Joy rooted in the cross

THIS is the joy associated with Easter. The very canon and source of joy, it’s an organic fruit of Christ’s cross. And it can only be achieved through it. In short, if not rooted in the cross, you can be sure it’s not real joy.

To understand this joy, we have to go theological. We surely would miss it if we just depend on the biological, psychological, physical, social or economic approaches to it.

Sad to say, these attitudes are common nowadays—of course, in constantly morphing ways. The latest it would seem is to have some makeover. We’ve been through the wellness fad, accessorizing, health tonics, reality shows, etc., all with their intense but fleeting feelings of high.

The late Pope Paul VI described this unfortunate phenomenon once: “Technological society has succeeded in multiplying the occasions of pleasure, but finds great difficulty in giving birth to happiness.

“For happiness has its origin elsewhere. It is a spiritual thing. Money, comfort, hygiene, material security, etc., may often not be lacking but nevertheless, despite these advantages, boredom, suffering and sadness are frequently to be found supervening in the lives of many people.”

And to add some more, it’s not only boredom, suffering and sadness that come, but also all forms of destructive obsessions and sweet poisons can become unavoidable.

Many things now lend credence to this observation. Just look at all the scandals sprouting not only in the entertainment world, but also in the world of politics. Even in some religious circles, these scandals can erupt precisely because the idea of joy is wrongly understood and developed.

Going theological means going beyond the purely human factors that can produce some elements of joy. It means relying more on our Christian faith, letting it integrate all the other aspects to be able to take part in Christ’s joy, no less.

This point is crucial, because it sets us in the most adequate framework in which any effort to understand and attain joy has to be made. Faith corresponds to our fullest stature as persons and children of God, indicating to us what we truly need to be happy.

Faith engages us in our very core and embraces our whole being. It goes much further than what our biological, physical or social nature can cover. It takes us out of the confines of time and space.

It enters into that inmost sanctuary where we relate our time with eternity, what is material with what is spiritual, the human with the divine. It links us with God, our Father and Creator.

For many, the cross that leads to joy is how to actuate our faith. This can be a real test, since faith is not readily felt. Besides, it requires tremendous effort to get around to it. Primarily a supernatural gift, it defies sensible grasping.

Our great challenge is how to make this supernatural faith take deep root in our life so that it can work according to our human condition. We have to aim at that moment when we would have a sensible appetite for it, like what we have for food and air.

This is not an impossible, quixotic dream. We have the means, we have the capability. There’s also, first of all, God’s grace that makes this supernatural phenomenon take place in our often weak, frail selves.

We just have to be brave enough to carry the cross. And this means that we have to learn to activate our spiritual faculties, that is, the use of our intelligence and will animated by grace.

The problem is that we often don’t develop our spiritual faculties. We prefer to remain carnal and material, completely time-and-earth-bound. Worse, there are now systematic ideologies that espouse and reinforce this attitude, and we readily fall for them.

We have to break loose from this veritable slavery. We have to learn to pray, makes sacrifices, study, avail of the sacraments, develop virtues—literally carrying the cross to achieve that resurrection of a joy that the world can never give nor understand.

It’s the joy that flourishes even in the midst of problems and difficulties, the joy that refuses to get spoiled by an atmosphere of human success and prosperity. It’s the joy of being with God.