[...] Meditating on the Holy Rosary's Mysteries of Light, you have climbed this hill where you spiritually relived, as the Evangelist Luke recounts, the experience of Mary from Nazareth in Galilee, who "went with haste into the hill country" (Lk 1: 39) to reach the village in Judea where Elizabeth lived with her husband Zechariah. What drove Mary, a young woman, to undertake that journey? What, above all, led her to forget herself, to spend the first three months of her pregnancy at the service of her cousin in need of help?

The response is written in a Psalm: "I will run in the way of your commands when you enlarged my understanding" (Ps 119[118]: 32). The Holy Spirit, who makes the Son of God present in Mary's flesh, enlarged her heart to God's dimensions and urged her along the way of charity.

The Visitation of Mary is understood in light of the event that immediately preceded it in Luke's account in the Gospel: the Annunciation of the Angel and the conception of Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit descended upon the Virgin, the power of the Most High overshadowed her (cf. Lk 1: 35).

That same Spirit impelled her to "rise" and depart without hesitation (cf. Lk 1: 39) in order to help her aged relative. Jesus had just begun to form himself in the womb of Mary, but his Spirit had already filled her heart so that the Mother was already beginning to follow her divine Son. On the way that leads from Galilee to Judea it was Jesus himself who "urged" Mary on, instilling in her a generous desire to go to the aid of her neighbour in need, the courage not to put her own legitimate needs, difficulties, worries, the dangers to her own life first. It is Jesus who helped her to overcome everything, allowing her to be guided by faith that works through charity (cf. Gal 5: 6).

Meditating on this mystery we see why Christian charity is a "theological" virtue. We see that the heart of Mary is visited by the grace of the Father, is permeated by the power of the Spirit and interiorly compelled by the Son; that is, we see a perfectly human heart inserted into the dynamism of the Most Holy Trinity.

This movement is charity, which is perfect in Mary and becomes the model of the Church's charity, a manifestation of Trinitarian love (cf. Deus Caritas Est, n. 19).

Every gesture of genuine love, even the smallest, contains within it a spark of the infinite mystery of God: the attentive concern for a brother, drawing near to him, sharing his need, caring for his wounds, taking responsibility for his future, everything to the last detail becomes "theological" when it is animated by the Spirit of Christ.

May Mary obtain for us the gift to know how to love as she knew how to love. To Mary we entrust this singular portion of the Church that lives and works in the Vatican; we entrust to her the Roman Curia and the institutions connected to it, so that the Spirit of Christ may animate every task and service.

From this hill we extend our glance to Rome and to the entire world, and we pray for all Christians, so that they may say with St Paul: "the love of Christ urges us on", and with the help of Mary may they be able to spread the dynamism of charity in the world.

Again, I thank you for your dedication and warm participation. Take my greetings to the sick, the aged and everyone dear to you. To all I heartily impart my Blessing.

[Pope Benedict, 31 May 2007]

"Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country..." (Lk 1,39).

In front of this Grotto, which recalls the Shrine of Lourdes, we conclude the Marian journey made during the month of May. Let us relive together the mystery of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, on this pilgrimage through the Vatican Gardens which every year involves Cardinals and Bishops, priests, men and women religious, seminarians and many of the faithful. I am grateful to Cardinal Virgilio Noè and all those who have carefully prepared this pause for prayer at the feet of Our Lady.

The words of the Evangelist Luke echo in our hearts, "When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary ... [she] was filled with the Holy Spirit" (1,41)

The meeting between Our Lady and her cousin, Elizabeth, is like a sort of "small Pentecost". This is what I would like to stress this evening, on the eve of the great solemnity of the Holy Spirit.
In the Gospel account, the Visitation immediately follows the Annunciation:  the Virgin, who carries the Son conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in her womb, radiates grace and spiritual joy around her. It is the presence of the Spirit within her that causes Elizabeth's son, John, destined to prepare the way for the Son of God made man, to leap with joy.

Wherever Mary is, Christ is; and wherever Christ is, there is his Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and from him in the most sacred mystery of the Trinitarian life. The Acts of the Apostles rightly places emphasis on Mary's prayerful presence in the Upper Room, together with the Apostles gathered in expectation to receive the "power from on high". The "yes" of the Virgin, "fiat", draws down the Gift of God upon humanity:  as in the Annunciation, so in Pentecost. So it continues to happen throughout the Church's journey.

