The virtue of cheerfulness

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo

In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul would insist that we be cheerful.  “Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again: rejoice!  Your kindness should be known to all.  The Lord is near.  Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil 4:4-7)

How can St. Paul insist that we be happy?  And not only be happy but always happy (“Rejoice in the Lord always”).  Isn’t this a bit too much?  Is St. Paul oblivious to the human situation that we sometimes undergo sufferings such as getting sick, having financial troubles, losing a loved one, losing a job, misunderstandings, etc. How can we be happy in those times?  St. Paul must be telling us a different kind of joy because he himself is no stranger to suffering.  In fact, his sufferings as narrated in his letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:23-26) are quite horrifying (five times beaten by the Jews, stoned, suffered shipwreck, sleepless nights, gone cold and naked without food, imprisonments, etc.).  But nevertheless, he tells us to rejoice always.  What does he mean by this? The answer is because “the Lord is near.” (Phil 4:4) The key to being peaceful amidst the difficulties and the different challenges life throws at us is to center our life in Christ.  Then “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds.” (Phil 4:7) Much like the peacefulness underneath the sea, that regardless of what happens above the sea, whether it’s stormy or still, the situation below remains the same.  We can be peaceful in spite of trials, if our hearts are anchored in the Lord.

This is the stuff the saints are made of.  What made St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta have a radiant smile when she was living and working in the worst slums in the world?  Or St. Thomas More cracking jokes going to his execution?  Or St. Maximilian Kolbe not getting bitter with his living conditions in the concentration camp and peacefully offered his life in exchange for the life of a man who was to be executed by the Nazis.  The saints lived on a different level.  It is called the supernatural level or the spiritual level.  Thus, they could suffer quite much on the outside but inside they are full of peace and serenity.  C.S. Lewis said that the only religion that requires and insists that you be cheerful is Christianity.  Thus St. Paul would insist that we should rejoice always in spite of everything.

Joy is the infallible sign of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our soul, says Pierre Teihard de Chardin.  If there is no joy in a Christian, no matter how well he speaks about spiritual matters, or how prayerful he is, then the Holy Spirit is not in him and you can be sure that it is a wrong kind of Christianity he is practicing.  True Christianity in essence is joyful and cheerful.  Blaise Pascal said, “No one is as happy as a true Christian, or so reasonable, virtuous and lovable.”  St. Teresa of Avila once said, “A sad nun is a bad nun.  I am afraid more of an unhappy sister than a crowd of evil spirits.”  The reason why St. Teresa said that is because a nun that projects a gloomy expression most of the time, is a bad example to others.  It is a way of telling others silently that Christianity is not joyful at all, which contradicts what St. Paul was saying.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” Christ tells us in the Gospel of St. John (John 15:11).  Christ came into this world to save us.  To save us from sin and sadness because they go together.  The latter (sadness) is caused by the former (sin), “For the wages of sin is death (death of joy)” (Romans 6:23).  If we claim to be a Christian and lack joy either Christianity is wrong or we are wrong.  But Christianity can’t be wrong (because the Founder is perfect).  If we lack joy, we therefore have to do some examining of ourselves to find out what’s hindering it.  As St. Josemaria Escriva would say in his book, “The Way” (Point 662), “Are you sad?  Think: there must be an obstacle between God and me.  And you will seldom be wrong.”