When the soul has the virtue of charity and performs in truth the principal act of charity, what is the result in the soul?
The result is the first effect of charity which is called joy (XXVIII. 1).
Is this joy, which is the proper effect of charity, perfect without any trace of sadness?
Yes, this joy is perfect, without trace of sadness, when it reaches towards the infinite happiness that God is to Himself or towards the elect in heaven; but it is mingled with traces of sadness when it reaches to the happiness of God which is not as yet possessed by the souls in purgatory, or by us and all those who are still on earth (XXVIII. 2).
In the latter case why is the joy belonging to charity mingled with sadness?
The mingling of sadness in this joy is due to the presence of physical or moral evil which affects or can affect those who are in the divers states mentioned (ibid.).
But then even in these cases ought not joy to predominate by the very virtue of charity?
Yes, by the very virtue of charity joy should always predominate, because this joy has for its principal object and for its first cause the infinite happiness of the Divine Friend, Who enjoys eternally the infinite good which is no other than Himself, and which He essentially possesses secure from all evil (ibid.).
Next - The Catechism of the Summa - SECOND SECTION - A DETAILED SURVEY OF MAN'S RETURN TO GOD - IX. OF THE SECONDARY ACTS, OR THE EFFECTS OF CHARITY; OF JOY, PEACE, MERCY, KINDLINESS, ALMSDEEDS AND FRATERNAL CORRECTION (B)
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