Why are the Saints Happy?

All Saints (C); November 1, 2022

Rv 7:2-4,9-14.  Ps 24.  1 Jn 3:1-3.  Mt 5:1-12a

Deacon Jim McFadden

            Last month I was watching an episode from HBO’s The Wire, in which a detective, by the name of Freeman (more of a description than a proper name),  said to the protagonist, another Baltimore police officer, “McNulty, your problem is that you think you can find happiness being a cop.  Well, you can’t: you break up this drug ring and there’ll be another right behind it.  You clean out the corrupt politicos in City Hall, and they’ll be replaced by others.  You’ve got to find happiness somewhere else.”

            As I thought about this riveting scene, I wondered, “Can I find happiness being a being a husband and a father,  being a deacon, being a theology teacher,  etc.”  Underneath the logic of The Wire is that happiness can’t be found in situations such as one’s work or vocation. 

            Well, what about an idyllic place, like Disneyland, which is touted as “the happiest place in the world!” Can happiness be found in a place?  Well, busting that myth, Abigail Disney, the heiress to the Disney empire released a documentary which shows how low-wage Disney workers are financially exploited to bolster the Magical kingdom which is more miserable than magical.  So, there’s no place that is the source of happiness.

            Then what is?  The Saints got it!  We hear in our first reading from the Book of Revelation that “Salvation comes from our God, who is sealed on the throne, and from the Lamb.”  And, what do they do? They “prostrated themselves  before the throne, worshipping God, and they exclaimed, “Amen, Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen. (Rv 7: 10-12).

            This is it, Troubies: happiness is found  primarily in a Person, Jesus the Christ.  Jesus is Yahweh among us; he is Immanuel and when we are in right relationship with him, we know that the One who sent him, the Father, “bestowed upon us that we may be called the children of God” (1 Jn 3: 1).  What does that mean?  It means that God is being born within us at a very profound level that is meant to endure for ever!  And, Jesus is the Way to the mystery of Trinitarian love, which is the ground of our Happiness, , which we see described in the Gospel reading from Matthew which describes what a happy person looks like in the Beatitudes.

            Brothers and sisters, Jesus is the Way into the fulness of God and to the mystery of who we are.  He is the Narrow Gate; there is no alternative path because he is the very Word of God made Flesh.  And, when we were baptized, we were initiated into his very mystical Body, the Church, in which we “move, live, and have our being” in God.  He is inviting us into that communion which is meant to last forever.  If that doesn’t make you happy, what would?

            Nonetheless, some of you may be thinking that while Jesus may be  the Son of God, does he really want my happiness?  Moreover, some fear that that by taking his invitation seriously, like being his disciple, that would mean ruining my life, that I wouldn’t have fun anymore, that we’d have to mortify our desires, our strongest aspirations of college, career, and family.  These thoughts creep in: that God just asks too much of us and that deep down we really don’t feel that God loves us.

            Well, the Saints know that God loves them.  And what they experienced in their first encounter with Jesus is joy.  When you encounter the Lord in the Quiet, in the Eucharist, at Holy Adoration, you will become joyful.  When you open your heart to Jesus, you will be filled with his Presence, his Love, and his Life—all of that will make you happy. 

            Fear and sadness, on the other hand, are signs of distance from God.  If you’re experiencing these feelings, don’t run away from them, but using the gifts of the Holy Spirit, strive to come to insight why you feel this way.  Bring them to Jesus, who continues to heal his brothers and sisters, if they have faith in him. 

            Troubies, Jesus never forces you to follow him, never.  Because he loves you unconditionally just as you are, he lets you know his will so that you can embrace his Way which leads you to become fully alive.  This is what is so incredible about our Lord Jesus: the freedom he give us to say “yes” to his love or to say “no.”  On the other hand, when we distance ourselves from the Lord, we are left empty, we are left with a sad and restless heart.

            Sisters and brothers,  you have everything you need right here, right now to be happy.  If you say “yes” to Jesus’ invitation, you will realize your destiny as beloved child of God.  Choose wisely.  The French Catholic writer, Leon Bloy, once wrote that “There is only one tragedy in the end; not to have been a saint.”  Troubies, you were created to be  saints, to be friends with God: live who you are meant to be in Jesus!  Amen.