The last Formation Notes,12 - Joy
Formation Notes 12
JOY
In the first story in the formation notes, Francis says that even if every person were to enter the Order, it would not bring true joy. Nor would having converted all non-believers to the faith bring true joy. Even being granted the power to heal the sick and to perform miracles would not bring true joy.
These were the things that would have been dearest to St Francis’ heart. For us, perhaps being debt-free is something we think would bring us ‘true joy’, or being successful in business, or undertaking exciting trips. Whatever external circumstance or outcome that we imagine would bring us happiness is not the root of true joy. “True joy,” Francis says, “does not consist of any of these things.”
The happiness we derive from external circumstances wanes. Even if we are still pleased to have a good job, for how long can we experience joy from that? The excitement wanes, and we fall back into plain old neutral.
True joy is not a product of external circumstance, nor does is it born from the manifestation of our desires. There may certainly be some level of happiness and gratification should the external world reflect our will, but true joy is something else entirely.
Which makes me wonder - does true joy even have anything to do with happiness?
To explain true joy, Francis tells a story of being freezing, injured, insulted and turned away from shelter. In this situation where we would understand and expect misery, yet herein, Francis says, lies true joy. “If I had patience and did not become upset, there would be true joy in this.”
He does not say he would be glad and rejoice at the aspersion (although, knowing Francis, he very well could) and that to be treated such would bring about the emotional response of happiness. The true joy the Francis describes in this instance manifests itself as patience and emotional stability.
What’s more, Francis illustrates that true joy is not dependent upon external events. No wonderful situation has arisen outside of him - in fact the opposite. The joy Francis describes springs internally, and is unshaken by external realities. In the face of adversity, true joy does not give way to misery, but rather it proves itself.
Unlike the positive emotions that are triggered when we get what we want, true joy (or ‘spiritual joy’, as the formation notes also call it) is tended by virtue. This idea of true joy springing from virtue is described on in the fourth excerpt in the Formation Notes: “Since spiritual joy springs from the heart’s innocence and purity of incessant prayer, these are two virtues we need to acquire and keep”.
So, we are told exactly which virtues are needed in order to develop true joy. Although, ‘the heart’s innocence’ is a somewhat vague description, I would guess it is a virtue that goes hand in hand with ‘incessant prayer’. Incessant prayer is not, of course, incessant internal yabbering. Petitions and sending words to God is not something that could really be incessant, so I am taking ‘prayer’ here in the sense of ‘communion with God’. So! We achieve true joy through incessant communion with God. This fits right back in with another line in the formation notes: “This joy is a divine gift, coming from a union with God in Christ...”
Since this true/spiritual joy emanates from our communion with God - the infinite and unending - then it stands to reason that this true joy would be absolutely dependable. Every external item, circumstance or relationship could crumble, and our joy would live on, because its source would be unaltered.
I don’t think this means that nothing would ever sadden us again. If possessing true joy meant we could look upon the suffering of others and just continue on feeling happy, then that wouldn’t be much of an attribute. True joy wouldn’t cancel out our emotional capacity, but it would uphold us through difficult times. No matter how horrible things become, if we are in communion with God, we are that one step back, protected from the full impact, able to witness without losing ourselves in troubles. Something within us would be united with something stronger and more lasting than any trouble, and that faith is an aspect of true joy.
So if having this true joy doesn’t mean being chirpy 24/7, then what actually is it? And what’s the point of it?
My guess is that true joy is the sense of security that comes from a deep faith in God, much the way the supportive and selfless love of a mother (ideally) can imbue you with a sense of security in the world and in yourself. We may not always remember it, but there is nothing more nurturing to the human soul than the sense of being loved. The knowledge that you are loved can give you comfort even during times when nothing seems to be going your way. Too often we neglect the significance of being loved - life carries us away with a million worries and desires. But when you look at it, if we felt unloved there would be no joy in anything. Knowing you are loved, joy will live always in your soul. True, infallible, eternal joy must then come from true, infallible, eternal love, and there is only one place where we can find that - hence the importance of incessant prayer/communion with God in attaining true joy.