During his ten-year pontificate, the Pope dealt with the topic of joy several times. The volume entitled "Joy" has now been published, published by Elledici and the Vatican Publishing House, which collects the Pope's statements on the subject, it can be read on the Vatican News portal.
The introduction to the volume was written by prelate Dario Edoardo Viganò, who explains the significance of this attitude for Christians: "It is not a matter of simple optimism, but of the ability to see history through God's eyes."
"The joy of a believer does not mean naivety or an inability to see the problems of history." Prelate Dario Edoardo Viganò, Vice-Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Social Sciences, sums up the book "Joy" for which he wrote the introduction. The volume, published at the request of the Pope, collects statements on the subject - taken from encyclicals, homilies, speeches and messages - with the aim that the reader can start on his own path. "This is not a book that must be read from the first page to the last, but we can turn it around irregularly, reading a page at a time," emphasizes Prelate Viganò. "Indeed, these are texts that, especially in times of loud words, terrible news, and death, allow us to open our hearts, lift our eyes, and relive the experience of faith."
In order to make reading easier, the volume is divided into three thematic parts, more precisely, it presents "three ways of approaching joy", which are outlined based on three verbs: to be, to share and to bear witness. To "be", to experience joy as a personal and spiritual attitude; "sharing", which is the joy of social engagement and friendship; and finally, the "testimony", that is, the joy of living according to God. "Reading this book is like walking through its pages, just like the disciples of Emmaus", points out Prelate Viganò. In this story of the Gospel, the disciples recognize Jesus only at the breaking of bread, but they ask themselves: "Were our hearts not on fire when he spoke on the road?". "The Holy Spirit prompts a person to recognize the Lord in the gesture of breaking bread, but he already works first, even when we are walking on the road with an unknown person," concludes Prelate Viganò in his introduction to the volume that collects the statements of Pope Francis on joy.
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