Finding Happiness

Finding True Happiness by Fulton J. Sheen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I remember being drawn to Bishop Sheen's television program even as a child. There was just something about the way he spoke--with such love and conviction and understanding and totally without judgment, and as if he was talking directly to me; and there was just something about the words he spoke, that made me want to seek and understand and told me even then, "this is Truth and this is important. Listen.".

In Finding True Happiness, Bishop Sheen reminds us of when we were children, how happy we thought we would be when we had our fill, for instance, of Christmas cakes, our "hands glutted with toys", our eyes open wide and filled with the glow of Christmas lights. But Christmas came and we had overeaten, little by little the lights were taken down, the Christmas toys no longer excited us after a while, and then it was all over. And we began a new list of all the other things we wanted and didn't get that would make us happy. And we lamented at the fact that Christmas "somehow or other did not quite come up to ...expectations." And hasn't it been that way repeatedly since? And further, we think, perhaps, that marriage will make us truly happy, or a need to be well-known, or the perfect house on the perfect street, or the right job, or a big bank account, and on and on. But how many times when we achieve all those things we think will make us happy have we become disillusioned, disappointed, shocked, even so? Bishop Sheen reminds us that these things in and of themselves are not the source of happiness. We are reminded that the reason for our unhappiness is not because we want things "outside" of us, but "due to a want of something inside [us]". We "become so enamored" of the gifts that God has given us, we totally forget there is a Giver, attributing anything good in our lives to our own achievement, born of selfishness and pride.

More and more we remove God from everything. We are the be-all and end-all, and it is "good enough" just to be a good person. We do not believe because we do not understand. And we do not understand because we do not seek understanding, which leads to believing anything and calling "Truth" everything that "sounds good". Bishop Sheen tells us that "because we do not pray or contemplate or love Him, we become vain and proud; but when we know Him better, we feel a deep sense of dependence which tempers our false independence. Pride is the child of ignorance, humility the offspring of knowledge."

But Bishop Sheen also speaks of faith, patience, joy, our own will and more, and explains how all these together play a part in our happiness. And he speaks of contentment, saying it "comes in part from faith--that is, from knowing the purpose of life and being assured that whatever the trials are, they come from the hand of a loving Father." He emphasizes that "what happens to us is not so important, but rather how we react to what happens. Judas and Peter both sinned against the Lord, and He called them both devils. But one became a Saint, because he overcame his weakness with the help of God's grace."

Finding True Happiness could well have been written today--there is nothing obsolete or old-fashioned or trite about it. There is so much of worth in this little volume that it becomes difficult to summarize. It is a good book to keep on hand for reference from time to time, for when life begins to get foggy. I highly recommend it.

Peace,

Monica

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Happy Mother's Day - Olga Vera Stinich

Olga Vera Stinich passed away March 14, 2005. No mother could ever have been more loved. Her life was one of laughter, love and a deep faith in God; but also one of tears, fear, sadness and frustration. It was not free from stress or anxiety, nor of  disappointment, but it had certainly been a life well-lived. It had been all these things that made her who she was.

From this remarkable woman I learned kindness, gentleness, patience; I also learned of prayer and of God and faith, perseverance, hope and, ultimately, Truth. While the lessons were learned--through her living them--I know that, through my own weakness, I have failed miserably to put them into practice at moments in my own life. But I still try.

My mother remains the woman I most admire and respect, and to whom I most look up to. She is never far from thought, and I speak to her often, asking for her prayers and help. I think, if anyone were to describe me, in time to come, the words I would hold most dear would be "She is like her mother"; for it is to this, I aspire.

Poems for My Mother

Forever Remembered

 

I don't remember

Doing anything special

To deserve the love

Of my mother;

Yet it is always there,

Constant as she is

In showing she cares.

A day is not enough

To honor her,

Yet a simple card,

A mere token of

My love and gratitude

For the happiness

She has given

To so many over the years

Brings tears

To her bright blue eyes.

Dear lady!

“Stay with me”, my cry.

How do I return

The love you have given?

How do I ever hope

To become half the woman

You are?

Perhaps by sharing

The love and beauty and wisdom

The gentleness

Of your heart, passing it on.

It is only a start,

But in emulating you I know

You will always be with me.