Gathered in prayer with Mary, let us implore an abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the whole Church, so that she may put out into the deep in the new millennium with her sails unfurled. In a special way, let us call down the Spirit upon all who work everyday at the service of the Holy See, so that the work of each one may always be enlivened by a spirit of faith and apostolic enthusiasm.

It is very significant that the last day of May brings us the feast of the Visitation. With this conclusion, it is as if we wanted to say that every day of this month has been a sort of visitation for us. We have lived a continuous visitation during the month of May, just like Mary and Elizabeth. We are grateful to God that this biblical event is presented to us once again by today's liturgy.
I hope for you all, who have gathered here in such a numerous group, that the grace of the Marian visitation you have experienced during the month of May and especially on this last evening, will be extended in the days to come.

[Pope John Paul II, 31 May 2001]

There are many Christians who do not know joy. And even when they are in church praising God, they look more like they are at a funeral than a joyful celebration. If instead they learn to come out of themselves and give thanks to God, "they would really understand what that joy is that sets us free".

And it was precisely Christian joy that was the focus of Pope Francis' homily this morning, Friday 31 May, Feast of the Visitation, during the concelebrated Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae [...].

"Today's two readings," began the Pontiff, referring to passages from the book of the prophet Zephaniah (3:14-18) and from the Gospel of Luke (1:39-56), "speak to us of joy, of gladness: 'Rejoice, shout for joy,' says Zephaniah. Shouting for joy. Cool this! "The Lord is in your midst"; do not be afraid; "do not let your arms fall down"! The Lord is powerful; he will rejoice for you. He too will rejoice for us. He too is joyful. "He will exult over you with shouts of joy". Hear how many good things are said about joy!".

In the Gospel account, joy characterises Mary's visit to Elizabeth. "Our Lady goes to visit Elizabeth," the Holy Father recalled. And presenting the image of Mary as a mother who is always in a hurry - just as he had done last Sunday in the Roman parish of Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah - Pope Francis dwelt on that "gasp of the child in Elizabeth's womb" revealed by her to Mary herself: "Behold, as soon as your greeting reached my ears, the child gasped with joy in my womb".

"Everything is joy. But we Christians,' noted the bishop of Rome, 'are not so used to talking about joy, joyfulness. I think that many times we like complaints more! What is joy? The key to understanding this joy is what the gospel says: "Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit". What gives us joy is the Holy Spirit. Even in the first prayer of the Mass we asked for the grace of docility to the Holy Spirit, the one who gives us joy'.

The Pope then spoke of another aspect of joy that comes to us from the Spirit. "Let us think," he said, "of that moment when Our Lady and St Joseph take Jesus to the temple to fulfil the Law. The gospel says that they go and do what was written in the Law". There are also two elders there; but, he noted, the Gospel does not say that they went there to fulfil the Law, but rather because they were driven by the 'power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit brings them to the temple'. So much so that, before Jesus, the two "make a prayer of praise: but this is the Messiah, blessed be the Lord! And they also make a spontaneous liturgy of joy". It is the faithfulness matured over so many years waiting for the Holy Spirit that makes "this Spirit come and give them joy".

"I like to think," Pope Francis went on to confide, "that the young people fulfil the Law; the elderly have the freedom to let the Spirit guide them. And this is beautiful! It is the Spirit who guides us. He is the author of joy, the creator of joy. And this joy in the Spirit gives us true Christian freedom. Without joy we Christians cannot become free. We become slaves of our sadnesses'.

So the Pontiff quoted "the great Paul VI", recalling that he said "you cannot carry the Gospel forward with sad, disheartened, discouraged Christians; you cannot. This attitude is a bit funerary". Instead, Christian joy comes precisely from praising God.

"But what is this praising God?" the Pope asked. "Praise him gratuitously, as the grace he gives us is gratuitous" was his response. Then, turning to one of those present at the celebration, he said: 'May I ask the question to you who are here at Mass: do you praise God? Or just asking God and thanking God? But praise God?" This, he repeated, means 'going out of ourselves to praise God, wasting time praising'.

At this point the Pontiff referred to one of the criticisms that is often levelled at priests: 'This mass you do is long'. Of course, he explained, still addressing those present, 'if you don't praise God and don't know the gratuitousness of wasting time praising God, of course it's a long mass! But if you go to this attitude of joy, of praising God, that is beautiful'. After all, 'eternity will be this: praising God. But this will not be boring, it will be beautiful. This joy sets us free'.

