collana dei Testi Patristici, XC, Rome, 1990, pp. 379-380).

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 17 August 2005].

To the disciples Jesus addresses the invitation to rejoice, to overcome the temptation of sadness for the departure of the Master, because this departure is a condition laid down in the divine plan for the coming of the Holy Spirit: "It is good for you that I go away, because if I do not go away the Paraclete will not come to you; but when I have gone away, I will send him to you" (Jn 16:7). It will be the gift of the Spirit that will bring the disciples great joy, indeed the fullness of joy, according to the intention expressed by Jesus. After inviting the disciples to remain in his love, the Saviour said: "This I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full" (Jn 15:11; cf. Jn 17:13). It is the Holy Spirit who puts into the hearts of the disciples the same joy as Jesus, the joy of faithfulness to the love that comes from the Father.

St Luke records that the disciples, who at the time of the Ascension had received the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit, "returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were always in the temple praising God" (Lk 24:52-53). In the Acts of the Apostles it appears that, after Pentecost, a climate of profound joy was created in the Apostles, which was communicated to the community in the form of exultation and enthusiasm in embracing the faith, receiving baptism, and living together, as evidenced by "taking meals with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and enjoying the sympathy of all the people" (Acts 2:46-47). The book of Acts notes: "The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 13, 52).

6. Soon would come the tribulations and persecutions foretold by Jesus in announcing the coming of the Paraclete-Consoler (cf. Jn 16:1ff). But according to Acts, joy endures even in trial: we read that the Apostles, when they were brought before the Sanhedrin, flogged, admonished and sent home, returned "rejoicing that they had been outraged for the sake of the name of Jesus. And every day, in the temple and at home, they did not cease to teach and to bring the good news that Jesus is the Christ" (Acts 5:41-42).

This, after all, is the condition and lot of Christians, as St Paul reminds the Thessalonians: "You have become imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word with the joy of the Holy Spirit even in the midst of great tribulation" (1 Thess 1:6). Christians, according to Paul, repeat in themselves the paschal mystery of Christ, which has the Cross as its pivot. But its crowning glory is the "joy of the Holy Spirit" for those who persevere in trials. This is the joy of the beatitudes, and more particularly the beatitude of the afflicted, and of the persecuted (cf. Mt 5:4, 10-12). Did not the Apostle Paul say: 'I rejoice in the sufferings I endure for you . . ." (Col 1:24)? And Peter, for his part, exhorted: "Inasmuch as you share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, that in the revelation of his glory you may also rejoice and exult" (1 Pet 4:13).

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to kindle in us more and more the desire for heavenly goods and make us one day enjoy their fullness: "Give virtue and reward, give holy death, give eternal joy.

Amen.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 19 June 1991]

To break the forced laughter of "a non-joyful culture that invents everything to have a good time", offering "bits of sweet life everywhere", the true joy of the Christian takes care of it. Which "cannot be bought at the market" but is "a gift of the Spirit", guarded by faith and always "in tension between the memory of salvation and hope". It was all about joy as the authentic "breath of the Christian" in the homily delivered by Pope Francis during the mass on Monday 28 May at Santa Marta.

Taking his cue from the Gospel passage from Mark (10:17-27), the Pontiff pointed out that "this young man who wanted to go on in the life of service to God, who had always lived according to the commandments and also who was able to draw Jesus' love to himself, when he heard the condition that Jesus gave him "became dark in the face and went away saddened"". In practice 'the attitude, the attitude, the roots of his personality came out of his heart'. As if to say: 'Yes, I want to follow the Lord, go with the Lord, but don't touch riches'. Because, the Pope insisted, that young man "was imprisoned in riches, he was not free and for this reason he went away sad".

"Instead, in the first reading St Peter speaks to us of joy, not sadness but Christian joy," the Pontiff continued, recalling the passage from the apostle's first letter (1, 3-9). "This young man went away sad because he was not free, he was a slave," he explained. And "St Peter tells us: 'be filled with joy', exult with joy". Peter's expression is "strong": "Fill with joy, exult with joy".

