Joy is necessary because Our Lord wished it, because it is the condition of all progress, and now, Reverend Mother de Lescure adds a third point:
Joy is the distinctive sign of true charity. It is St. Paul who affirms this - in naming the fruits of charity, he mentions joy second. And how true it is if we work with charity it is impossible for us not to experience happiness - that happiness that comes from having tried to do our best. Let us recall our own experiences - every time we have renounced ourselves in doing something that costs we have been penetrated with a deep joy. If we do not experience this joy there has been a deficit in our charity: it is still deficient, counterfeit. Moreover, joy is the thermometer of charity and even of our spiritual progress. Every time we succumb to sadness, to moral depression, we must acknowledge to ourselves - I have very much more to do before I have acquired true charity; mine is still blended with illusion.
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