The Fullness of Life
Victory over sadness
Holiness and sadness are not compatible. A saint, who has finally attained - by the grace of God - complete interior freedom, cannot be sad or depressed. There might be sadness over the sins and misfortunes of others, but even such reasonable forms of sadness can be turned into acts of abandonment to God in prayer. So, sadness can never really overpower one who belongs entirely to God.
To arrive at that height, one must pass through great sufferings. One must enter into the sorrows of Mary the Mother of the Lord, and the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani. But, even then, the sufferings, sorrows and trials one may experience in this life will only be a small drop compared to that of the Lord Jesus and His Mother. And yet, suffer we must, in order to be true disciples of Christ and attain complete inner freedom.
Resurrection comes after the passion and death of our Lord. In the same way, complete inner liberation comes only after one has completely accepted the most bitter sufferings that may ever come to one's life. To the degree, therefore, that we are willing to accept sufferings for love of God, to that same degree will we be able to overcome sadness.
The reason is obvious. Ordinarily, sadness comes because of sufferings which we refuse to accept. And these sufferings can be real or imagined; actual or anticipated; physical or non-physical, or both.
Human nature has a natural tendency to avoid pain and suffering of any kind. In the agony of our Lord in the Garden, His entire human nature also experienced the resistance which we normally experience in the face of suffering. No wonder, then, that our Lord could say, "My heart is filled with sorrow to the point of death" (Mk 14:34). It was only after praying to the Father, "Let Your will, not mine, be done" that He once again experienced calm, peace, and complete self-control even in the face of the most painful death.
The acceptance of pain, difficulty, or suffering in any form for love of God and His holy will is only one side of the way to overcome sadness. The other side of it is to be able to rejoice in the good God has in store for us behind every suffering. Above all, we must, in faith and full conviction, be able to perceive and accept God's personal love for us behind every suffering.
St. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, presented a remedy against sadness. He wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice! Everyone should see how unselfish you are. The Lord is near. Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude. Then God's own peace which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:4-7).