Above all the graces and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ grants to his friends is the grace of overcoming oneself, and accepting willingly, out of love for Christ, all the suffering, injury, discomfort and contempt.

Francis of Assisi is purported to have spoken these words “one day in winter, as Saint Francis was going with Brother Leo from Perugia to Saint Mary of the Angels, and was suffering greatly from the cold.”

In this story, we find one of the poverello’s principle insights: his awareness of God’s grace in all circumstances, good or bad. The capacity to be aware of this grace and to respond with gratitude, he called true or perfect Joy.

Spiritual joy is not the same as what the world calls pleasure because it is not conditioned by ephemeral or external events. It rests within and is a sign that Christ lives in us.