"And I want to add," he said in conclusion, "one last thing: it is she, Our Lady, who brings joy. The Church calls it the cause of our joy, causa nostrae letitiae, Why? Because it brings our greatest joy, it brings Jesus. And by bringing Jesus, she makes 'this child leap in his mother's womb'. She brings Jesus. She with her prayer causes the Holy Spirit to burst in. She burst forth on that day of Pentecost; she was there. We must pray to Our Lady so that by carrying Jesus she may give us the grace of joy, of freedom; Give us the grace to praise, to make a prayer of free praise, because he is worthy of praise, always".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 01/06/2013]

Affliction and joy in the pains of childbirth

(Jn 16:20-23a)

A widespread belief in Jesus' age was that the end time would be preceded by an excess of tribulation and violence.

The jubilation of the future golden age would be heralded by an unprecedented trials period.

The image of the parturient expressed the sense of intensely painful history in the turn of the times.

Hard times that were expected to be not excessively durable - compensated for by a liberation that would have one startled with joy.

The spirit of self-sufficiency and feigned security of the surrounding world [even of the religious caste, concerned with safeguarding itself] would have led church members into terrifying loneliness.

The faithful contradicted the “pious” and imperial way of considering life, based on false security and a spirit of affirmation.

The historical moment seemed invaded by sadness and at the same time by an ineffable, radical expectation, which paradoxically arose from the same cause of persecution.

Exclusion produced a sense of discouragement, but it was also a spring that activated incisive glances, and action, for a reverse fulfillment - in the living experience of the divine Presence.

Social estrangement triggered a situation of Freedom: it became an unexpected, profitable, tangible Gift.

Everything was proved to be useful in reconciling the multiplicity of faces with one's own scattered history, sisters and brothers, and God's future.

End of misunderstandings.

In light of the actual experience of the working Vision-Faith, even in malaise there would have been no questions to advance: only answers.

The mystery of each person’s existence was then eloquently elucidated, without scattershot questions anymore: rather, with inner guides.

In the figure of Jesus who "grees" his intimates, Jn introduces the Gift of the Paraclete. Spirit bearing the joy of the Master’s [silent] Presence.

Still «in the midst» - He was giving birth to the new world.

Frequent allusions to intimate sufferings in the text describe the reality of the Johannine communities of Asia Minor at the end of the first century, tormented by defections.

Oppression under Domitian was increasing, and many community brethren were impatient: they needed a key to profound interpretation, and a perspective.

They were not going to make it on their own, starting with themselves.

Jn intends to sustain the pains of believers and prevent flight, encouraging all to see persecution as a life-giving mechanism [birth pangs: v.21].

Only in this way would he who had death before his eyes not fear to continue in his frankness as a witness: he must have a strong Hope.

On such a ray of light and in the wake of God in history, step by step everything became clear.

In the life of the woman and the man of Faith, melancholy and joy went hand in hand - indeed, it was the absolute and lacerating trials that unleashed flow of life.

The death of Christ and his intimates made possible a new Birth of humanity.

Mystery of life, of tribulations, and of being in fullness «new creatures» ‘from genesis to genesis’.

It was precisely the travail that produced in the sons of God the joy of a rediscovered Presence, in the long time of evangelization - always in danger of going astray and in the temptation to give in.

We must remember this rhythm: sadness of leave-taking and new heart, joy and sadness...

Paradoxical synergy that can grow our engaging union with the Risen One, recognized as «personal Lord».

[Friday 6th wk. in Easter, May 30, 2025]

Affliction and joy in labour pains

(Jn 16:20-23a)

A widespread belief at the time of Jesus was that the last time would be preceded by an excess of tribulation and violence.

The joy of the coming golden age would be heralded by a period of unprecedented trials.

The image of the woman giving birth expressed the sense of the intensely painful history at the turn of the times.

Times that were not expected to be excessively long - compensated by a deliverance that would cause one to rejoice.

The spirit of self-sufficiency and feigned security of the surrounding world (even of the religious caste, preoccupied with safeguarding itself) would lead church members into terrifying loneliness.

The believers contradicted the pious and imperial way of looking at life, based on false certainties and a spirit of affirmation.

The moment in history seemed invaded by sadness and at the same time by an ineffable, radical expectation, which paradoxically arose from the same cause of persecution.

Exclusion produced a sense of discouragement, but it was also a spring that activated incisive glances, and action, for a reverse fulfilment - in the living experience of the divine Presence.

