2725 Prayer is a gift of grace and a decisive response on our part. It always presupposes an effort. The great prayers of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God and the saints with him teach us: prayer is a struggle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does everything possible to divert man from prayer, from union with his God. One prays as one lives, because one lives as one prays. If one does not habitually act according to the Spirit of Christ, one cannot habitually pray in his name either. The "spiritual combat" of the Christian's new life is inseparable from the combat of prayer.

2765. The traditional expression 'Sunday Prayer' (i.e. 'Lord's Prayer') means that the prayer to our Father is taught and given to us by the Lord Jesus. This prayer that comes to us from Jesus is truly unique: it is "of the Lord". For on the one hand, with the words of this prayer, the only-begotten Son gives us the words that the Father gave him: he is the teacher of our prayer. On the other hand, Word incarnate, he knows in his human heart the needs of his brothers and sisters in humanity, and manifests them to us: he is the model of our prayer.

[Catechism of the Catholic Church]

The wounds of Jesus are still present on earth. In order to recognise them, it is necessary to go out of ourselves and encounter our brothers and sisters in need, the sick, the ignorant, the poor, the exploited. This is the 'exodus' that Pope Francis pointed out to Christians in the homily of the Mass celebrated on Saturday morning, 11 May, in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

It is a matter - the Pontiff explained - of "an exit from ourselves" made possible by prayer "towards the Father in the name of Jesus". The prayer that "bores us", on the other hand, is "always within ourselves, like a thought that comes and goes. But true prayer is to go out from ourselves to the Father in the name of Jesus, it is an exodus from ourselves" that is accomplished "with the intercession of Jesus himself, who before the Father makes him see his wounds".

But how can we recognise these wounds of Jesus? How is it possible to trust in these plagues if one does not know them? And what is "the school where one learns to know the wounds of Jesus, these priestly wounds, these wounds of intercession?" The Pope's response was explicit: "If we do not succeed in making this exit from ourselves towards those wounds, we will never learn the freedom that leads us to the other exit from ourselves, towards the wounds of Jesus".

Hence the image of the two "exits from ourselves" indicated by the Holy Father: the first is "towards the wounds of Jesus, the other towards the wounds of our brothers and sisters. And this is the way Jesus wants in our prayer'. Words that find confirmation in the Gospel of John (16:23-28) in the liturgy of the day. A passage in which Jesus is of a disarming clarity: "Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you". In these words," the Pontiff noted, "there is a novelty in prayer: 'In my name'. The Father therefore "will give us everything, but always in the name of Jesus".

What does this asking in the name of Jesus mean? It is a novelty that Jesus reveals precisely "at the moment when he leaves the earth and returns to the Father". On the Solemnity of the Ascension celebrated last Thursday - the Pope recalled - a passage from the Letter to the Hebrews was read, where it says, among other things: "For we have the freedom to go to the Father". It is "a new freedom. The doors are open: Jesus, in going to the Father, left the door open". Not because "he forgot to close it", but because "he himself is the door". He is "our intercessor, and that is why he says: 'In my name'". In our prayer, characterised by "that courage which Jesus himself gives us", we then ask the Father in the name of Jesus: "Look at your Son and do this to me!".

The Holy Father then recalled the image of Jesus "entering the sanctuary of Heaven, as a priest. And Jesus, until the end of the world, is as priest, he makes intercession for us". And when we "ask the Father by saying 'Jesus', we are signalling, we are saying, we are referring to the intercessor. He prays for us before the Father".

Referring then to the wounds of Jesus, the Pontiff noted that Christ "in his resurrection, had a beautiful body: the wounds of the scourging, of the thorns, have disappeared, all of them. The bruises of the blows have disappeared". But he, he added, "always wanted to have the wounds, and the wounds are precisely his prayer of intercession to the Father". This is "the novelty that Jesus tells us", inviting us to "trust in his passion, trust in his victory over death, trust in his wounds". He is, in fact, the "priest and this is the sacrifice: his wounds". All this "gives us confidence, gives us the courage to pray", because, as the Apostle Peter wrote, "by his wounds you have been healed".

In conclusion, the Holy Father recalled another passage from John's Gospel: 'Until now you have asked nothing in my name: ask and you shall obtain, that your joy may be full'. The reference,' he explained, is to the 'joy of Jesus', to the 'joy that comes'. This is "the new way of praying: with trust", with that "courage that lets us know that Jesus is before the Father" and shows him his wounds; but also with the humility to recognise and find Jesus' wounds in his needy brothers and sisters. This is our prayer in charity.

"May the Lord," the Pontiff hoped, "give us this freedom to enter that sanctuary where He is priest and intercedes for us and whatever we ask the Father in His name, He will give it to us. But also give us the courage to go to that other "sanctuary" which are the wounds of our brothers and sisters in need, who suffer, who still bear the Cross and still have not won, as Jesus won".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 12/05/2013]

Affliction and joy in the pains of childbirth

(Jn 16:20-23a)

A widespread belief in Jesus' age was that the end time would be preceded by an excess of tribulation and violence.

