Jesus proclaims that He alone knows the secret to happiness. He says that happiness is:
1) choosing to be poor rather than rich (Mt 5:3; Lk 6:20),
2) sorrowing in repentance for our sins rather than feeling good (Mt 5:4),
3) becoming lowly rather than seeking power (Mt 5:5),
4) hungering for holiness rather than for getting what we want (Mt 5:6),
5) giving others a break rather than getting our rights (Mt 5:7),
6) having nothing but Jesus rather than having everything else but Jesus (see Mt 5:8),
7) dying for our enemies rather than killing them (see Mt 5:9; see Rm 5:8-10), and
8) being insulted, persecuted, and slandered because of Jesus rather than being popular (Mt 5:10-11).
Many people think Jesus is a fool (see 1 Cor 1:25). What He calls the secret of happiness seems to them the way to misery. However, some people have believed Jesus. They didn't necessarily understand the Beatitudes, but they believed them and tried to live them just because Jesus said them. They walked "by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7). These people became the happiest people on earth and perfectly happy in heaven. Jesus was right all along.
Will you believe Jesus, look like a fool, live the Beatitudes, and be happy? Or do you think you know more about happiness than Jesus does?
| PRAYER: | Father, may I be as happy as Your Son's death and Resurrection warrants. |
| PROMISE: | "He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from Him." –2 Cor 1:4 |
| PRAISE: | Jesus healed Ted of shoulder pain. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College