The Christian gives himself to God and to others, he mortifies himself and makes demands on himself, he endures adversities... and he does all this with joy, because he understands that these things lose much of their value if he does them reluctantly: God loves a cheerful giver11. We should not be surprised that mortification and Penance cost us; the important thing is that we know how to set out towards them with decision, with the joy of pleasing God, who sees us.
"Happy?" -I was left thoughtful by the question.
"Words have not yet been invented to express all that is felt - in the heart and in the will - in knowing oneself to be a child of God "12. Whoever feels himself to be a child of God, it is logical that he should experience this interior joy.
The experience transmitted to us by the saints is unanimous in this sense. It would be enough to recall the confidence that the Apostle Paul confided to the Corinthians: "I am filled with consolation, I rejoice in all our tribulations. And it is worth remembering that the life of St. Paul was neither easy nor comfortable: Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one; three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; one day and one night I was shipwrecked on the high seas; in my frequent journeys I suffered dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; labors and fatigues, frequent vigils, with hunger, dangers in the sea, dangers among false brethren; labors and fatigues, frequent vigils, with hunger, dangers in the sea, dangers among false brethren, dangers among the Gentiles.
Hablar con Dios