I found a small, silver charm with that message while on a walk recently.
The charm’s gleam in the sunlight caught my eye while walking on the blacktop of a high school track. The message was etched in black in the tiniest of letters, all lowercase, on an oval the size of my fingertip.
I laughed when I picked up the charm and read it. I tend to take everything as a message from God, especially when the message finds its way to me so randomly.
And that little message – be happy – seemed to arrive at just the right time. I had been having trouble finding happiness, with the smallest setbacks bringing me down.
So maybe it was appropriate that the message itself was tiny. Maybe happiness could be found by appreciating the little things in life: the warmth of the spring sun on my skin, a gentle breeze on my face, the laughter of children in my ears.
Happiness – often called joy in Christian terms – seems so elusive at times. It is a gift from God, yet He commands us: be happy, rejoice always. How can we control our happiness when we are hurting and suffering, when our circumstances are out of our control?
The answer, in one word, is God.
He created us for happiness and fulfilled our joy beyond comprehension in Jesus’ death and resurrection. He is our Paschal Joy.
In His earthly life, our Lord showed us “the secret of the unfathomable joy which dwells in Jesus and which is special to Him,” Blessed Pope Paul VI said in his encyclical “Gaudete in Domino” (On Christian Joy).
“It is by reason of the inexpressible love by which He knows that He is loved by His Father,” the pope said of Jesus’ joy. “It is a presence that never leaves Him alone. It is an intimate knowledge that never leaves Him. . . . It is an unceasing and total exchange.”
“Here there is an uncommunicable relationship of love which is identified with His existence as the Son and which is the secret of the life of the Trinity: the Father is seen here as the One, Who gives Himself to the Son, without reserve and without ceasing, in a burst of joyful generosity, and the Son is seen as He Who gives Himself in the same way to the Father, in a burst of joyful gratitude, in the Holy Spirit.
“And the disciples and all those who believe in Christ are called to share in this joy. Jesus wishes them to have in themselves His joy in its fullness.”
Certain words stuck with me through that passage: “life of the Trinity,” “gives,” “generosity,” “gratitude” and “Holy Spirit.” They are key points to a deep and lasting joy, even in a world where suffering, death and the cross are inevitable.
Happiness is life in the Trinity, which Jesus opened up to us, generously giving and sharing that life. We are happy when we live as Jesus lived, gratefully, recognizing God’s kindness toward us, and when we receive His gift of the Holy Spirit.
In the words of Blessed Paul VI:
“The attainment of such an outlook is not just a matter of psychology. It is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit, Who dwells fully in the person of Jesus, made Him during His earthly life so alert to the joys of daily life, so tactful and persuasive for putting sinners back on the road to a new youth of heart and mind! It is this same Spirit Who animated the Blessed Virgin and each of the saints. It is this same Spirit Who still today gives to so many Christians the joy of living day by day their particular vocation, in the peace and hope which surpasses setbacks and sufferings. It is the Spirit of Pentecost Who today leads very many followers of Christ along the paths of prayer, in the cheerfulness of filial praise, towards the humble and joyous service of the disinherited and of those on the margins of society. For joy cannot be dissociated from sharing. In God Himself, all is joy because all is giving.”
Our replenishment of joy can be found in the sacraments, especially reconciliation and at Mass, the celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, the pope said.
So in God, we do have the secret happiness. If we have Him, we can indeed “be happy.”
(Just a note: I turned the charm in to the school’s lost-and-found, not really expecting to find the owner. But a boy there knew who owned it. And I was grateful that the happiness I found could be returned.)
Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.