But "what is joy?" asked Francis, referring to that joy "which Peter asks us to have and which the young man could not have because he was a prisoner of other interests". The Pope defined 'Christian joy' as 'the breath of the Christian'. Because 'a Christian who is not joyful in heart,' he said, 'is not a good Christian'.

Joy then, said the Pontiff, 'is the breath, the way of expression of the Christian'. Moreover, he noted, joy 'is not something you buy or I make with effort: no, it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit'. Because, he recalled, what causes "joy in the heart is the Holy Spirit". There is 'Christian joy if we are in tension between the memory - the memory of being regenerated, as St Peter says, that Jesus saved us - and the hope of what awaits us'. And 'when a person is in this tension, he is joyful'.

But, the Pope warned, "if we forget what the Lord has done for us, to give life, to regenerate us - the word is strong, 'regenerate us', a new creation as the liturgy says - and if we do not look at what awaits us, the encounter with Jesus Christ, if we have no memory, no hope, we cannot have joy". Perhaps 'we have smiles, yes, but joy, no'.

Moreover, Francis reiterated, "one cannot live Christianly without joy, at least in its first degree, which is peace". In fact 'the first step of joy is peace: yes, when trials come, as St Peter says, one suffers; but one comes down and finds peace and that peace no one can take away'. That is why 'the Christian is a man, a woman of joy, a man, a woman of consolation: he knows how to live in consolation, the consolation of the memory of being regenerated and the consolation of the hope that awaits us'. Precisely 'these two make that Christian joy and attitude'.

"Joy is not living from laughter to laughter, no, it is not that," the Pontiff warned. And "joy," he added, "is not being fun, no, it is not that, it is something else". Because "Christian joy is peace, the peace that is in the roots, the peace of the heart, the peace that only God can give us: this is Christian joy". The Pope pointed out that 'it is not easy to preserve this joy'. And 'the Apostle Peter says that it is faith that keeps it: I believe that God has regenerated me, I believe that he will give me that prize'. Precisely 'this is faith, and with this faith you keep joy, you keep consolation'. So 'joy, consolation, but only faith can keep it'.

"We," the Pope acknowledged, "live in a culture that is not joyful, a culture where so many things are invented to amuse us, to have a good time; they offer us little bits of sweet life everywhere". But 'this is not joy,' he explained, 'because joy is not something you buy in the marketplace: it is a gift of the Spirit'.

With this in mind, Francis suggested looking inside oneself, asking oneself: 'What is my heart like? Is it peaceful, is it joyful, is it in consolation?". What's more, the Pontiff relaunched, 'even in the moment of disturbance, in the moment of trial, that heart of mine is a heart that is not restless well, with that restlessness that is not good: there is a good restlessness but there is another that is not good, that of seeking security everywhere, that of seeking pleasure everywhere'. Like 'the young man in the Gospel: he was afraid that if he left the riches he would not be happy'.

Therefore 'joy, consolation' are 'our breath as Christians'. And so, Francis suggested, "let us ask the Holy Spirit to always give us this inner peace, that joy that comes from remembering our salvation, our regeneration and the hope of what awaits us". Because "only in this way can one say 'I am a Christian'". Indeed, there cannot be "a dark, saddened Christian, like this young man who 'at these words became dark in the face, went away saddened'". He certainly "was not a Christian: he wanted to be close to Jesus but he chose his own security, not the security that Jesus gives".

For this reason, the Pope concluded, "we ask the Holy Spirit to give us joy, to give us consolation, at least in the first degree: peace". Aware that "being a man and a woman of joy means being a man and a woman of peace, it means being a man and a woman of consolation: may the Holy Spirit give us this."

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 29/05/2018].

Without fear

Fear and sadness make people and even the Church sick, because they paralyse, make them self-centred and end up spoiling the air of communities that display the 'forbidden' sign on the door because they are afraid of everything. Instead, it is joy, which in sorrow comes to be peace, the courageous attitude of the Christian, sustained by the fear of God and the Holy Spirit. This is what the Pope said in the Mass celebrated on Friday 15 May in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta.

In the liturgy of the word, Francis was quick to point out, commenting on the day's readings, "there are two strong words that the Church makes us meditate on: fear and joy. And so - we read in the Acts of the Apostles (18:9-18) - the Lord says to Paul: "Do not be afraid; keep speaking".