The jubilation of the future golden age would be heralded by an unprecedented trials period.

The image of the parturient expressed the sense of intensely painful history in the turn of the times.

Hard times that were expected to be not excessively durable - compensated for by a liberation that would have one startled with joy.

The spirit of self-sufficiency and feigned security of the surrounding world [even of the religious caste, concerned with safeguarding itself] would have led church members into terrifying loneliness.

The faithful contradicted the “pious” and imperial way of considering life, based on false security and a spirit of affirmation.

The historical moment seemed invaded by sadness and at the same time by an ineffable, radical expectation, which paradoxically arose from the same cause of persecution.

Exclusion produced a sense of discouragement, but it was also a spring that activated incisive glances, and action, for a reverse fulfillment - in the living experience of the divine Presence.

Social estrangement triggered a situation of Freedom: it became an unexpected, profitable, tangible Gift.

Everything was proved to be useful in reconciling the multiplicity of faces with one's own scattered history, sisters and brothers, and God's future.

End of misunderstandings.

In light of the actual experience of the working Vision-Faith, even in malaise there would have been no questions to advance: only answers.

The mystery of each person’s existence was then eloquently elucidated, without scattershot questions anymore: rather, with inner guides.

In the figure of Jesus who "grees" his intimates, Jn introduces the Gift of the Paraclete. Spirit bearing the joy of the Master’s [silent] Presence.

Still «in the midst» - He was giving birth to the new world.

Frequent allusions to intimate sufferings in the text describe the reality of the Johannine communities of Asia Minor at the end of the first century, tormented by defections.

Oppression under Domitian was increasing, and many community brethren were impatient: they needed a key to profound interpretation, and a perspective.

They were not going to make it on their own, starting with themselves.

Jn intends to sustain the pains of believers and prevent flight, encouraging all to see persecution as a life-giving mechanism [birth pangs: v.21].

Only in this way would he who had death before his eyes not fear to continue in his frankness as a witness: he must have a strong Hope.

On such a ray of light and in the wake of God in history, step by step everything became clear.

In the life of the woman and the man of Faith, melancholy and joy went hand in hand - indeed, it was the absolute and lacerating trials that unleashed flow of life.

The death of Christ and his intimates made possible a new Birth of humanity.

Mystery of life, of tribulations, and of being in fullness «new creatures» ‘from genesis to genesis’.

It was precisely the travail that produced in the sons of God the joy of a rediscovered Presence, in the long time of evangelization - always in danger of going astray and in the temptation to give in.

We must remember this rhythm: sadness of leave-taking and new heart, joy and sadness...

Paradoxical synergy that can grow our engaging union with the Risen One, recognized as «personal Lord».

[Friday 6th wk. in Easter, May 15, 2026]

Affliction and joy in labour pains

(Jn 16:20-23a)

A widespread belief at the time of Jesus was that the last time would be preceded by an excess of tribulation and violence.

The joy of the coming golden age would be heralded by a period of unprecedented trials.

The image of the woman giving birth expressed the sense of the intensely painful history at the turn of the times.

Times that were not expected to be excessively long - compensated by a deliverance that would cause one to rejoice.

The spirit of self-sufficiency and feigned security of the surrounding world (even of the religious caste, preoccupied with safeguarding itself) would lead church members into terrifying loneliness.

The believers contradicted the pious and imperial way of looking at life, based on false certainties and a spirit of affirmation.

The moment in history seemed invaded by sadness and at the same time by an ineffable, radical expectation, which paradoxically arose from the same cause of persecution.

Exclusion produced a sense of discouragement, but it was also a spring that activated incisive glances, and action, for a reverse fulfilment - in the living experience of the divine Presence.

Social estrangement triggered a situation of Freedom: it became an unexpected, fruitful, tangible Gift.

Everything was shown to reconcile the multiplicity of faces with their own scattered history, brothers and sisters, God's future.

No more misunderstandings.

In the light of the real experience of the working Vision-Faith, even in the malaise there would be no questions to put forward: only answers.

The mystery of each person's existence was eloquently clarified, with no more scattering questions: rather, with inner guides.

In the figure of Jesus "greeting" his own, Jn introduces the Gift of the Paraclete. Spirit bearing the joy of the [silent] Presence of the Master.

Still in the midst - He was bringing the new world into being.

The frequent allusions to inner suffering in the text describe the reality of the Johannine communities in late 1st century Asia Minor, tormented by defections.

The oppression under Domitian was increasing, and many community brothers were impatient: they needed a profound key to interpretation, and perspective.

They would not have made it on their own, starting from themselves.

Jn intends to sustain the pains of the believers and to avoid flight, encouraging all to see in persecutions a generating mechanism of new life [labour pains: v.21].

