Practice of Spiritual Cheerfulness
You must manifest joy and spiritual cheerfulness in your faces, in your modest looks, in your mutual interactions with the members of the community, especially with the strangers and many people for whom you work in the sacred ministry. (OOCC, II, p. 164)
St. Vincent Pallotti stressed the significance of the actual practice of the virtues of cheerfulness and joy. He wished that every member of the Society he founded would live these two virtues, both in spirit and in practice. He gave them some practical suggestions as to how this virtue must be manifested in the life of the members. According to him, a person must manifest spiritual cheerfulness and joy on his face, for his face is the screen of his inner self. In a person’s daily interactions, both within the community where he lives and with other people whom he encounters at his sacred ministry, through his modest looks, pleasant dealings, unassuming conversation, and genuine acceptance of others’ perspectives and views, he must manifest holy joy and spiritual cheerfulness. For St. Vincent, the spirit of melancholy and sadness must be rooted out of the life of an apostle at all cost. At the same time, he did not want the practice of these two virtues to appear artificial and superfluous. He suggested some restraints as well. One must deal affably and gently with people, sufficiently serious without pretension, pleasant in his interactions without artificiality, moderate in his laughter, and modest, humble and edifying in his look. St. Vincent Pallotti himself was a great example for living these virtues in his life. Despite being so busy in his life, he made it a point to bring joy and happiness into the lives of all he encountered daily. His motto was “to serve the Lord with gladness.”
How do I live the virtues of cheerfulness and joy in actual practice in my life? Do I give myself to the spirit of melancholy and sadness? Do I avoid all forms of artificiality in living these two virtues? Do I serve the Lord with gladness?
For though the fig tree blossom not nor fruit be on the vines … Yet I will rejoice in the Lord and exult in my saving God. (Hab. 3: 17-18)