"Fear," the Pope explained, "is an attitude that hurts us, weakens us, shrinks us, even paralyses us". So much so that "a person under fear does nothing, does not know what to do: he is fearful, fearful, concentrated on himself so that something bad, ugly does not happen to him". Therefore "fear leads to selfish egocentrism and paralyses". Precisely "for this reason Jesus says to Paul: do not be afraid, continue to speak".

Fear, in fact, 'is not a Christian attitude', but 'is an attitude, we might say, of an imprisoned soul, without freedom, which has no freedom to look forward, to create something, to do good'. And so those who are afraid keep repeating: 'No, there is this danger, there is that other, that other', and so on. "What a pity, fear hurts!" commented Francis again.

Fear, however, 'must be distinguished from the fear of God, with which it has nothing to do'. The fear of God, said the Pontiff, 'is holy, it is the fear of adoration before the Lord, and the fear of God is a virtue'. It, in fact, 'does not shrink, it does not weaken, it does not paralyse'; on the contrary, 'it leads forward towards the mission that the Lord gives'. And in this regard, the Pontiff added: "The Lord, in chapter 18 of Luke's Gospel, speaks of a judge who did not fear God or have regard for anyone, and did whatever he wanted". This "is a sin: the lack of fear of God and also self-sufficiency". Because "it distracts from the relationship with God and also from adoration".

Therefore, Francis said, 'the fear of God, which is good, is one thing; but fear is another thing'. And "a fearful Christian is little: he is someone who has not understood what the message of Jesus is".

The "other word" proposed by the liturgy, "after the Ascension of the Lord", is "joy". In the Gospel passage from John (16:20-23), "the Lord speaks of the passage from sadness to joy", preparing the disciples "for the moment of passion: 'You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will be in sadness, but your sadness will be changed into joy'". Jesus suggests "the example of the woman at the moment of childbirth, who has much pain but afterwards, when the child is born, she forgets about the pain" to make room for joy. "And no one will be able to take your joy away from you," the Lord therefore assures.

But "Christian joy," the Pope warned, "is not mere amusement, it is not a passing joy". Rather, "Christian joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit: it is having a heart that is always joyful because the Lord has overcome, the Lord reigns, the Lord is at the right hand of the Father, the Lord has looked upon me and sent me and given me his grace and made me a son of the Father". This is what 'Christian joy' really is.A Christian, therefore, 'lives in joy'. But, Francis asked, "where is this joy in the saddest moments, in moments of sorrow? Let us think of Jesus on the Cross: did he have joy? Eh no! But yes, he had peace!". In fact, the Pope explained, "joy, in the moment of pain, of trial, becomes peace". Instead, "a joy in the moment of pain becomes darkness, becomes gloom".

That is why 'a Christian without joy is not a Christian; a Christian who lives continuously in sadness is not a Christian'. To "a Christian who loses peace, in the moment of trials, of sickness, of so many difficulties, something is missing".

Francis invited people to "have no fear and have joy", explaining: "To have no fear is to ask for the grace of courage, the courage of the Holy Spirit; and to have joy is to ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit, even in the most difficult moments, with that peace that the Lord gives us".

This is what 'happens in Christians, happens in communities, in the whole Church, in parishes, in many Christian communities'. In fact, "there are fearful communities, who always play it safe: 'No, no, let's not do this...'. No, no, this cannot be done, this cannot be done'". So much so that "it seems that on the entrance door they have written 'forbidden': everything is forbidden out of fear". So 'when you enter that community the air is foul, because the community is sick: fear sickens a community; lack of courage sickens a community'.

But 'even a community without joy is a sick community, because when there is no joy there is emptiness. No, on the contrary: there is fun'. And so, at the end of the day, "it will be a beautiful community that is fun, but worldly, sick of worldliness because it does not have the joy of Jesus Christ". And 'one effect, among others, of worldliness,' the Pontiff warned, 'is to speak ill of others'. Therefore, 'when the Church is fearful and when the Church does not receive the joy of the Holy Spirit, the Church becomes sick, communities become sick, the faithful become sick'.

