No One Can

 

Happiness Within

Even before Christ, there existed wonderful philosophy in Greece and Rome. The ancient Romans were practical people. They did not ask themselves theoretical questions. They asked how they, as people, could become happy. They concluded that they must keep the source of happiness within themselves. They were the Stoic Philosophers. The writers included Epictetus and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. They were wise and wonderful.

The Stoics believed that they could not depend on the "outside" for happiness. The "outside is beyond my control. I must keep some control over my happiness or I will always be a victim. Example: I would be happy if my wife (or husband) were cheerful in the morning. I will be happy when I win the lottery. This is not the road to happiness. Happiness is securely found only from within.

The Stoics said that we could not let our desires go unrestrained. If I let my desires go wild, I can convince myself that I need a yacht to be happy. I do not need a yacht, or a DVR or a Porsche, or a widescreen TV. We can decide what we need; we can be content with what we have. In this regard, there are two ways to get rich. I define a rich person as one who earns more than s/he wants to spend. You could earn a fortune, more than you could ever want to spend. Or you could limit your desire to spend. J.P. Morgan chose the first way. Francis of Assisi chose the second. They were both rich.

The Stoics were a secular philosophy. They did not bring God into the picture. When we take the Stoic wisdom and add our spirituality, then we really have a plan of life. Look inside yourself for happiness. Inside you find the God who loves you. This God is the only sure source of happiness. Now we find that Francis of Assisi just might have been the happiest individual whoever lived.

Twin Brothers

The family had two twin boys whose only resemblance to each other were their looks. If one felt it was too hot, the other thought it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other claimed the volume was too low. Opposite in every way, one was an eternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist.

Just to see what would happen, on the twins’ birthday, the father loaded the pessimist’s room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist’s room he loaded with horse manure.

That night, the father passed by the pessimist’s room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly. “Why are you crying?” the father asked. “Because my friends will be jealous, I’ll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I’ll constantly need batteries and my toys will eventually get broken,” answered the pessimist twin.

Passing the optimist twin’s room, the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure. “What are you so happy about?” he asked. To which his optimist twin replied, “With all this manure, there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere.”

Which are you??

3rd Sunday of Lent

For the next three Sundays, we leave the gospel of St. Matthew and experience Jesus in three dramatic encounters as presented by St. John.  Today we hear about Jesus’ and the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob.  Next Sunday our gospel tells the story of Jesus and the man blind from birth.  And on March 29 we will reflect on the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The Church selected these readings especially for our catechumens and candidates coming into the Church through the RCIA experience at Easter but there is a powerful message for each one of us.

Jesus invited the Samaritan woman at the Well of Jacob to engage in a dialogue. This woman approached Jesus with three strikes against her.  She was a woman; she was a foreigner and she was a moral outcast.  What she initially saw in Jesus was a Jewish man (a potential enemy), who was tired, thirsty, probably very hot and hungry.  Although she did not know Jesus, he knew her and he did not judge her.  Rather, he responded to her with compassion and mercy. When Jesus asked her for water, she was shocked and said, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”  It’s ironic that the Samaritan woman was shocked by Jesus but he was not shocked by her. 

Jesus, acting out of love asked the Samaritan woman for water. We don’t know if she ever gave him water.  What we do know is that Jesus offered the woman much more, “whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Not only did Jesus offer the woman the promise of eternal life’ he offered her acceptance, compassion and hope.  He freed her from shame so she had the courage to return to her town and share the good news. 

Because Jesus and the Samaritan woman had a relationship of “openness and fruitful dialogue,” he was free to reveal to her that he was the Messiah. Her testimony was so effective that “Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified….”   Many others came to believe because they too were given the opportunity to have a “relationship of openness and fruitful dialogue” with Jesus.  This invitation for an open and fruitful relationship with Jesus is extended to all of us.  We all have the opportunity to live abundant lives filled with love.  And we are expected to share that love with all the people we encounter.  Like the Samaritan woman, we are called to be evangelizers.  We are called to share the mercy and love offered to us to others so together we can build the kingdom right here in Peachtree City.

Creative and forgiving Father

you let people experience your mercy

when they encounter your Son, Jesus Christ.

Let Jesus, your living Word,

speak to us from heart to heart.

Give us an unquenchable thirst

for the things that matter:

for faith and for meaning in our lives,

for hope in a better world

filled with your justice and peace,

for a spirit of committed love

that knows how to share itself.

Generously give us all these things

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Friendship

St. Francis de Sales tells us: "Friendship requires great communication." Mt 6:6 says to us: “But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

In the First letter of Peter 5:7 we are told: “Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.”

And so, the only way to have a friend is to be one. A real friend is someone who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.

Optimist Creed

Promise Yourself.......

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to everyone you meet.
To make all your friends feel there is something special in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry,
Too noble for anger,
Too strong for fear,
And too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

~ by Christian D. Larson

Bad Hair Day

There once was a woman who woke up one morning,
looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs
on her head.

"Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today."

So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that
she had only two hairs on her head.

"H-m-m, " she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the
middle today."

So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed
that she had only one hair on her head.

"Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a
pony tail."

So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and
noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

"YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my
hair today!"

Attitude is everything.

~ Source Unknown