I think that now especially is a good time to take a deeper look at the meaning of joy.
One of the paragons of joy was Saint Francis. In The Little Flowers, there is a story about Francis and Brother Leo discussing the meaning of "true joy." No summary can really do it justice, so I'm going to include it verbatim because, well, I'm running this blog.
"One winter day St. Francis was coming to St. Mary of the Angels from Perugia with Brother Leo, and the bitter cold made them suffer keenly. St. Francis called to Brother Leo, who was walking a bit ahead of him, and he said: "Brother Leo, even if the Friars Minor in every country give a great example of holiness and integrity and good edification, nevertheless write down and note carefully that perfect joy is not in that."
And when he had walked on a bit, St. Francis called him again, saying: "Brother Leo, even if a Friar Minor gives sight to the blind, heals the paralyzed, drives out devils, gives hearing back to the deaf, makes the lame walk, and restores speech to the dumb, and what is still more, brings back to life a man who has been dead four days, write that perfect joy is not in that."
And going on a bit, St. Francis cried out again in a strong voice: "Brother Leo, if a Friar Minor knew all languages and all sciences and Scripture, if he also knew bow to prophesy and to reveal not only the future but also the secrets of the consciences and minds of others, write down and note carefully that perfect joy is not in that."
And as they walked on, after a while St. Francis called again forcefully: 'Brother Leo, Little Lamb of God, even if a Friar minor could speak with the voice of an angel, and knew the courses of the stars and the powers of herbs, and knew all about the treasures in the earth, and if be knew the qualities of birds and fishes, animals, humans, roots, trees, rocks, and waters, write down and note carefully that true joy is not in that."
And going on a bit farther, St. Francis called again strongly: "Brother Leo, even if a Friar Minor could preach so well that be should convert all infidels to the faith of Christ, write that perfect joy is not there."
Now when he had been talking this way for a distance of two miles, Brother Leo in great amazement asked him: "Father, I beg you in God's name to tell me where perfect joy is."
And St. Francis replied; "When we come to St. Mary of the Angels, soaked by the rain and frozen by the cold, all soiled with mud and suffering from hunger, and we ring at the gate of the Place and the brother porter comes and says angrily: 'Who are you?' And we say: 'We are two of your brothers.' And he contradicts us, saying: 'You are not telling the truth. Rather you are two rascals who go around deceiving people and stealing what they give to the poor. Go away]' And he does not open for us, but makes us stand outside in the snow and rain, cold and hungry, until night falls-then if we endure all those insults and cruel rebuffs patiently, without being troubled and without complaining, and if we reflect humbly and charitably that that porter really knows us and that God makes him speak against us, oh, Brother Leo, write that perfect joy is there!
'And if we continue to knock, and the porter comes out in anger, and drives us away with curses and hard blows like bothersome scoundrels, saying; 'Get away from here, you dirty thieves-go to the hospital! Who do you think you are? You certainly won't eat or sleep here'--and if we bear it patiently and take the insults with joy and love in our hearts, Oh, Brother Leo, write that that is perfect joy!
And if later, suffering intensely from hunger and the painful cold, with night falling, we still knock and call, and crying loudly beg them to open for us and let us come in for the love of God, and he grows still more angry and says: 'Those fellows are bold and shameless ruffians. I'll give them what they deserve.' And he comes out with a knotty club, and grasping us by the cowl throws us onto the ground, rolling us in the mud and snow, and beats us with that club so much that he covers our bodies with wounds--if we endure all those evils and insults and blows with joy and patience, reflecting that we must accept and bear the sufferings of the Blessed Christ patiently for love of Him, oh, Brother Leo, write: that is perfect joy!
'And now hear the conclusion, Brother Leo. Above all the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ gives to His friends is that of conquering oneself and willingly enduring sufferings, insults, humiliations, and hardships for the love of Christ. For we cannot glory in all those other marvelous gifts of God, as they are not ours but God's, as the Apostle says: 'What have you that you have not received?' But we can glory in the cross of tribulations and afflictions, because that is ours, and so the Apostle says: 'I will not glory save in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.'"
To whom be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
For those of us who were too "busy" (lazy) to read all that, let me summarize it (although, really, you should do something about that laziness). One day Francis and Leo were walking to St. Mary of the Angels and it was a pretty bad winter day. They were both hungry and cold, and the weather wasn't great. Francis starts listing incredible things like knowing everything about science, being able to predict the future, healing the sick and raising the dead, and ends every one with "That is not true joy." Finally Brother Leo gets (understandably) impatient and says, "Father I beg you in God's name to tell me where perfect joy is!" Francis answers that perfect joy is found is bearing adversity with two things: patience and prayer.
I think Saint Francis was really onto something here - joy is more than being happy all the time. Joy isn't turning a blind eye to the problems of this world, much less consisting of a world without problems. Francis was not naive. He had seen his fair share of the world's problems, first as a prisoner of war in a time long before the Geneva conventions and then as a beggar living among the poor. Francis knew joy wasn't the absence of sadness. He saw the worst of the world every day, but he still remained joyful.
That is not to say that he was apathetic - that he could maintain joy by not caring of the plights of those around him. On the contrary, he was distinctly aware that we live in an imperfect world. Our salvation came through a terrible act of torture and execution.
No, being joyful does not mean being oblivious or apathetic. It consists of being aware of the evil around us but realizing that the light will always triumph. Joy is found in bearing our crosses every day. If we let our happiness depend on life "going well" for us, we will always be upset. We are called to transcend the things of this world - to base our joy on things of heaven which cannot fail.
So, is it "wrong" to be joyful in the wake of these disasters? On the contrary - we need joy more than ever. Does that negate the suffering of those affected? Of course not. Nor does it marginalize the fact that "evil visited that neighborhood."
Joy isn't about ignoring suffering, but promoting peace and love...and isn't that really what those grieving need the most?
As the Doctor once said, "The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant. And we definitely added to his pile of good things."
Joy, true joy, is not as simple as happiness nor as apathetic as turning a blind eye. It is embracing the bad with a more perfect outpouring of love.
That is really what those affected by the tragedies around us need the most - not our tears, but our ever-present love, prayer and support.
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