What is happiness? Modern culture answers this question in many ways, but one popularly reduced answer seems to be the notion that happiness is being free to be yourself. Happiness in the general philosophical tradition of the Church is somewhat close to this idea. For a Christian, happiness consists in a person becoming the full actualization of who God made that person to be. By way of divine revelation, we believe that actualization will not reach its fullness until after our deaths, and the goal of this life is to actualize as much of that person as possible through faith and virtue. This means putting into motion our potential in a multi-faceted way that is ordered toward the ultimate aim of Christian existence in this life. So, what in this life can make us less free to become that person? The answer to this question usually falls into one of two categories – being dominated by desire for pleasure or dominated by fear of discomfort. Tomorrow I will give a talk called, “5 Steps to Becoming a Happier Christian” at St. Dominic’s Parish. These steps come from my experiences studying philosophy, living religious life, and working to overcome what stands in the way of achieving the authenticity and holiness necessary for being as happy as possible in this life. I hope to see all who are available and interested in attending the talk tomorrow evening. See you soon!
When: Thursday, March 19 at 7pm
Where: St. Dominic’s Parish hall