For Older Saints

When you think of all the people who’ve ever lived in all of history, in every part of the world, men and women, rich and poor, people of all different cultures, political beliefs, religious beliefs, all different talents and abilities, it’s hard to imagine they have very much in common. There is, however, one thing we all agree on – everyone wants to be happy.

What does it mean to be truly happy? There are lots of things that can make us happy for a while; money, new things, new hobbies – all of these have a wonderful way of making us feel happy until the money is spent, the new thing gets broken or boring, and the new hobby is not so interesting anymore, and then, once again, we are off searching for a new source of “happiness.” All of this seems kind of sad and hopeless, and our search for happiness will never be truly successful until we realize what, or Who, can bring us real, lasting happiness.

A very wise teacher summed it up this way,

God alone satisfies.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

God will never disappoint you, He will never get boring, He will never change His mind, and He will NEVER lose interest in you! He wants you to spend eternity in heaven with Him and He sent Jesus to show you the way. He’s provided your life here on earth to be full of ways for you to grow in holiness so you can get there.

At the very first moment of your life, God placed a desire for happiness in your heart so you would spend the rest of your life searching for this true happiness that only He can give.  This desire to search for happiness is like your own personal homing device to help you find your way to God.

The Beatitudes give us the plan for happiness. In fact, the word beatitude means happiness or blessedness, especially the eternal happiness of heaven when we will see God face to face.   They show us choices about the things of this earth and help us to live in a way that emphasizes love for God above our love for the things of this world.  No matter how wonderful the happiness of this earth seems, one glimpse of God will be infinitely better, and those people in heaven are richer than we can ever imagine!