Only in this way would those who had death before their eyes not be afraid to continue in their frankness as witnesses: they had to have a strong Hope.

On such a ray of light and in the wake of God in history, step by step everything became clear.

In the life of the woman and the man of Faith, melancholy and joy went hand in hand - indeed, it was the absolute and lacerating trials that unleashed the flow of life.

The death of Christ and his people made a new birth of humanity possible.

Mystery of life, of tribulations, and of being fully new creatures, from genesis to genesis.

In the Bible, Happiness is a perception of fullness of life, a place of celebration that transports the person and the entire fraternity from the ills of the journey - it is the great sign of the New World.

But the primitive communities experienced that intimate joy arose from the tears of a painful birth: this was also to be the case for the world to come; of unprecedented conquest and freedom.

From the labour pains arose a different, primordial life, filled with a different kind of exultation: dissonant from old forms, nomenclatures, and intentions, even for those giving birth.

In short, suffering did not deny the irradiation of the Spirit: it was a law of birth [not a negative force] that could indeed annihilate, but only those whose gaze was averted.

This was also the case with the Kingdom: its establishment happened within a struggle, never harmless - that even though it wounded outside and inside even the human substance, in the depths of the heart and relationships.

But it then reharmonised and more, in the thrill of discoveries, in the suggestions that throbbed - from which a new creation sprang.

To the official notes of the true Church [a holy catholic apostolic] one should perhaps add: harassed, scourged, nailed down. In this way, strengthened by a Word-Person that resonated within.

From all this came an unimpeded 'taste' from the earliest times, which immediately incurs worldly hostility. Nothing to do with empire and its pyramidal-feudal logic.

Precisely in the travail, each trial produced in the children of God the joy of a rediscovered Presence, in the long time of evangelisation - always in danger of going astray and in the temptation to yield.We must remember this rhythm: sadness of farewell and a new heart, joy and sadness....

Paradoxical synergy that can grow our engaging union with the Risen One, acknowledged Lord.

Spe Salvi

We somehow desire life itself, true life, which is then untouched even by death; but at the same time we do not know what we are being driven towards. We cannot cease striving towards it and yet we know that all that we can experience or realise is not what we long for. This unknown "thing" is the true "hope" that impels us and its being unknown is, at the same time, the cause of all despair as well as of all positive or destructive impulses towards the authentic world and authentic man. The word "eternal life" tries to give a name to this unknown known reality. Necessarily is an insufficient word that creates confusion. "Eternal', in fact, arouses in us the idea of the interminable, and this frightens us; 'life' makes us think of the life we know, which we love and do not want to lose, and which, however, is often at the same time more effort than fulfilment, so that while on the one hand we desire it, on the other hand we do not want it. We can only try to escape with our thoughts from the temporality of which we are prisoners and somehow presage that eternity is not a continuous succession of calendar days, but something like the moment filled with fulfilment, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality. It would be the moment of diving into the ocean of infinite love, in which time - the before and the after - no longer exists. We can only try to think that this moment is life in the full sense, an ever new immersion in the vastness of being, while we are simply overwhelmed with joy. This is how Jesus expresses it in the Gospel of John: "I will see you again and your heart will rejoice and no one will be able to take your joy away" (16:22). We must think in this direction if we are to understand what Christian hope aims at, what we expect from faith, from our being with Christ.

[Pope Benedict, Spe Salvi n.12]

In some way we want life itself, true life, untouched even by death; yet at the same time we do not know the thing towards which we feel driven. We cannot stop reaching out for it, and yet we know that all we can experience or accomplish is not what we yearn for. This unknown “thing” is the true “hope” which drives us, and at the same time the fact that it is unknown is the cause of all forms of despair and also of all efforts, whether positive or destructive, directed towards worldly authenticity and human authenticity. The term “eternal life” is intended to give a name to this known “unknown”. Inevitably it is an inadequate term that creates confusion. “Eternal”, in fact, suggests to us the idea of something interminable, and this frightens us; “life” makes us think of the life that we know and love and do not want to lose, even though very often it brings more toil than satisfaction, so that while on the one hand we desire it, on the other hand we do not want it. To imagine ourselves outside the temporality that imprisons us and in some way to sense that eternity is not an unending succession of days in the calendar, but something more like the supreme moment of satisfaction, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality—this we can only attempt. It would be like plunging into the ocean of infinite love, a moment in which time—the before and after—no longer exists. We can only attempt to grasp the idea that such a moment is life in the full sense, a plunging ever anew into the vastness of being, in which we are simply overwhelmed with joy. This is how Jesus expresses it in Saint John's Gospel: “I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (16:22). We must think along these lines if we want to understand the object of Christian hope, to understand what it is that our faith, our being with Christ, leads us to expect.

[Pope Benedict, Spe Salvi n.12]

1. We have already heard several times from St Paul that "joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit" (Gal 5:22), as are love and peace, which we have discussed in previous catecheses. It is clear that the Apostle speaks of true joy, that which fills the human heart, certainly not of a superficial and transitory joy, as worldly joy often is.

