– Both in the AT and in the NT, the authors of the various writings affirm that joy, like all other gifts, is freely given by God. But we must ask for it by prayer:
Ps 30:11 : Indeed, my life is consumed in bitterness.
Ps 44 :8: Therefore the Lord your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness.
Ps 64,9 : Satisfy the extremes of East and West with joy.
Ecclesiastes 2:25: To those who are pleasing to Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and joy.
Rom 15:13 : May the God of hope fill you with all joy.
Ps 42 :4 : And I will approach the altar of God, the God of my joy and exultation.
Phil 1 :4 : In all my prayers I always pray with joy for all of you.
Gal 5:22 : On the contrary, the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy.
– Not equal to the worldly, futile, and passing, but, grounded in the Spirit of God, must be maintained even during tribulations:
Pr 2,11-15 : Who takes pleasure in doing evil and rejoices in evil.
Eccl 2,10-11 : My heart found its joy in my work, and that was the fruit I drew from it.
Ecclesiastes 7:4 : The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; the heart of a fool is in the house of joy.
Ps 29: 5-6 : In the evening, weeping comes, but in the morning, joy returns.
Mt 5,11-12 : Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
Mt 6,16 : When you fast, do not look sad like the hypocrites.
Rom 5 :3: Not only that, but we boast even of tribulations.
1Th 1,6-7 : And you became imitators […] of the Lord, when you received the word […] with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
1Th 5,16 : Live always content.
Col 1:24 : Now I rejoice in your sufferings.
Heb 10:34 : Not only did you have compassion on those in prison, but you joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property.
Heb 11,24-25 : It was by faith that Moses, once grown up, renounced being considered the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
Jas 4,7 : Be submissive to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee far from you.
– Especially Luke highlights this virtue in the characters of his gospel:
Lc 1,14.28.42-47 : He will be for you reason of joy and joy.
Lc 2,10 : The angel said to them: “Do not be afraid, behold, I bring you good news that will be joy for all the people”.
Lk 8:40 : As he returned, Jesus was welcomed by a crowd that was waiting for him.
Lk 10,17-21 : The seventy-two returned with joy.
Lk 13:17 : While all the people, seeing all the miracles he performed, were excited.
Lc 15,7 : I tell you that in this way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who does penance.
Lk 19 :6, 37 : The entire crowd of disciples, filled with joy, began to praise God with a loud voice.
Lc 24,41.52 : But, still wavering and being transported with joy.
– In the same way the author of the Acts proceeds:
Acts 2:46 : They broke bread in the houses and ate with joy and singleness of heart.
Acts 5:41 : They went out […] full of joy, for having been found worthy to suffer reproaches for the name of Jesus.
Acts 8:8, 39-40 : For this reason, great joy reigned in that city.
Acts 13:44-52 : These words filled the pagans who glorified the Word of the Lord with joy.
Acts 14:17 : Giving abundant food and filling your hearts with joy.
Acts 16 : 32-34: He and all his household rejoiced that he had believed in God.
– John refers to the joy of the disciples united to Jesus:
Jo 3,29 : In this consists my joy, which is now complete.
Jn 15:11 : I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Jn 16:22 : Now you are sad, but […] your heart will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you.
Jn 17:13 : I address this prayer to you while I am in the world that they may have the fullness of my joy.
Jo 20,20 : Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
1Jo 4–5 : Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God.
2Jo 4 : I was very glad to have found among your children some who walk in the truth.
3Jo 3: I was very happy with the coming of the brothers and with the testimony they gave to your truth.
– For his part, Paul sustains his joy in Christ crucified and risen:
Rom 8:18-22 : I consider that the sufferings of this life have no proportion to future glory.
Rm 12,9-21 : Be fervent in spirit. I served the Lord. Be joyful in hope.
Rom 15:13 : May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in your faith.
1Cor 7,29-31 : Those who have a wife live as if they don’t have one; […] those who rejoice, as if they did not rejoice.
2Cor 7,4 : I am full of consolation, I overflow with joy in all our tribulations.
Phil 1 :4 : In all my prayers I always pray with joy for all of you.
Phl 1,18-25 : Christ be announced, in this I not only rejoice, but I will always rejoice.
Phil 2:1-18 : In this way, on the day of Christ, I will feel joy in not having run in vain, in not having worked in vain.
Phl 2,25-30 : Therefore welcome him in the Lord with all joy and treat such men with great esteem.
Phil 3:1 : Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.
Phil 4,1-4.10-14 : Therefore, my dearly loved and longed-for brothers, joy and my crown.
1Th 3,9 : How could we thank God for you, for all the joy we had in his presence because of you?!
– Peter exhorts Christians to rejoice in Jesus:
1Pt 1,8 : You believe in him, even though you have not seen him, and that is for you the source of an ineffable and glorious joy.
