«We need a bit of noise», comments the Pope who arrived in St. Peter’s Square surrounded by a noisy group of children. They sit in the churchyard, in front of him, during the hearing. A catechesis entirely dedicated to the fruits of the Spirit, in particular to joy. For this reason Francis also remembers Saint Philip Neri, «who went down in history as the saint of joy. Listen to this carefully”, says the Pontiff, drawing the children’s attention, “the saint of joy. To the poor and abandoned children of his Oratory he said: “Children, be cheerful; I don’t want scruples or melancholy; It’s enough for me that you don’t sin.” And again: “Be good, if you can!”. Less known, however, is the source from which his joy came. Saint Philip Neri had such love for God that at times it seemed as if his heart would burst in his chest. His joy was, in the fullest sense, a fruit of the Spirit. The saint participated in the Jubilee of 1575, which he enriched with the practice, maintained later, of visiting the Seven Churches. He was, in his time, a true evangelizer through joy.” A joy that comes first and foremost from knowing that we are forgiven by God. “God forgives everything and always forgives”, underlines Francis. And he reiterates that he has repeatedly told priests and confessors to forgive everything, “without asking too much, but always forgiving”.
Joy, explains the Pope, is one of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit together with love, peace, magnanimity, benevolence, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. «Nine, these are the fruits of the spirit, but what is this fruit of the spirit? Unlike the charisms, which the Spirit gives to whoever he wants and when he wants for the good of the Church, the fruits of the Spirit, I repeat love, joy, peace, magnanimity, benevolence, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control are the result of a collaboration between grace and freedom. These fruits always express the creativity of the person, in which “faith works through charity”, sometimes in a surprising and joyful way. Not everyone in the Church can be an apostle, not everyone can be a prophet, not everyone can be an evangelist; not everyone, but everyone without distinction can and must be charitable, patient, humble, peacemaker and so on. But all of us? Yes, all of us must be charitable, we must be patient, we must be humble, workers of peace and not of war.”
And regarding joy, he continues, we must remember that that which comes “from the Gospel fills the hearts and entire lives of those who encounter Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by Him are freed from sin, from sadness, from internal emptiness, from ‘insulation. With Jesus, joy is always born and reborn.” Sometimes there will be sad moments, but there is always peace. With Jesus there is joy and peace. Joy, the fruit of the Spirit, has in common with every other human joy a certain feeling of fullness and satisfaction, which makes us want it to last forever. We know from experience, however, that this does not happen, because everything down here passes quickly. Everything goes by quickly. Let’s think together: youth, it passes quickly, health, strength, well-being, friendships, loves… they last a hundred years, but then they pass, they pass quickly. Moreover, even if these things do not pass away soon, after a while they are no longer enough, or even become boring, because, as Saint Augustine said addressing God: “You made us for yourself, Lord, and our heart he is restless until he responds in you.” There is the restlessness of the heart to seek beauty, peace, love, joy.” And the evangelical joy «unlike any other joy, can be renewed every day and become contagious. Only thanks to the encounter – or re-encounter – with the love of God, which turns into happy friendship, are we redeemed from our isolated conscience and self-referentiality. (…) There lies the source of evangelizing action. Because, if someone has accepted this love that gives them back the meaning of life, how can they refrain from communicating it to others?”. It is the double characteristic of the joy fruit of the Spirit: not only is it not subject to the inevitable wear and tear of time, but it multiplies by sharing it with others! True joy is shared with others, it becomes contagious.”
On the other hand, he concludes, «the word “Gospel” means happy news. Therefore one cannot communicate with long faces and dark faces, but with the joy of those who have found the hidden treasure and the precious pearl. We remember the exhortation that Saint Paul addressed to the believers of the Church of Philippi, and now addresses to us, we heard it at the beginning: “Always rejoice in the Lord, I repeat to you: be rejoicing. May your kindness be known to all.” Dear brothers and sisters, be happy with the joy of Jesus in our hearts.”
