COLLOQUY XXVII.
The Demons are Grieved when we are Joyful
Some one asked the holy Father how it was that he always had a serene and joyful countenance, even when he was assailed with temptations, and the fear of sin or hell. St. Francis replied : ‘Sometimes the thought of my sins causes me great sorrow ; sometimes Satan desires to make me sad on account of my tepidity and heaviness of soul ; for my joy torments him, and he envies me the graces I have received from God. I know also and see that if the devils cannot hurt me in myself, they try to hurt me through my Brethren, by endeavouring to extinguish holy joy in their hearts. But if they cannot injure me or my Brethren, they retire in great confusion. When, therefore, I am tempted to sadness and bitterness. I consider the joy of my Brethren, and the sight of their happiness and cheerfulness drives away my heaviness and sadness, so that I am excited to interior rejoicing and exterior cheerfulness.