Don’t Allow Sadness to Dwell in Your Soul

Let us take heart in this week’s reading that “God did not make Death, he takes no pleasure in destroying the living”. ‘”Death came into the world only through the Devil’s envy, as those who belong to him find to their cost” (Wisdom 1: 13-15; 2: 23-24”). In Mark 5: 21-43, we see Jesus raising the dead-He brings life.

Jesus brings life and joy but the Devil sadness. We can easily fall into the trap of sadness especially now when there is so much death around us and the invisible enemy is lethal.

In Dante’s description of the Devil in the Divine Comedy, the devil is a sad creature frozen in ice. He is a fallen angel and is suffering. “Sadness is the seed to the devil” as Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis in his homily in 2019 said “Sadness is not a Christian attitude” because we have the Holy Spirit to renew us. When we give in to sadness, we fall into the trap of the devil.

Padre Pio in his battle against the evil one also reminded us that sadness should not conquer us “Don’t allow sadness to dwell in your soul, for sadness prevents the Holy Spirit from acting freely. If we insist on being sad, then let it be a holy sadness at the sight of the evil that is spreading more and more in society nowadays.”

When we live our lives to the fullest with the gifts of the spirit, we glorify God. Sadness is the opposite of joy. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In 2 Corinthians, we are told that those who are rich are to share their excess with those who have few. Our surplus is to counter the deficit others face.

With current lock-down and closure of many economic sectors, we have more people who have deficits than surplus. It is thus a call now for us to be fully alive to give glory to God through our works of mercy and bring joy to others as Jesus did.