In the prayer at the beginning of Mass, the Pope recalled, 'we asked the Lord for the grace to lift us up to Christ seated at the right hand of the Father'. It is precisely "the contemplation of Christ seated at the right hand of the Father," he said, "that will give us courage, give us joy, take away our fear, and also help us not to fall into a superficial and amusing life".

"With this intention of raising our spirit towards Christ seated at the right hand of the Father," Francis concluded, "we continue our celebration, asking the Lord: raise our spirit, take away all fear and give us joy and peace.

[Pope Francis, homily s. Marta 15 May 2015; (from: L'Osservatore Romano, daily ed., Anno CLV, no.109, 16/05/2015)]

(Jn 16:2-15)

«He will receive from what is Mine and will proclaim to you [...] He receives from Mine and will announce you» (vv.14-15).

The teaching imparted by Jesus with his life was not incomplete, but a Germ that traced fundamental options, guidelines.

The magisterial insufficiency in the detailed case studies is significant. Christ is not a cast and dead model, but Motivation and Drive.

And God is not a predictor of the future, nor a reassurer - but a vital Presence. Even when in adverse events there seems to be a lack of air.

Indeed, in the right time, crises turn into the spelling of love; into opportunities to experience needs and relationships differently - even paradoxically, for genuine change; from within, natural.

Thus and in that spirit, the disciples began a journey of understanding the facts of Easter, discovering step by step that the story of Christ would embrace all the secrets of God.

In short, the first fraternities noted the “extraordinary” things of living following and ‘inner guidance’.

By living the Master's teaching in the most varied circumstances [favourable and joyful, or sad and at a loss] He made Himself close in the soul; and He manifested Himself, taking the step of the brethren.

A different Light - no longer neutral, standardized, whatever - animated the lives of the faithful and their coexistence.

They experienced a new Birth, like an unceasing Creation.

From the hearts of the believers in the Son of Man - even the formerly maligned ones - gushed forth an unseen Source of reconciliation and harmony of opposites.

A Wisdom of things unknown to the world of empire and other beliefs was emerging.

The Spirit of the Risen One made it possible to understand the critical fruitfulness of the Cross [«the burden»: v.12], thus expanding the solutions and orientations of the conventional competitive life.

Of course there were falls, due to natural precarious conditions, and the fact that it was not immediate to understand the logic of the Crucified One.

But the Action of the Spirit of the «Truth» [God's Faithfulness] illuminated, guided and stimulated a deeper interpretation of the Word of the Lord: not a deposit of crystallized statements.

The sons discovered: that Recall was living, inexhaustible in its meanings and in the possibility of understanding things.

Truth about the Eternal and about humanity, pregnant with existential implications.

Those reborn of water and the Spirit began to perceive it as ‘force’ of events, a real and overwhelming power.

Its intelligence was enriched in history, through assembly events, experiences, dialogues, reflections.

The Spirit of the wounded and Living Christ internalized that Call that renewed women and men, and their relationships.

People who did not even have self-esteem were put back on their feet. The profiteer was becoming righteous, the doubter more confident; the unhappy person was regaining hope.

Everyone in helping each other realized that they could live happily.

The assistance of the total and mystical divine Spirit, even today, guides the access and fullness of facets of the Truth; and is a stimulus for an innovative, democratic, multifaceted, personal understanding.

Banish insecurity.

We can still be in the most acute, energetic and contemplative frankness; in a fidelity of integral reading-interpretation of the Gospels that eschews all accommodation (vv.14-15).

[Wednesday 6th wk. in Easter, May 28, 2025]

(Jn 16:12-15)

«He will receive from Mine and proclaim to you [...] he will receive from Mine and proclaim to you» (vv.14-15).

The teaching imparted by Jesus with his life was not incomplete, but a germ that traced fundamental options, guidelines.

The magisterial insufficiency in the detailed case histories is significant. Christ is not a cast and dead model, but a Motive and Motor.

And God is not a predictor of the future, nor a reassurer - but a vital Presence. Even when in adverse events there seems to be a lack of air.

Although limited in space and time, his story and Word still germinates the guiding lines of an alternative world, empathetic even in the drama of bad times.

