INTRODUCTION
Often I see people alternating between Joy and sadness, euphoria and mistrust, optimism and pessimism, at times even vacillating in your faith and self-esteem. Looking around also I discovered that we are not alone in this state of mind. The more you see people sad the more you may be tempted to say that happiness is a white elephant project, only a dream. Even more discouraging is the realization that many Christian families are unhappy. What then is the problem? What happened to the freedom of children of God? I know for sure that you want to be happy indeed! Let us try to see together what happiness really is and how we can really be happy as a family. So I put it across to you what is happiness?
WHAT IS HAPPINESS
What I have gathered from your contributions so far is that the world seeks happiness. Everyone; politicians, cardinals, bishops, priest, male, female children even criminals. Philosophers and psychologists agree that the search for happiness is what makes all men equal. Scholars have not agreed on a definition of happiness or what exactly constitute it, but all men constantly and untiringly search for it. Every definition of happiness includes; being happy, being satisfied, obtaining what you wanted, being content, feeling joy, success, favorable occurrence or happy event. The basic element of happiness seems to be “satisfaction”. Philosophically man is satisfied when the intellect reaches the possession of truth and when the will reaches the possession of what is good. Theologically God is the ultimate truth hence to posses God is to posses happiness.
WHY YOU ARE NOT HAPPY
When I was ten my ground mother usually tells me stories at moon lights; may God rest her soul. In one of such nights she cleared her throat and said “olanbiwoninu ‘as she likes to call me’ please do not forget today’s story it will guide you to happiness in life.” It was a story of a dog that is carrying a piece of bone, while crossing a river it sees a reflection of the bone in its mouth and wanting to grab it, the dog let’s go what it really has for what did not exist. While reflecting on this topic her story came back to me; the answer to why you are not happy is because like grandma’s dog you grab what does not exist and let go the real thing! You are not happy because you darken the absolute truth with relative, selfish little truths that do not satisfy your intellect. You seek your satisfaction in the possession of little false goods, letting the supreme good remain unreachable, covered and suffocated by your fake satisfaction, pleasures, and materialistic conquest.
The fact that you are not happy on account of the incongruence of your life; you want to combine God and money, material and spiritual, love and selfishness, religious and worldly life and then seek someone to blame for the discontent and emptiness you experience. Your heart is much bigger, your intelligence is much more farsighted, your will much more precious of your petty interests, that is the only reason that all you do cannot satisfy you and you in turn condemn yourself to be eternally discontent.
CAN I BE HAPPY?
I SHARED THIS IN THE SPIRIT OF THE LENTING SEASON.
Once upon a time, a group of 50 people attended a seminar. Suddenly the speaker stopped and started giving each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room. Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their respective names written on within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their names, pushing and colliding with each other, and there was utter chaos. At the end of 5 minutes, no one could find their own balloons. Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloons.
The speaker began:
"This is exactly what is happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Help them Find their happiness and you will get your own happiness too. And this is the purpose of human life... Learn to put a smile on one's face, and U will also smile in due season
YOUR HAPPINESS IS WITHIN YOU
Happiness comes from within. You decide whether to be happy or unhappy. The old Latin: unisquisque faber fortunae suae (everyone is the maker of his own fortune) can easily be rendered as unisquisque faber felicitates suae (everyone is the maker of his own happiness). Our happiness or unhappiness cannot depend on causes outside our own self. You may try to blame everyone for your misery but I tell you, you are responsible for your state of unhappiness. Reflecting on Fr. Justin’s meditations in Faciamus Hominem, you cannot but realize that as image and likeness of God, you must enter into that divine plural to render your own image and likeness of God ever more perfect and more like the divine persons. For him the happiness you need is and can only be attained in the divine persons. Hence you must constantly strive to attain divine union with the most Holy Trinity in the Holy family of Jesus Mary and Joseph.
WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD SAY ON HAPPINESS
Listen to the word, put it into practice, read the beatitude over and over again and you will understand that your happiness does not depend on others. Reflect on the following verses of the psalms: “I place the Lord ever before me, he stands at my right, I cannot fall; of this my heart rejoices, my soul exults” (Ps 15, 8-9). I will offer in his house sacrifices of praise, hymns of Joy I shall sing to the Lord” (Ps 6, 8). “There is sadness at night, but in the morning it turns into Joy…you have changed my lament into a dance of Joy and my sac-cloth into habit of joy”(Ps.29,6 & 13).
The lord has come so that your joy may be complete. So that you may be happy, he has given you himself and the key to happiness when he has told you: seek first the kingdom of heaven and his justice; amass for yourself treasures in heaven; look at the birds of the sky and the lilies of the field; rather blessed are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.
