Desire, Faith, Hope, Charity and Joy

Mrs. O’Malley was excited, her oldest son, Sean, was returning home for the first time, since leaving for college in the east, some three months ago.

She was justifiably proud of Sean, for his letters seemed to indicate that he found the religion, that he had rejected at home.

His first letter spoke about his conquest of Desire. This was wonderful, because to Mrs. O’Malley, desire was a sin.
His next letter he spoke about his new found Faith. To Mrs. O’Malley, this was Heaven sent. For to her and the late Mr. O’Malley, faith kept them going.

Then he wrote about having Hope. She thought to herself, “If only Mr. O’Malley could see Sean now. He might turn out to be a Priest after all.”

Next he spoke of that he gave his all to Charity. "What a fine young man we have raised, thought, Mrs. O'Malley.

Finally, his latest letter brought to Mrs. O’Malley happiness, which she had never known. Having gotten down on Desire, conquered Faith, uncovered Hope, which laid the groundwork for his mastery of Joy.

She heard his car. As he walked through the door she said to him, “I applaud you. I always knew that forgetting Desire, would bring you Faith, Hope, Charity and Joy.”

Sean looked quizzically at his mother and responded, “Well, none of them applauded me, but one of them did give me the Clap.”