Everybody looks for joy. That is what man seeks, whatever he is doing. Why? Because that is how man is built, to rejoice. And he is made to rejoice not just a little: to rejoice as much as God does. Even when one takes drugs, he does it in order to find a drop of joy. But God, who made us like this, knows what this joy is and how one finds it. And that is why man, wherever he may look for joy, won’t find it. He will find it only in God. And he won’t find it in God just because he believes in God, because he tries to do a few things to thank Him, because he does some Christian duties (going to church, fasting, going to confession): No. This joy will come into the soul, will be enthroned in the soul, man will feel it and will take delight in it and will rejoice when the grace of the Holy Spirit comes. Because it is the Holy Spirit who has and gives the fruit that we call joy.
Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (†)
From the book: Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos, “SPIRITUAL MESSAGES” Panorama Thessaloniki, 2017
