How and where to find true happiness.
June 8, 2023 - Thursday, 9th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalm 128:1-5
Psalm 128 begins with a statement that “blessed are those who fear the Lord" and the word “blessed” is often rendered in our contemporary translation as “happy”. So what makes us happy? In the world, happiness is often linked with material possessions and the fulfilment of our desires but such happiness does not last long. We hear about so many rich and successful people being so unhappy. Why?
The truth is that money, power, and fame cannot satisfy the deepest longing of our hearts. We have been created for a relationship and unless we establish a genuine and lasting relationship we cannot be happy. Such a relationship has two dimensions: with God and with another human being. And there is no better place to experience it than the Church - the community of those who believe in Christ.
Psalm 128 was used as a blessing over newlywed couples who came to worship God in Jerusalem and the Church uses it during the liturgy of the sacrament of marriage. Why? Since the Fathers of the Church, this psalm was read as an allegory of the relationship between Christ and His bride, the Church. Christ shows us what it means to “fear” the Father. It means, as the psalmist says, following God’s way or obedience to God’s will. Jesus came to do the Father’s will and as he died on the cross for our salvation, from his pierced side, a beautiful bride - the Church - has been fashioned.
Now let me ask you few questions. When you think about the Church, what comes to your mind? A building or a community of people worshipping God? With what do you associate the Church? A boring service? A place of belonging? The truth is that the Church is a living organism. The Church is the body of Christ, built out of the living stones, of people who believe in Christ and are permeated by the Holy Spirit who is love. It is here, within this community of Christ’s believers that we get connected to God and with other people. The Church is the family of God’s children, the Church is the fruitful vine that bears much fruit by reaching out to the world with the proclamation of the Gospel and the deeds of charity.
In the biblical sense, the word “blessed” suggests contentment and joy. To live a meaningful and fulfilled life, you do not have to be rich, famous or powerful, but you have to be in a relationship with Jesus and other Christians. And the Church is the space where such relationships takes place. In the Church, in the presence of Christ and in the presence of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we can experience true happiness.