The complete Truth of the Lord (including the meaning of his death) is not about quantity - the number of truths, prescriptions: it is in fieri.

'Truth' itself demands to be deepened, intensified, made qualitative, totalising.

The writings of the New Testament attest to the action of the Spirit, who starting from archaic community situations (Mk) increasingly refines and reveals the sense of what "is to come" (v.13).

In the personal and ecclesial sequelae also extra moenia - it is about the possibility of an ever sharper understanding on our part.

We are not repositories of an aptitude for divination - of course - but for discernment [now capable of appreciating even deviations].

We are given a faculty to grasp the genius of time, even in imbalance and uprooting.

This is in relation to the disciples' capacity to correspond to the vocation that welcomes the new: a slow paradoxical glorification; for them too, 'the way of elevation'.

The penetration of the Mystery and the history of salvation, which had its apex and germinal source in Jesus of Nazareth, acquires more and more surprising clarity; new ways of being.

We discover in the Faith that our life can broaden the horizon. It is not carried out in function of God, as in archaic religions, which cage... but the other way around.

Christ speaks not of new truths, but of 'complete truth': specifically concerning the face of Heaven within; the profile of the integral and authentic woman and man; the character of the new society.

One of the ways in which the early Christians experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit was through prophecy, made fruitful by even unpleasant events that incessantly forced them to exodus, to move, to turn their gaze - thus overcoming the fear of growing.

One had to remain... only in individual or ecclesial frankness. 

If anyone had to 'isolate' themselves from the common mentality, it was to rediscover their deep roots, to interrupt the artificial behaviour ready to barter values.

Gradually the community brothers experienced the depth and total dimension of the teaching received.

Even persecutions and 'crosses' were not eradicated hastily.

In the right time, crises were transformed into the spelling of love; into opportunities to experience needs and relationships differently - even paradoxically, for genuine change; from within, natural.

In this perspective, every event was always better understood, internalised, assimilated and made one's own as the historical call of the God who reveals himself.

In the events of the early days, all the situations in which the Church will always find itself are revealed.

In this way and in that spirit, the disciples began a journey of understanding the facts of Easter.

The Lord's intimates were discovering step by step that the story of Christ would embrace all the secrets of God.

In short, the first fraternities observed the "extraordinary" things of living following and 'inner guidance'.

By living the Master's teaching in the most varied circumstances [favourable and joyful, or sad and at a loss] He made Himself close in the soul; and He manifested Himself, taking the step of the brethren.

A different Light - no longer neutral, standardised, whatever - animated the lives of the faithful and their coexistence.

They experienced a new Birth, like an unceasing Creation.

From the hearts of the believers in the Son of Man - even those who had previously been maligned - there gushed forth an unprecedented Source of conciliation and harmony of opposites. 

A Wisdom of things unknown to the world of empire and other beliefs was emerging.

The Spirit of the Risen One made it possible to understand the critical fruitfulness of the Cross ["the burden": v.12], thus expanding the solutions and orientations of the conventional competitive life.

Of course there were falls, due to natural precariousness, and to the fact that it was not immediate to understand the logic of the Crucified One.

But the Action of the Spirit of "Truth" [God's Faithfulness] enlightened, guided and stimulated them to interpret the Word of the Lord more deeply: not a storehouse of crystallised statements.The children discovered that that Call was living, inexhaustible in its meanings and in the possibility of understanding things.

Truth about the Eternal and humanity, pregnant with existential implications.

Those reborn of water and the Spirit began to perceive it as a force of events, a real and overwhelming power.

His intelligence was enriched in history, through assembly events, experiences, dialogues, reflections.

The Spirit of the wounded and Living Christ internalised that Call that renewed women and men, and their relationships.

People who did not even have self-esteem were being revived. The profiteer became righteous, the doubter more secure; the unhappy person began to hope again.

All in mutual help realised that they could live happily.

The assistance of the total and mystical divine Spirit, even today, guides the access and fullness of facets of the Truth; and is a stimulus to an innovative, democratic, multifaceted, personal understanding.

Let us banish insecurity.

We can still be in the sharpest, most energetic and contemplative frankness; in a faithfulness of integral reading-interpretation of the Gospels that eschews all accommodation (vv.14-15).