Depression is a medical condition, and in such cases, it makes no sense whatsoever to try to talk someone out of it. Have you ever talked yourself out of a heart condition?
It’s clear that Pope Francis, in his recent apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, is not talking about clinical depression or a passing apprehension that the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. He is describing members of the People of God who habitually nurture an attitude toward the world which, to state it frankly, does not reflect the love of the Son of God who freely embraced sinful humanity.
To apply the pope’s concern to the business of this column — our relations with non-Catholic Christians, people of other religions, and people of no religion — we must start by seeing that all such people have yearnings which coincide with our own. Pope Francis has affirmed the value of our efforts toward deeper mutual appreciation among peoples: “A dialogue which seeks social peace and justice is in itself, beyond all merely practical considerations, an ethical commitment which brings about a new social situation. Efforts made in dealing with a specific theme can become a process in which, by mutual listening, both parts can be purified and enriched. These efforts, therefore, can also express love for truth.”
In our recent reflections on the life and work of Nelson Mandela, we find an example of perseverance which is the opposite of a sour attitude toward life. We can ask ourselves: What is the burning desire within us which we can understand as being at the same level as Mandela’s yearning for racial justice? Is our burning desire of such value that we can stake our life’s energies upon it?
About “sourpusses”: I wondered what term was used in the “original” language in which the exhortation was written. It turns out that there is as yet no Latin text. Italian is the actual working language of the Vatican, and Latinists convert documents to Latin as needed. In Italian, the term for “sourpuss” is faccia scura or “dark face” — not an especially expressive term and, indeed, rather questionable. Spanish, of course, is the pope’s first language. It turns out that the expression in Spanish is cara de vinagre or “vinegar face.” How’s that for vivid language? In English we have the expression “weaned on a pickle,” which with “vinegar face” is getting at the same reality: an attitude of looking dismissively at the world in which one lives, of believing its people largely irredeemable and not worthy of attention.
Our faith is dedicated to recognizing Jesus in the face of every person. Each day we may fail to see him; each day we pray that we may exercise the attention which is worthy of the challenge God gives us.