It is not difficult, to an observer moving even along the lines of psychology and experience, to discover that degradation, in the field of pleasure and love, is proportional to the emptiness left in man by the fallacious and disappointing joys sought in what St Paul called the "works of the flesh": "Fornication, impurity, libertinage . . . drunkenness, orgies and the like' (Gal 5:19, 21). To these false joys can be added - and they are often linked to them - those sought in the possession and inordinate use of wealth, in luxury, in the ambition of power, in short, in that passion and almost frenzy for earthly goods that easily produces blindness of mind, as St Paul warns (cf. Eph 4:18-19), and Jesus laments (cf. Mk 4:19).

2. Paul was referring to the situation of the pagan world, to exhort converts to beware of iniquities: "Ye have not thus learned to know Christ, if ye have indeed hearkened unto him, and have been instructed in him, according to the truth which is in Jesus, whereby ye must lay aside the old man with the former conduct, the man that corrupteth himself after deceitful lusts. You must be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and true holiness' (Eph 4:20-24). It is the 'new creature' (2 Cor 5:17), which is the work of the Holy Spirit, present in the soul and in the Church. Therefore the Apostle concludes his exhortation to good conduct and peace this way: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were marked for the holy day of redemption" (Eph 4:30).

If the Christian "grieves" the Holy Spirit, who lives in his soul, he certainly cannot hope to possess true joy, which comes from him: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace . . ." (Gal 5:22). Only the Holy Spirit gives the deep, full and lasting joy to which every human heart yearns. Man is a being made for joy, not sadness. Paul VI reminded Christians and all people of our time of this in his apostolic exhortation 'Gaudete in Domino'. And true joy is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

3. In the Letter to the Galatians, Paul told us that joy is linked to charity (cf. Gal 5:22). It cannot therefore be a selfish experience, the result of disordered love. True joy includes the righteousness of the kingdom of God, of which St Paul says that "it is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 4:17).

It is evangelical righteousness, consisting in conformity to God's will, obedience to His laws, personal friendship with Him. Outside this friendship there is no true joy. Indeed, 'sadness as an evil and vice,' St Thomas explains, 'is caused by disordered self-love, which . . . is the general root of vices' (S. Thomae, Summa theologiae, II-II, q. 28, a. 4, ad 1; cf. ibid., I-II, q. 72, a. 4). Especially sin is a source of sadness, because it is a deviation and almost a distortion of the soul from God's righteous order, which gives consistency to life. The Holy Spirit, who works in man the new righteousness in charity, removes sadness and gives joy: that joy we see flourishing in the Gospel.

4. The Gospel is an invitation to joy and an experience of true and deep joy. Thus in the Annunciation, Mary is invited to rejoice: 'Rejoice (Khaire), full of grace' (Lk 1:28). It is the crowning of a whole series of invitations formulated by the prophets in the Old Testament (cf. Zech 9:9; Zeph 3:14-17; Gl 2:21-27; Is 54:1). Mary's joy will be realised with the coming of the Holy Spirit, announced to Mary as the reason for the "Rejoicing".

In the Visitation, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and joy, in the natural and supernatural participation in the exultation of her son who is still in her womb: "The child has rejoiced with joy in my womb" (Lk 1:44). Elizabeth perceives her son's joy, and manifests it, but it is the Holy Spirit who, according to the evangelist, fills both of them with such joy. Mary, in turn, just then hears the song of exultation gushing forth from her heart, expressing the humble, clear and profound joy that fills her almost in fulfilment of the Angel's "Rejoice": "My spirit exults in God, my Saviour" (Lk 1:47). Mary's words also echo the prophets' voice of joy, as echoed in the Book of Habakkuk: "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in God my Saviour" (Hab 3:18).A prolongation of this rejoicing occurs during the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple, when, upon meeting him, Simeon rejoices under the impulse of the Holy Spirit who had made him long to see the Messiah and had prompted him to go to the Temple (cf. Lk 2, 26-32); and in her turn, the prophetess Anna, so called by the evangelist, who therefore presents her as a woman consecrated to God and interpreter of his thoughts and commands, according to the tradition of Israel (cf. Ex 15, 20; Jdc 4, 9; 2 Kings 22, 14), expresses with praise to God the intimate joy that also originates in her from the Holy Spirit (Lk 2, 36-38).

5. In the Gospel pages concerning Jesus' public life, we read that, at a certain moment, he himself "rejoiced in the Holy Spirit" (Lk 10:21). Jesus expresses joy and gratitude in a prayer that celebrates the Father's benevolence: "I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the learned and the wise and revealed them to the little ones. Yes, Father, for it pleased you" (Lk 10:21). In Jesus, joy takes on its full force in the impulse towards the Father. So it is with the joys stimulated and sustained by the Holy Spirit in people's lives: their secret vitality directs them in the direction of a love full of gratitude towards the Father. All true joy has the Father as its ultimate end.

