IV.
JOYANDPEACE
222. Christian spirituality proposes an alternative understanding of the quality of life, and
encourages a prophetic and contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment free of the
obsession with consumption. We need to take up an ancient lesson, found in different religious
traditions and also in the Bible. It is the conviction that “less is more”. A constant flood of new
consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent us from cherishing each thing and each moment. To
be serenely present to each reality, however small it may be, opens us to much greater horizons of
understanding and personal fulfilment. Christian spirituality proposes a growthmarked bymoderation
and the capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and
appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually
detached from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack. This implies
avoiding thedynamic ofdominion and themere accumulationof pleasures.
223. Such sobriety, when lived freely and consciously, is liberating. It is not a lesser life or one lived
with less intensity. On the contrary, it is a way of living life to the full. In reality, those who enjoy
more and live better each moment are those who have given up dipping here and there, always on the
look-out forwhat theydo not have. They experiencewhat it means to appreciate each person and each
thing, learning familiarity with the simplest things and how to enjoy them. So they are able to shed
unsatisfied needs, reducing their obsessiveness andweariness. Even living on little, they can live a lot,
above all when they cultivate other pleasures and find satisfaction in fraternal encounters, in service, in
developing their gifts, in music and art, in contact with nature, in prayer. Happiness means knowing
how to limit some needs which only diminish us, and being open to the many different possibilities
which life can offer.
224. Sobriety and humilitywere not favourably regarded in the last century. And yet, when there is
a general breakdown in the exercise of a certain virtue in personal and social life, it ends up causing a
number of imbalances, including environmental ones. That iswhy it is no longer enough to speak only
of the integrity of ecosystems. We have to dare to speak of the integrity of human life, of the need to
promote and unify all the great values. Once we lose our humility, and become enthralled with the
possibility of limitless mastery over everything, we inevitably end up harming society and the
environment. It is not easy to promote this kind of healthy humility or happy sobriety when we
