If true serenity is an asset, cheerfulness is a companion boon; for both depend on the faith we have in divine providence.
Real joy consists in the confidence of one day possessing eternal good things. "Rejoice on that day and exult," said Jesus, "for behold your reward is great in heaven." There are many joys upon this earth, but the safest ones are those that keep us close to God, the first of which is religion, endowed with a wondrous power that binds us to eternity.
Christian gladness comes from true self-control in this life; unbridled self-indulgence can never attain it. In the story of Dives, the rich man, our Saviour impressed this truth most earnestly. "But God said to him: 'Thou fool, this night do they demand thy soul of thee; and the things that thou hast provided, whose will they be?' "
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