To the disciples Jesus addresses the invitation to rejoice, to overcome the temptation of sadness for the departure of the Master, because this departure is a condition laid down in the divine plan for the coming of the Holy Spirit: "It is good for you that I am going away, because if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you; but when I am gone, I will send him to you" (Jn 16:7). It will be the gift of the Spirit that will bring the disciples great joy, indeed the fullness of joy, according to the intention expressed by Jesus. The Saviour, in fact, after inviting the disciples to remain in his love, had said: "This I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full" (Jn 15:11; cf. Jn 17:13). It is the Holy Spirit who puts into the hearts of the disciples the same joy as Jesus, the joy of faithfulness to the love that comes from the Father.

St Luke attests that the disciples, who at the time of the Ascension had received the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit, "returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were always in the temple praising God" (Lk 24:52-53). In the Acts of the Apostles it appears that, after Pentecost, a climate of profound joy had been created in the Apostles, which was communicated to the community in the form of exultation and enthusiasm in embracing the faith, receiving baptism, and living together, as evidenced by "taking meals with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and enjoying the sympathy of all the people" (Acts 2:46-47). The book of Acts notes: "The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 13, 52).

6. Soon would come the tribulations and persecutions foretold by Jesus in announcing the coming of the Paraclete-Consoler (cf. Jn 16:1ff). But according to Acts, joy endures even in trial: we read that the Apostles, when they were brought before the Sanhedrin, flogged, admonished and sent home, returned "rejoicing that they had been outraged for the sake of the name of Jesus. And every day, in the temple and at home, they did not cease to teach and to bring the good news that Jesus is the Christ" (Acts 5:41-42).

This, after all, is the condition and lot of Christians, as St Paul reminds the Thessalonians: "You have become imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word with the joy of the Holy Spirit even in the midst of great tribulation" (1 Thess 1:6). Christians, according to Paul, repeat in themselves the paschal mystery of Christ, which has the Cross as its pivot. But its crowning glory is the "joy of the Holy Spirit" for those who persevere in trials. This is the joy of the beatitudes, and more particularly the beatitude of the afflicted, and of the persecuted (cf. Mt 5:4, 10-12). Did not the Apostle Paul say: 'I rejoice in the sufferings I endure for you . . ." (Col 1:24)? And Peter, for his part, exhorted: "Inasmuch as you share in Christ's sufferings, rejoice, that in the revelation of his glory you may also rejoice and exult" (1 Pet 4:13).

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to kindle in us more and more the desire for heavenly goods and make us one day enjoy their fullness: "Give virtue and reward, give holy death, give eternal joy.

Amen.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 19 June 1991]

Do not be afraid", especially in difficult times: this was the message that Pope Francis reiterated in the Mass celebrated on Friday 30 May in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. A message of hope that spurs one to be courageous and to have "peace in one's soul" precisely in trials - sickness, persecution, everyday problems in the family - certain that true joy will be experienced afterwards, because "after the darkness there always comes the sun".

In this perspective, the Pontiff immediately pointed to the testimony of Saint Paul - a 'very courageous' man - presented in the Acts of the Apostles (18:9-18). Paul, he explained, 'did many things because he had the strength of the Lord, his vocation to carry the Church forward, to preach the Gospel'. Yet it seems that he too was afraid at times. So much so that the Lord one night, in a vision, expressly invited him "not to be afraid".

So even St Paul 'knew what happens to all of us in life', that is, having 'a little fear'. A fear that even leads us to review our Christian life, perhaps asking ourselves if, in the midst of so many problems, after all "it would not be better to lower the level a little" to be "not so Christian", seeking "a compromise with the world" so that "things would not be so difficult".

A reasoning, however, that did not belong to St Paul, who 'knew that what he was doing did not please either the Jews or the pagans'. And the Acts of the Apostles recount the consequences: he was taken to court, then there was 'persecution, trouble'. All this, the Pontiff continued, also brings us 'back to our fears, to our fears'. And one wonders whether being afraid is Christian. After all, the Pope recalled, "Jesus himself had it. Think of the prayer in Gethsemane: "Father, take this cup away from me. He had anguish". But Jesus also says: "Do not be afraid, go ahead!". It is precisely of this that he speaks in his farewell speech to his disciples, in the Gospel of John (16:20-23), when he tells them clearly: "You will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice"; moreover, it will mock you.

Which, then, punctually happened. "Let us think," remarked the bishop of Rome, "of those spectacles in the Coliseum, for example, with the first martyrs" who were led to "die while people rejoiced" saying: "These fools who believe in the Risen One now let them end up like this!". For many, the martyrdom of Christians "was a feast: see how they died!". What Jesus told the disciples has therefore happened: "the world will rejoice" while "you will be in sadness".

