Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
After speaking about sanctifying grace and charisms, today I would like to take a look at a third reality linked to the action of the Holy Spirit: the “fruits of the Spirit”. Saint Paul offers a list of them in the Letter to the Galatians. He writes: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (5:22).
Unlike the charisms, which the Spirit gives to whom He wants and when He wants for the good of the Church, the fruits of the Spirit are the result of cooperation between grace and freedom. These fruits always express the creativity of the person, in which “faith works through love” (cf. Gal 5:6), sometimes in a surprising and joyful way. Not everyone in the Church can be apostles, prophets, evangelists; but all of us, without distinction, can and must be charitable, patient, humble workers for peace, and so on.
Among the fruits of the Spirit listed by the Apostle, I like to highlight one of them, recalling the initial words of the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew” (no. 1).
Joy, fruit of the Spirit, has in common with any other human joy a certain feeling of fullness and fulfilment, which makes one wish it would last forever. We know from experience, however, that this is not the case, because everything here passes quickly: youth, health, strength, well-being, friendships, love… Besides, even if these things do not pass quickly, after a while they are no longer enough, or even become boring, because, as Saint Augustine said to God: “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You”[1].
The joy of the Gospel, unlike any other joy, can be renewed every day and become contagious. “Thanks solely to this encounter – or renewed encounter – with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. … Here we find the source and inspiration of all our efforts at evangelization. For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others?” (Evangelii Gaudium, 8). It is the dual characteristic of joy as fruit of the Spirit: not only is it not subject to the inevitable wear of time, but it multiplies when it is shared with others!
Five centuries ago, a saint called Philip Neri lived in Rome. He has passed into history as the saint of joy. He used to say to the poor and abandoned children of his Oratory: “My children, be cheerful; I do not want qualms or melancholy; it is enough for me that you do not sin”. And again: “Be good, if you can!”. Less well known, however, is the source from which his joy came. Saint Philip Neri had such love for God that at times it seemed his heart might 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 thereafter, of the visit to the Seven Churches. He was, in his time, a true evangelizer through joy.
The word “Gospel” means glad tidings. Therefore, it cannot be communicated with a long face and sombre countenance, but with the joy of those who have found the hidden treasure and the precious pearl. Remember Saint Paul’s exhortation to the believers of the Church of Philippi, which he now addresses to us: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near” (Phil 4:4-5).
Source: vatican.va