Joy an Uneasy Bedfellow
Augustine said:
‘The world’s joy is vanity. We long for it to come, but when it has come we fail to hold on to it. Better the sorrow of the one who suffers unjustly than the joy of the one who acts unjustly.’
Jerome says:
‘The wise person curbs the smile on his face by the gravity of his behaviour.
‘If fortune smiles on you do not brag about it; and if misfortune happens to you do not be discouraged.’
Gregory said:
‘If some joy befalls you in this present life, you need to accept it in such a way as never to forget the judgment to come.’
Basil said:
‘Do not give way to vulgar laughter. Joy is more appropriately registered by a simple smile.
‘Anyone who gives himself up to coarse laughter and immoderate jests does not leave himself room for penitence.’
Defensor Grammaticus, Book of Sparkling Wisdom, 55 (SC86, pp.142ff.)
Bitter Roots Bear Sweet Fruits
In all our actions and in all our circumstances we ought to hold submission to God before our eyes.
When that is rooted in the soul, not only comfort, honours and rank, but also slanders, injuries, tortures, in fact everything, will produce in us fruits of joy.
The roots of a tree are bitter but the fruit is sweet. In the same way afflictions, when they are in accordance with God’s will, will provide us with immense joy. Those who have often prayed and shed tears of suffering know what joy they have afterwards reaped. They feel their conscience purified, they are buoyed up with relief and the strength of hope.
It is not from external circumstances but from internal attitudes that sorrows and joys are born. As far as the soul is concerned, everything depends on the will.
So you want peace of heart? Then do not seek health, nor wealth, nor fame, nor power, nor luxury. Seek wisdom in God’s sight, stick to the virtues, and nothing will be able to make you sad.
What do I mean, make you sad? That which makes the rest of the human race sad, will make your joy greater.
John Chrysostom, To the People of Antioch, 18, 3ff. (PG49, 185)
~Thomas Spidlik, Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World