(Extracts from Fr Caputo’s Lenten pastoral letter of 2003 and developed for the purpose of this retreat)
Rev Lawrence Ogundipe Sdv
March 2015
Often I see people alternating between Joy and sadness, euphoria and mistrust, optimism and pessimism, at times even vacillating in your faith and self-esteem. Looking around also I discovered that we are not alone in this state of mind. The more you see people sad the more you may be tempted to say that happiness is a white elephant project, only a dream. Even more discouraging is the realization that many Christian families are unhappy. What then is the problem? What happened to the freedom of children of God? I know for sure that you want to be happy indeed! Let us try to see together what happiness really is and how we can really be happy as a family. So I put it across to you what is happiness?
WHAT IS HAPPINESS
What I have gathered from your contributions so far is that the world seeks happiness. Everyone; politicians, cardinals, bishops, priest, male, female children even criminals. Philosophers and psychologists agree that the search for happiness is what makes all men equal. Scholars have not agreed on a definition of happiness or what exactly constitute it, but all men constantly and untiringly search for it. Every definition of happiness includes; being happy, being satisfied, obtaining what you wanted, being content, feeling joy, success, favorable occurrence or happy event. The basic element of happiness seems to be “satisfaction”. Philosophically man is satisfied when the intellect reaches the possession of truth and when the will reaches the possession of what is good. Theologically God is the ultimate truth hence to posses God is to posses happiness.
WHY YOU ARE NOT HAPPY
When I was ten my ground mother usually tells me stories at moon lights; may God rest her soul. In one of such nights she cleared her throat and said “olanbiwoninu ‘as she likes to call me’ please do not forget today’s story it will guide you to happiness in life.” It was a story of a dog that is carrying a piece of bone, while crossing a river it sees a reflection of the bone in its mouth and wanting to grab it, the dog let’s go what it really has for what did not exist. While reflecting on this topic her story came back to me; the answer to why you are not happy is because like grandma’s dog you grab what does not exist and let go the real thing! You are not happy because you darken the absolute truth with relative, selfish little truths that do not satisfy your intellect. You seek your satisfaction in the possession of little false goods, letting the supreme good remain unreachable, covered and suffocated by your fake satisfaction, pleasures, and materialistic conquest.
The fact that you are not happy on account of the incongruence of your life; you want to combine God and money, material and spiritual, love and selfishness, religious and worldly life and then seek someone to blame for the discontent and emptiness you experience. Your heart is much bigger, your intelligence is much more farsighted, your will much more precious of your petty interests, that is the only reason that all you do cannot satisfy you and you in turn condemn yourself to be eternally discontent.
CAN I BE HAPPY?
I SHARED THIS IN THE SPIRIT OF THE LENTING SEASON.
Once upon a time, a group of 50 people attended a seminar. Suddenly the speaker stopped and started giving each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room. Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their respective names written on within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their names, pushing and colliding with each other, and there was utter chaos. At the end of 5 minutes, no one could find their own balloons. Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloons.
The speaker began:
"This is exactly what is happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Help them Find their happiness and you will get your own happiness too. And this is the purpose of human life... Learn to put a smile on one's face, and U will also smile in due season
YOUR HAPPINESS IS WITHIN YOU
Happiness comes from within. You decide whether to be happy or unhappy. The old Latin: unisquisque faber fortunae suae (everyone is the maker of his own fortune) can easily be rendered as unisquisque faber felicitates suae (everyone is the maker of his own happiness). Our happiness or unhappiness cannot depend on causes outside our own self. You may try to blame everyone for your misery but I tell you, you are responsible for your state of unhappiness. Reflecting on Fr. Justin’s meditations in Faciamus Hominem, you cannot but realize that as image and likeness of God, you must enter into that divine plural to render your own image and likeness of God ever more perfect and more like the divine persons. For him the happiness you need is and can only be attained in the divine persons. Hence you must constantly strive to attain divine union with the most Holy Trinity in the Holy family of Jesus Mary and Joseph.
WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD SAY ON HAPPINESS
Listen to the word, put it into practice, read the beatitude over and over again and you will understand that your happiness does not depend on others. Reflect on the following verses of the psalms: “I place the Lord ever before me, he stands at my right, I cannot fall; of this my heart rejoices, my soul exults” (Ps 15, 8-9). I will offer in his house sacrifices of praise, hymns of Joy I shall sing to the Lord” (Ps 6, 8). “There is sadness at night, but in the morning it turns into Joy…you have changed my lament into a dance of Joy and my sac-cloth into habit of joy”(Ps.29,6 & 13).
The lord has come so that your joy may be complete. So that you may be happy, he has given you himself and the key to happiness when he has told you: seek first the kingdom of heaven and his justice; amass for yourself treasures in heaven; look at the birds of the sky and the lilies of the field; rather blessed are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.
(Extracts from Fr Caputo’s Lenten pastoral letter of 2003 and developed for the purpose of this retreat)
Rev Lawrence Ogundipe Sdv
March 2015
Thanks padre, may d words of God enrich us in body & spirit.
ReplyDeleteThanks padre, may d words of God enrich us in body & spirit.
ReplyDelete