Strive to be Joyful Saints: Wisdom of Seven Saints

Are you happy? That is the question we are often asked. We may wing it by saying “yes” and moving about our day. The world offers us so many ways for us to be happy, yet we will have a spiritual restlessness. What we must strive for now is what is higher not lower. Seven saints can help us on our journey.

St. Joseph

What is there to say about the patron of the universal church. There is no recorded word from this beloved saint. He evangelized through his actions. He accepted God’s will to be the father of Jesus.

St. Augustine

Even St. Augustine knew about chasing world pleasures. He recalled, “Do we remember happiness, then, as we remember joy? It may be so, for I remember my joy even when I am sad, just as I remember a happy life when I am miserable. And I have never, through physical perception, either seen, heard smelled, tasted, or touched my joy.” Even he knew that joy can be attained in both good and bad times. He would also remind us, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” He wants us to seek God in whom our hearts can rest.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

For the smiling sister who helped those starving in Calcutta, he too had some battles with loneliness. She recalls, “When the pain of longing is so great—I just long and long for God—and then it is that I feel—He does not want me.” For St. Teresa of Calcutta, she longed for God. She suffered greatly, yet she continued to seek God because he loved her.

St. Philip Neri

The founder of the Congregation of the Oratory exemplified the virtue of joy in his priestly ministry. He tells us, “Let us aim for joy, rather than respectability. Let us make fools of ourselves from time to time, and thus see ourselves, for a moment, as the all-wise God sees us.” For St. Philip Neri, joy of the lord was his mission in life. He did it through humor and wit.

St. Dominic Savio

A pupil of St. John Bosco, St. Dominic Savio is one of the youngest saints in the Catholic Church. This boy was filled with knowledge for someone who died before entering adolescent phase. He once said, “I need nothing in this world in order to be happy. I only need to see Jesus in heaven, Whom I now see and adore on the altar with the eyes of faith.” For this boy saint, God was more than enough.

Bl. Carlo Acotis

Becoming popular and popular by the day, the soon to be millennial saint offers wisdom that will resonate to many for years to come. He said, “Sadness is looking at ourselves, happiness is looking towards God.” For him, God is the source of happiness. He knew that he was meant for something more in his short life. Let us look to God to help us on our earthly journey.

St. John Paul the Great

The pope who led our church into the 21st century wraps up the list. He has gone through so much from childhood to his final days as Holy Father of the Catholic Church. Despite it all, he maintained a profound joy that was never taken from him. He tells us, “"The deepest joy there is in life is the joy that comes from God and is found in Jesus Christ, the son of God.”

All of these holy men and women can teach us something about God. He is the source of our joy. Through him, he helps us remain joyful through the trials of our earthly journey.