Pope at Audience: Jesus is our joy

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Jesus is the source of our joy, and our faithful friend. He is with us on our journey. 

Pope Francis offered these words of comfort during his weekly General Audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday morning.

After having dedicated a catechesis series to figures who embody "apostolic zeal", the Holy Father has now begun to summarize apostolic zeal in four points, grounded in his first Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium ('The Joy of the Gospel.')

This week, Pope Francis dedicated his catechesis to the first of the four points: Joy.

Jesus is our joy

"Jesus is our joy," the Pope stressed.

The Holy Father recalled that, as Christians, we have Christ as our faithful friend who is always at our side, no matter what we face. The Lord, as the Pope suggested, is always with us in all we do.

Our personal encounter with Christ, Pope Francis highlighted, makes us new and fills us with joy.

How we proclaim the Lord

"The question, dear brothers and sisters, is therefore not whether to proclaim Him," the Pope said, "but how to proclaim Him, and this 'how' is joy. Either we proclaim Jesus with joy, or we do not proclaim Him, because any other way of proclaiming Him is not capable of bringing the true reality of Jesus."

The Pope recalled a passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke which tells the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who were filled with joy after encountering the Lord. "One returns to daily life with the impetus of one who has found a treasure," the Holy Father noted, adding, "They were joyful, these two, because they had found Jesus, and He changed their lives."

Jesus, our friend, is always with us

Given this great reason to be joyful, the Holy Father lamented when we Christians do not reflect the joy and hope offered by Christ's closeness to us, especially when we seem to have "fish faces."

These unhappy Christians, he warned, forget the Lord's closeness to us, which instead makes us new.

"An encounter with Jesus always brings you joy and if this does not happen to you," Pope Francis explained, "it is not a true encounter with Jesus."

Pope Francis concluded by offering comforting words for the faithful to take to heart, and some homework.

"Each of us today take a little time and think: 'Jesus, You are within me: I want to meet You every day. You are a Person, not an idea; You are a companion, not a programme. You are Love that solves so many problems. You are the beginning of evangelisation. You, Jesus, are the source of joy.' Amen"