Do you want the recipe for Christian joy? San Filippo Neri explains it to you

It seems incredible, but it is in this way that the ingredient of these recipes for joy is contempt.

Generally, contempt is considered a bad feeling and that produces evil, sadness and therefore is contrary to joy.

But contempt, as with other generally bad things, can take place like poison: poison kills, but in proportion of medicine, with other elements, it becomes healthy.

But let's get to the history of the recipes.

An Irish monk and bishop, Saint Malachi, O Margair, wrote many beautiful things in prose and poetry, in Latin, of course, and among other things he wrote this eulogy of contempt.

1
Spernere mundum
despise the world

2
Spernere null
don't despise anyone

3
Spernere i ipsum
despise himself

4
Spernere sperni
despise to be despised.

The recipes for happiness were invented at all times by men who had a completely different interest than that of happiness, such as, for example, the Count of Cagliostro, who invented the elixir of long life.

But these recipes were scams, while the recipes of the holy Irish Bishop are as infallible as almost ... the definitions of the Pope.

But let's explain the use of these recipes and how you should take the medicine they prescribe. Let us begin by recognizing that world which anyone who wants to be happy must despise; the world is defined by certain expressions that everyone says' and accepts and that is "infamous world - crazy world - dog world - traitor world - thief world - pig world ...".

These definitions are all true, but the most picturesque seems to me to be the hog world.

Imagine a large large trogolone: ​​the trogolone is that masonry or other container in which food is placed to the pigs.

The pigs throw their muzzles into the race and work from the mouth: when the trogolone is very large, the pigs jump into it.

This immense trogolone, which we have imagined, is the world, and those animals are the men who throw themselves into it to seek the pleasures that the world offers, and behave as if they should always be in this world and fight among themselves and sometimes they take the risk of grabbing a bigger part in the race.

But the merry-go-round ends badly: the good that these pigs' emulators were looking for does not find it, but only ailments, disgust and other things like that.

If one does not know how to overcome the charm, the attractions of the world which has a great strength on the senses, goodbye peace, goodbye joy and, often also, goodbye soul health.

But this contempt of the world is not enough, in order not to be caught, in its networks: one should not despise anyone in particular, as the second recipe prescribes.

Nobody has the right to despise another, even a bad guy.

If you despise this, you despise that other, for this or that reason also founded, because we all have flaws, you fight, you waste time, you make enemies and you start a war: in this way the joy is over, the peace is over .

If you want to despise someone, you can despise yourself: indeed the third recipe says so.

This despising of oneself is easier, because you too will have your faults and you will have certain things in your liabilities that are not honorable, that the others do not know, but that you know well.

We generally believe we are more than we are and we have pretensions ... We want to be calculated, esteemed, and believed to be impeccable: we are superb and we are alone not knowing our defects and not seeing certain very shameful dark points.

And here it is useful to recall the teaching of that great man, of which we have mentioned in principle and that is the fabulist Aesop: he said that we have on our shoulder, two saddlebags with the defects of the others before us, that we see, and back our defects that we can't see.

Of course since the others are not of our opinion, about us and do not have that great concept that we have of ourselves and do not want to satisfy our claims, here we are caught in a war.

Most of our sorrows and troubles occur, in fact, due to the alleged shortcomings of others towards us.

In this way goodbye joy, peace, if you don't observe this third recipe.

Despising being despised is the fourth recipe: it is the last of the four degrees of contempt and it is the great, sublime, glorious contempt.

We swallow everything, but being despised, no! We repeat, most of our troubles come from the fact that we consider ourselves entitled to be considered and held in some honor.

Even a thief, if he is called a thief, although recognized by everyone for what he is, woe! ...

If he can, he calls you before the judge to make you recognize that he is a gentleman.

Our torment is therefore not to be considered and we make our peace and joy depend on the concept that others have of us.

Therefore, it is a cowardice, a stupidity to put our peace our joy in the consideration of others: it is a form of slavery.

If we are learned, perhaps, because others believe us ignorant, do we lose our doctrine? If, on the other hand, we are ignorant, do we become wise because others believe us wise?

If we redeem ourselves from the servitude of the judgment of others, we have finished the cure and, in the freedom of the children of God, we have found joy.