As a way to share the gift of wisdom offered every Tuesday morning 6:45 to 8:00, this blog will present some of the homilies that are given during the breakfast. If you would like to share in the love, fellowship, and learning, please join us!
Tuesday January 31st, 2017
Happiness by Jack Kavulich
Happiness
When I was about 12 years old and getting ready for Confirmation I attended a
Catechism class every Monday after school with the good Nuns teaching us. We
needed to memorize many belief statements and be ready to answer every
question. The first question was “Why did God make us?” The answer was “To
know, love and serve Him in this life and to be Happy with him now and in the
next life.” As Christians we should be the Happiest people in the world. Why?
Because God loves us. How do I know He loves us? First, He made us and loved
us into existence. We did not create ourselves. Then he flattered us and
became a human being to show us that it is good to be human.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery. He showed us there is nothing
to fear in this life, not even death since he conquered death by His dying and
rising again.
God created each day as a unique creation. We have never seen THIS day
before. We might see tomorrow but not this day. Each day is a new creation, a
new beginning, a new opportunity to love more. Each day is a new birth in time,
holding out new beginnings, new possibilities and new achievements. We live
today in such a way as to see Christ in all we meet and to bring Christ to all we
meet. The biggest surprise of life is the brevity of life. We turn around and say,
where did life go? What, I am a grandfather! Wow. The days are long but the
years are short. Make TODAY count in our Christian journey. What we do today
is what matters the most. One of the great gifts we receive is the gift to choose
the way we wish to live-how to spend our time. God created us with free will so
we could choose to love Him every day. And we can only Love God if we Love
our neighbor as ourselves as Jesus taught. We have the power to choose
PEACE for ourselves in all moments.
We need to smile more-The simple act of smiling causes the brain to release an
endorphin chemical that makes us feel good. How much does a
smile cost? Nothing. WOW. Why don’t we smile more? Happiness is what we
bring to life. Happiness comes from within-it is a choice. Our happiness is
based on the foundational fact that Jesus of Nazareth was the full and complete
revelation of God and He provided us with salvation because he died for us and
was raised by God to show that not even death has power over us. St. Paul said,
“Oh death, where is your sting.” What marvelous news. So, be happy. As Paul
says in chapter 8 of Romans, “If God is for us who can be against us?” We
should live in the NOW moment. The PRESENT is the moment when Time
touches Eternity. We should not mourn for the past, not worry
about the future or anticipate troubles, but live in the present moment wisely
and earnestly. Jesus said not to worry for who can add even one minute to their
life by worrying. He pointed to the birds who have a nest and the lilies of the
field that are arrayed in beauty because even they are provided for by God. So
how much more will God our Abba-Daddy take care of us. As a follower of Christ, we live our life
appreciating the fact that our LIFE is a GIFT- that we did not earn or deserve. But
God loved us so much he wanted to share His life with us, so we could share our
life with others and share Eternity with Him. To be a happy person we must be a
grateful person. Gratitude is the key to happiness. At the end of the
Sermon on the Mount and the teaching of the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “Even
when you are persecuted and every kind of evil is done to you, ‘REJOICE and be
HAPPY, for your reward will be great in heaven.” So today, let’s be happy and in
so doing we honor God. Our happy attitude is a big Thank You to God
for creating us with a free will to choose happiness each day.