There is, then, "the Christian's fear, the Christian's sadness". Besides, the Pope explained, "we must tell ourselves the truth: not all Christian life is a feast. Not all of it! One weeps, many times one weeps!". The difficult situations in life are many: for example, he noted, 'when you are sick, when you have a problem in your family, with your children, your daughter, your wife, your husband. When you see that your salary doesn't reach the end of the month and you have a sick child and you see that you can't pay the mortgage on the house and you have to leave'. It is "so many problems that we have". Yet "Jesus tells us: do not be afraid!".

There is also "another sadness", Pope Francis added: that "which comes to all of us when we go down a road that is not good". Or when, 'to put it simply, we buy, we go and buy the joy, the joy of the world, the joy of sin'. With the result that 'in the end there is emptiness within us, there is sadness'. And this is precisely "the sadness of bad cheerfulness".

But if the Lord does not hide the sadness, he does not leave us with this word alone. He goes on to say: 'But if you are faithful, your sadness will be changed into joy'. Here is the key point: "Christian joy is a joy in hope that comes. But in the moment of trial we do not see it'. It is in fact "a joy that is purified by trials, even everyday trials". The Lord says: 'Your sadness will be changed into joy'. A difficult discourse to get across, the Pope acknowledged. You can see it, for example, "when you go to a sick person, to a sick person who is suffering so much, to say: cheer up, cheer up, tomorrow you will have joy!". It is a matter of making that person who suffers "feel the way Jesus made her feel". It is "an act of faith in the Lord" and it is also for us "when we are in the dark and see nothing". An act that makes us say: 'I know, Lord, that this sadness will be changed into joy. I don't know how, but I do!".

These days, the Pontiff observed, in the liturgy the Church celebrates the moment when "the Lord went away and left the disciples alone". At that moment "some of them may have felt fear". But in everyone 'there was hope, the hope that that fear, that sadness will be changed into joy'. And "to make us understand well that this is true, the Lord takes the example of the woman giving birth", explaining: "Yes, it is true, in childbirth the woman suffers a lot, but then when she has the child with her she forgets" all the pain. And "what remains is joy", the joy "of Jesus: a joy purified in the fire of trials, of persecutions, of all that one must do to be faithful". Only this "is the joy that remains, a joy hidden in some moments of life, which is not felt in bad moments, but which comes later". It is, indeed, 'a joy in hope'.

Here then is 'the message of the Church today: do not be afraid', be 'courageous in suffering and think that after comes the Lord, after comes joy, after the darkness comes the sun'. The Pontiff then expressed the hope that 'the Lord will give us all this joy in hope'. And he explained that peace is "the sign we have of this joy in hope". Witnessing this 'peace in the soul' are, in particular, many 'sick people at the end of life, with sorrows'. Because precisely 'peace,' the Pope concluded, 'is the seed of joy, it is joy in hope'. If in fact "you have peace in your soul in the moment of darkness, in the moment of difficulty, in the moment of persecution, when everyone rejoices in your evil", it is a clear sign "you have the seed of that joy that will come later".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 31/05/2014]

«A very short time»: we are not in the waiting room

(Jn 16:16-20)

The human communion of the first disciples with the Master was suggestive, not exhaustive. It must now be renewed.

This takes place in the Jesus’ passage from the world to the Father. Thus in the journey and dialogue outside all circles, to which the apostles themselves are called.

The earthly separation from the Lord was dramatic. But today too we are driven to live and grow in the 'outgoing Church'.

A shift that forces the faithful in Christ to move from community sisters and brothers to an all-encompassing relationship with the human family.

The immediate perception would become unbreakable: Jesus must go and leave us alone so that we can enter the Mystery, in search.

So that it is the Risen One and the totally Other to emerge in this detachment, in the mist and night of the reiterated Exodus, all real and all new.

For us too, certainty becomes a problem; stability knows shocks.

We are not protégés - as in pagan religion, where the gods descended into our difficulties and sided with friends.

There is a severance from representations of God, even from our common way of thinking of the Risen One.

He becomes an echo of the soul - leading. And he becomes 'body', that is, Church; as well as “call” to the shattering of idols, to outgoing witness.

The evangelizing activity of the genuine apostles goes hand in hand with the Lord, and reflects His events, teaching, and type of confrontations.

In this way, the Living One becomes present and active in us, seamlessly.

Jn reflects a question-and-answer catechesis addressed to those who could not understand the meaning of the Master's death and asked for explanations.

Well: «a very short time» or «within a short time» are expressions that reaffirm and mark the continuity between the experience of physical closeness to Jesus and the ‘vision’ of the Risen One.

Transfigured and Lord in-us, He is the same Master that we recognize in His earthly life, including the less happy aspects. E.g. of rejection, denunciation, reproach.

Just like one who does not know how to be in the world.

These are priceless moments: times of rediscovery of cosmic and divine nearness, obviously purified of illusions of glory or social conformity.