Social estrangement triggered a situation of Freedom: it became an unexpected, fruitful, tangible Gift.

Everything was shown to reconcile the multiplicity of faces with their own scattered history, brothers and sisters, God's future.

No more misunderstandings.

In the light of the real experience of the working Vision-Faith, even in the malaise there would be no questions to put forward: only answers.

The mystery of each person's existence was eloquently clarified, with no more scattering questions: rather, with inner guides.

In the figure of Jesus "greeting" his own, Jn introduces the Gift of the Paraclete. Spirit bearing the joy of the [silent] Presence of the Master.

Still in the midst - He was bringing the new world into being.

The frequent allusions to inner suffering in the text describe the reality of the Johannine communities in late 1st century Asia Minor, tormented by defections.

The oppression under Domitian was increasing, and many community brothers were impatient: they needed a profound key to interpretation, and perspective.

They would not have made it on their own, starting from themselves.

Jn intends to sustain the pains of the believers and to avoid flight, encouraging all to see in persecutions a generating mechanism of new life [labour pains: v.21].

Only in this way would those who had death before their eyes not be afraid to continue in their frankness as witnesses: they had to have a strong Hope.

On such a ray of light and in the wake of God in history, step by step everything became clear.

In the life of the woman and the man of Faith, melancholy and joy went hand in hand - indeed, it was the absolute and lacerating trials that unleashed the flow of life.

The death of Christ and his people made a new birth of humanity possible.

Mystery of life, of tribulations, and of being fully new creatures, from genesis to genesis.

In the Bible, Happiness is a perception of fullness of life, a place of celebration that transports the person and the entire fraternity from the ills of the journey - it is the great sign of the New World.

But the primitive communities experienced that intimate joy arose from the tears of a painful birth: this was also to be the case for the world to come; of unprecedented conquest and freedom.

From the labour pains arose a different, primordial life, filled with a different kind of exultation: dissonant from old forms, nomenclatures, and intentions, even for those giving birth.

In short, suffering did not deny the irradiation of the Spirit: it was a law of birth [not a negative force] that could indeed annihilate, but only those whose gaze was averted.

This was also the case with the Kingdom: its establishment happened within a struggle, never harmless - that even though it wounded outside and inside even the human substance, in the depths of the heart and relationships.

But it then reharmonised and more, in the thrill of discoveries, in the suggestions that throbbed - from which a new creation sprang.

To the official notes of the true Church [a holy catholic apostolic] one should perhaps add: harassed, scourged, nailed down. In this way, strengthened by a Word-Person that resonated within.

From all this came an unimpeded 'taste' from the earliest times, which immediately incurs worldly hostility. Nothing to do with empire and its pyramidal-feudal logic.

Precisely in the travail, each trial produced in the children of God the joy of a rediscovered Presence, in the long time of evangelisation - always in danger of going astray and in the temptation to yield.We must remember this rhythm: sadness of farewell and a new heart, joy and sadness....

Paradoxical synergy that can grow our engaging union with the Risen One, acknowledged Lord.

Spe Salvi

We somehow desire life itself, true life, which is then untouched even by death; but at the same time we do not know what we are being driven towards. We cannot cease striving towards it and yet we know that all that we can experience or realise is not what we long for. This unknown "thing" is the true "hope" that impels us and its being unknown is, at the same time, the cause of all despair as well as of all positive or destructive impulses towards the authentic world and authentic man. The word "eternal life" tries to give a name to this unknown known reality. Necessarily is an insufficient word that creates confusion. "Eternal', in fact, arouses in us the idea of the interminable, and this frightens us; 'life' makes us think of the life we know, which we love and do not want to lose, and which, however, is often at the same time more effort than fulfilment, so that while on the one hand we desire it, on the other hand we do not want it. We can only try to escape with our thoughts from the temporality of which we are prisoners and somehow presage that eternity is not a continuous succession of calendar days, but something like the moment filled with fulfilment, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality. It would be the moment of diving into the ocean of infinite love, in which time - the before and the after - no longer exists. We can only try to think that this moment is life in the full sense, an ever new immersion in the vastness of being, while we are simply overwhelmed with joy. This is how Jesus expresses it in the Gospel of John: "I will see you again and your heart will rejoice and no one will be able to take your joy away" (16:22). We must think in this direction if we are to understand what Christian hope aims at, what we expect from faith, from our being with Christ.

[Pope Benedict, Spe Salvi n.12]

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?