The following is Bishop Jaime Soto's homily from the Mass offered at the Sacred Heart Church in Lourdes -where St. Bernadette was baptized- with all the pilgrims.
When they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day.” (Lk. 6.20-23) Jesus was speaking of the Evangelii Gaudium, the joy of the gospel. It is the joy of the gospel that persuasively and powerfully communicates Jesus to the world. The Evangelii Gaudium announces Jesus, who is the wisdom of God, God’s righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Take care to note that this heavenly joy springs from the humbling circumstances of suffering and poverty. The poor, the hungry, the sick, the persecuted are blessed with the Evangelii Gaudium, the joy no one can take away.