How to be Happy?

Scripture/Bible: Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matt 16:13-19

Reflection:  Who does not want to be happy and blessed?

I believe that all people draw their happiness from some relationships or the other:

Some are happy because they relate with a lot of wealth and property, some are happy because they relate with their hoarded wealth and bank balance, some are happy because they have access to the powerful men in positions of power, some are happy because they hold positions of power and authority, some are happy because they have found the partner of their dreams or have parents, brothers, sisters or friends who care.  Some are happy on account of their pets.

Our happiness cannot be in isolation, except in situation when one is in love with oneself and relates only to the self. It is dependent heavily on the relationship we live and hold on to.  The key thing about this relationship is that they animate our lives and it is as if they speak to us.

In the gospel text Jesus speaks about a happiness or blessed state and yet it could only be the beginning of one’s life journey: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (vs.17)

If only humanity learns to relate with the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, then they would be blessed and happy, because, He the almighty God does communicate to us the truth and the intricacies of life, even eternal life and thus we shall be happy.

This was Jesus’ ultimate purpose in coming into this world and offering himself as a living sacrifice; so that we could be reconciled to our ultimate source of life and happiness and live our life in union with God our Father. The apostle Peter was only an example, the fruit of his work.

Prayer: “Lord you choose to make known to us the great riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory, our sure happiness. (cfr. Col 1:27)

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