"The true way to advance in holy virtues is to persevere in a holy cheerfulness. The cheerful are much easier to guide in the spiritual life than the melancholy.... Excessive sadness seldom spring from any other source than pride. Charity and cheerfulness, or charity and humility, should be our motto. It is very necessary to be cheerful, but we must not on that account give in to frivolity. Frivolity incapacitates a person from receiving any additional spirituality from God. Frivolity also roots up the little a man may have already acquired...." Thanks for posting this. Although I have never heard of St. Philip Neri (not being a Catholic myself), his words on "holy cheerfulness" ring true. Of all people, we Christians ought to be cheerful. As Jesus said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matthew 9:2).