 Bright Eyes
(For My Mother)

Bright Eyes lives with style and grace
And a loving smile upon her face
With sadness veiled she grieves inside
One never knows that she has cried

Her heart has broken many times
Yet she remains the most sublime
Desiring only another’s delight
She remains a loving acolyte

In times of trouble, pain or need
Her help is wholly guaranteed
One need never fear to ask
For she’s up to any task

Bright Eyes’ love is evergreen
Will never exist unseen
Her purpose here is simple and clear:
To her God bring others near 

Magic in My Mother’s Hands

There is magic in my mother’s hands

From whence flows her love

A mighty river whose course runs true

And one drop of that sacred water

Poured on painful wounds

Cleanses and leads me to my healing

        Namaste

   (Letter to My Mother)

It hurts, this missing you.

I had seen the sand slipping through

Your hourglass, but could do nothing

To slow--or stop it.

Then, how could I deny you the peace

Which you now surely possess?

Do you know that it is spring,

That the sun now burns

Hot in the April sky?  I remember you

Could hardly wait for the season to change.

Soon daisies will dance, bowing in the warm breeze,

Awaiting their blessing from a cool morning's dew,

And dandelions will scatter their wispy

Transparent seedlings throughout the earth

Like stars breaking free from a constellation,

Tumbling down for our pure pleasure.

Lovely, how you always saw beauty--

Even in a weed, or the God-likeness in everyone.

How I long to share this beauty with you again,

And even that which is not so beautiful,

For it takes one to appreciate the other.

But until such time, I will remain content

To simply welcome your memory in the spirit

Of Namaste, for in no other has the light of God

Shone so brightly.

**************************

*Namaste (nah mah stae) is a Sanskrit word commonly used as a greeting in India

and in the practice of yoga.  It can be translated in many ways.  Literally,

it means, "Not me, you."

Briefly, it means, "The Divine in me honors the Divine in you."

The deeper meaning is often translated as:

"I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells - a place

of peace and light and love.  When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One."

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers.

Peace,

Monica

The Devil is in the Details

A growing number of Catholic bishops have said they will not comply with the Obamacare mandate the administration implemented in January. The mandate forces religious employers to pay for birth control and contraception (including drugs that may cause abortions) in their health care plans:

"We cannot – we will not comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second-class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their prosperity stripped of their God given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope she can trust on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less."

Setting all politics aside (and we must if we are to truthfully and effectively approach and address such intrinsically right-wrong issues), the citizens of the United States should be extremely concerned and wary of what is transpiring, little by little, within the present administration. Make no mistake about it, this particular issue is not simply about contraception. It is not a political party loyalty issue. It is not a Catholic issue. It is an American issue. It is a conscience issue, and it infringes upon the rights of every individual, regardless of religious expression, regardless of one's stand on contraception or abortion; and no man, no government has the right to interfere in a relationship between a man, his conscience and his God. No government has the right to force its citizens to violate conscience. No government has the authority to force its citizens to choose between faith and livelihood.  Simply speaking, no government has the right to interfere with the teachings of the church: "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22: 15 - 21).

The government’s responsibility is to adhere to the Constitution and secure its citizens’ rights, not to enforce pseudo safeguards under the guise of “freedoms” and “services” and “women’s health issues” which are in actuality ultimately designed to chip away at our God-given rights. But this administration cares nothing about God-given rights inherent to all men. This administration prefers engaging in semantics. This administration is abusing its power.

Furthermore, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”. Does this sound familiar? It should. It is the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States—that same Constitution to which the President of the United States affirms loyalty at his inauguration:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Really Mr. Obama?

WORTH NOTING

The following ponderous statements (put forth in July of 1968) bear some serious consideration, not only as regards the so-called "contraception mandate" of Obamacare, but in discerning to whom we (should or should not) allow moral direction.

Excerpts from the ENCYCLICAL LETTER HUMANAE VITAE

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF PAUL VI

"17. Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife."

Quite prophetic, no?

"23. And now We wish to speak to rulers of nations. To you most of all is committed the responsibility of safeguarding the common good. You can contribute so much to the preservation of morals. We beg of you, never allow the morals of your peoples to be undermined. The family is the primary unit in the state; do not tolerate any legislation which would introduce into the family those practices which are opposed to the natural law of God. For there are other ways by which a government can and should solve the population problem—that is to say by enacting laws which will assist families and by educating the people wisely so that the moral law and the freedom of the citizens are both safeguarded."

The conviction of the founding fathers, held in the highest regard, was that all men, all governments are subject to the Word of God. This was of utmost importance to them; so much so, that Thomas Jefferson begins The Declaration of Independence

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

This is no small matter. And it is not an issue solely unto itself. It is the beginning of, what I feel to be, a most difficult path ahead for people of faith. We often ask ourselves “What would I do if…?”. The time to answer is upon us.