Chapter LXXXVIII. Of spiritual joy and the praise thereof; and of the evil of sloth

Of True Joy of Spirit

125. So Francis held that the surest remedy against the thousand wiles of the foe is spiritual joy. For he used to say: "The Devil most exults when he can filch from a servant of God his joy of spirit He carries dust that he may cast it into the conscience through even the smallest chinks, and defile the candour of the mind and the purity of the life; but when spiritual joy (he said) fills the heart, in vain does the Serpent shed his deadly poison. Devils cannot hurt Christ's servant when they see him filled with holy mirth. But when the spirit is tearful, woe-begone, and grieving it readily sinks into gloom or else turns to vain enjoyments." He strove therefore ever to be gladsome of heart, and to maintain the unction of the Spirit and the oil of joy. He avoided with the utmost care the wretched malady of spiritual sloth, so that if he felt it stealing ever so little into his mind, he flew immediately to prayer, for he said: "When God's servant (as often happens) is troubled about anything, he ought forthwith to arise and pray, and remain persistently in his heavenly Father's presence until He restores to him the joy of His salvation. For if he tarries in gloom, that Babylonian stuff will increase, and unless it be at length purged out by tears, will produce abiding rust in the heart."