Despite hostile environment, the inner situation of the disciple does not change: it is one of ‘permanent unity’ and is not interrupted, indeed it becomes more incisive and goal-directed.

Faith is penetrating Relationship: even today, no longer linked to feeling, ritual experience, or the signs of an established civitas christiana - but to the sharpness and incisiveness of personal adhesion.

Does He sometimes seem to vanish? Immediately after a doubt arises, everything is turned upside down.

Frankness in the harsh confrontation with established power or conformist ideas makes Him suddenly Present.

Alive and pungent, but astonishing.

It is true: when everything smacks of sadness and trial, in an instant the situation is reversed.

It is the moment of profound Happiness: of the ‘vision’ of the [invisible] Friend manifesting Himself in his Wisdom and concrete strength.

Incarnation that continues in the critical witnesses and in the assemblies that are configured as the luminous awakening of the Lord.

They face the same Passion of love and do not shy away from problems: they make them flourish as God's vital Newness.

[Thursday 6.a wk. in Easter, May 14, 2026]

«A very short time»: we are not in the waiting room

(Jn 16:16-20)

The human communion of the first disciples with the Master was suggestive, not exhaustive. It must now be renewed.

This takes place in the passage of Jesus from the world to the Father. Therefore in the journey and dialogue outside any circle, to which the apostles themselves are called.

The earthly separation from the Lord was dramatic. But even today we are impelled to live and grow in the 'outgoing Church'.

A shift that obliges the faithful in Christ to move from community brothers and sisters to an all-encompassing relationship with the human family.

The immediate perception would become unbreakable: Jesus must go and leave us alone so that we enter the Mystery, in search.

This is so that it is the Risen One and the totally Other that emerges in this detachment, in the mist and night of the reaffirmed Exodus, all real and all new.

For us too, certainty becomes a problem; stability knows shocks. 

We are not protégés - as in pagan religion, where the gods descended into difficulties and sided with their friends.

There is a detachment from representations of God, even from our common way of thinking of the Risen One.

He becomes an echo of the soul, guiding. And it becomes 'body' i.e. Church; as well as 'call' to the shattering of idols, to outgoing witness.

The evangelising activity of the genuine apostles goes hand in hand with the Lord, and reflects his events, his teaching, his type of confrontations.

In this way, the Living One becomes present and active in us, seamlessly.

Certainly, the approaching events take on their own configuration - each time particular.

But for Faith in the victory of life over death, we understand: everything is configured in the ways that allow us to express the deepest core of being, our feeling called.

Fontal, authentic joy.

As disciples, we unfold the Risen One in the history of each one: death resurrection manifestations... personal, unprecedented even in the sign of travails - for each believer.

In such a typically Johannine perspective (and practical action) the death-resurrection, the glorification at the right hand of the Father [Ascension] and the Gift of the Spirit become simultaneous.

Like a 'new order' of things [so-called Return to the End of Time].

In short, the integral event of the humanising Messiah allows the believer to feel in communion with God, and united to the Son - without any caesura or temporal delay.

The Faith-Vision catches the innovative and creative Spirit of the Father at work, to build the definitive world.

Therefore, the Judgement from the Cross is now, it will not take place after a nerve-wracking wait, in a distant moment.

Church Time thus does not become 'intermediate'. Nor can it justify dark and empty forms of spirituality.

The impact with the divine challenges and exposes. Yet it possesses its own, unique density.

The tribulations would be there - even very serious, full of embarrassment and unprecedented - but they would drag the consciences far beyond the bewilderment and the sudden unfulfilling.

In the experience of the envoys, placed face to face with the Mission, the enigmatic 'in a little while' would have nothing impenetrable about it.

We 'see' it in the Spirit, but not only in the heart.

It is for an Announcement together - without intimism. Free relationship with reality and the Living One, 'from' ourselves.

Jn reflects a question-and-answer catechesis addressed to those who could not understand the meaning of the Master's death and asked for explanations.

The masters of the ancient religion of consensus rejoiced at the disappearance of that subversive and heretic who instead of keeping quiet and making a career had been a thorn in the side of their prestige - and earnings - finally done away with and shamed.

By now a failure and rejection even by God.

Well, "a very short time" or "within a short time" are expressions that reaffirm and mark the continuity between the experience of physical closeness with Jesus and the 'vision' of the Risen One.

Transfigured and Lord-in-us, it is the same Master that we recognise in his earthly life, including the less happy aspects. E.g. of rejection, denunciation, rebuke.

Just like one who does not know how to be in the world.

These are priceless moments: times of rediscovery of cosmic and divine closeness, obviously purified of illusions of glory or social conformity.

Despite the hostile environment, the disciple's inner situation does not change: it is one of permanent unity and is not interrupted, indeed it becomes more incisive and goal-directed.

