SPECIAL EDITION ARTICLE #20 - July 12th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

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SPECIAL EDITION ARTICLE #20 - July 12th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

Editor's Note: This article is a summary of a homily from Fr. Ben Daghir to the DuBois Central Catholic School System. The homily focuses on the beatitudes and happiness. 

Article:
Today’s Gospel presents us with the Beatitudes. “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours” and “Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.” Do you know what the word beatitude/blessed means? 

In Latin the word is beatitudo. It means “happiness.” Let me now say the beatitudes again with this translation: “Happy are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours” and “Happy are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.” In other words, Jesus is laying out a roadmap of happiness. He is clearly stating - this is the path of happiness. 

You may not know this but every decision you make is in order to be happy. It is what separates us from every other creature in the universe. In fact, you are hardwired for happiness. You brushed your teeth today in order to be happy. You are on the sports team, you are with your friends, you scroll through social media, you are in the theater, and you are in that advanced calculus course to be happy. You are considering that college, that profession, or that vocation in order to be happy. 

Again, every decision you make has the ultimate purpose to make you happy. Why, then, if we are hardwired for happiness are some people not happy? 

Some search for happiness in the wrong places. Others search for things that can only make them happy for a short time, for an hour, for a week, for only a year. Jesus’s beatitude “Blessed [Happy] are you who are poor” indicates that this world cannot provide enough to make us happy. We shouldn’t be attached to this world. Jesus is demanding that we search for more. 

Jesus’s beatitude “Blessed [Happy] are you who are now hungry” indicates that we should hunger for what fills our minds, souls, and hearts. In other words, we should be hungry for more than what this world offers. 

Only then, once we search for more than this world has to offer, will we be happy. This, of course, is because we are not made in the image and likeness of the world. Rather, we are made in God’s image and likeness. The roadmap to happiness, therefore, must have God as the destination. Blessed are you, happy are you who do not set the bar in this world but rather look higher to Heaven. 
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Fr. Ben Daghir is a priest for the Diocese of Erie. He is a graduate of Elk County Catholic High School in Saint Marys, Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, and St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. He considers writing one of his favorite hobbies.