Faith is a penetrating relationship: even today, no longer linked to feeling, ritual experience, or the signs of a monopolistic and consolidated civitas christiana - but to the acuity and incisiveness of personal adhesion.

Does it sometimes seem to vanish? Immediately after a doubt arises, everything is turned upside down.The frankness in the harsh confrontation with established power or the ideas of devotion good for festivals and all seasons, makes Him suddenly Present.

Vivid and uncomfortable, but astonishing.

It is true: when everything smacks of sadness and trial, in an instant the situation is reversed.

It is the moment of profound Happiness: of the Vision of the invisible Friend manifesting Himself in His real Wisdom and strength.

Incarnation that continues in the critical witnesses and assemblies that take the form of the Lord's luminous Awakening.

They face the same Passion of love and do not shy away from problems: they make them flourish as the vital Newness of God.

To internalise and live the message:

Is your testimony diluted and sleepy, or is it intense, insightful, pungent?

1. Listening to the words of Psalm 126[125], one has the impression of seeing before one's eyes the event of the "new Exodus" that is sung of in the second part of the Book of Isaiah: the return of Israel from the Babylonian Exile to the land of her fathers after the edict of the Persian King Cyrus in 538 B.C. It was thus a repetition of the joyful experience of the first Exodus, when the Jewish people were released from slavery in Egypt.

This Psalm acquired special significance when it was sung on the days when Israel felt threatened and afraid because she was once again being put to the test. Effectively, the Psalm contains a prayer for the return of the captives of that time (cf. v. 4). Thus, it became a prayer of the People of God in their historical wanderings, fraught with dangers and trials but ever open to trust in God the Saviour and Liberator, the support of the weak and the oppressed.

2. The Psalm introduces us into an atmosphere of exultation: people were laughing, celebrating their new-found freedom, and songs of joy were on their lips (cf. vv. 1-2).
There is a twofold reaction to the restored freedom.

On the one hand, the heathen nations recognized the greatness of the God of Israel: "What marvels the Lord worked for them!" (v. 2). The salvation of the Chosen People becomes a clear proof of the effective and powerful existence of God, present and active in history.

On the other hand, it is the People of God who profess their faith in the Lord who saves: "What marvels the Lord worked for us!" (v. 3).

3. Our thoughts then turn to the past, relived with a shudder of fear and affliction. Let us focus our attention on the agricultural image used by the Psalmist: "Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap" (v. 5). Under the burden of work, their faces are sometimes lined with tears: the sowing is laborious, perhaps doomed to uselessness and failure. But with the coming of the abundant, joyful harvest, they discover that their suffering has borne fruit.

The great lesson on the mystery of life's fruitfulness that suffering can contain is condensed in this Psalm, just as Jesus said on the threshold of his passion and death: "Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit" (Jn 12: 24).

4. Thus, the horizon of the Psalm opens to the festive harvest, a symbol of joy born from the freedom, peace and prosperity that are fruits of the divine blessing. This prayer, then, is a song of hope to turn back to when one is immersed in moments of trial, fear, threats and inner oppression.

But it can also become a more general appeal to live one's days and make one's decisions in an atmosphere of faithfulness. In the end, perseverance in good, even if it is misunderstood and opposed, always reaches a landing place of light, fruitfulness and peace.

This is what St Paul reminded the Galatians: "If [a man] sows in the field of the flesh, he will reap a harvest of corruption; but if his seed-ground is the spirit, he will reap everlasting life. Let us not grow weary of doing good; if we do not relax our efforts, in due time we shall reap our harvest" (Gal 6: 8-9).

5. Let us end with a reflection on Psalm 126[125] by St Bede the Venerable (672/3-735), commenting on the words by which Jesus announced to his disciples the sorrow that lay in store for them, and at the same time the joy that would spring from their affliction (cf. Jn 16: 20).

Bede recalls that "Those who loved Christ were weeping and mourning when they saw him captured by his enemies, bound, carried away for judgment, condemned, scourged, mocked and lastly crucified, pierced by the spear and buried. Instead, those who loved the world rejoiced... when they condemned to a most ignominious death the One of whom the sight alone they could not tolerate. The disciples were overcome by grief at the death of the Lord, but once they had learned of his Resurrection, their sorrow changed to joy; then when they had seen the miracle of the Ascension, they praised and blessed the Lord, filled with even greater joy, as the Evangelist Luke testified (cf. Lk 24: 53).

"But the Lord's words can be applied to all the faithful who, through the tears and afflictions of this world, seek to arrive at eternal jubilation and rightly weep and grieve now, because they cannot yet see the One they love and because they know that while they are in the body they are far from the Homeland and the Kingdom, even if they are certain that they will reach it with their efforts and struggles. Their sorrow will change into joy when, after the struggle of this life, they receive the reward of eternal life, as the Psalm says: "Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap' (Homily on the Gospel, 2, 13: Collana dei Testi Patristici, XC, Rome, 1990, pp. 379-380).

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 17 August 2005]