YOUCAT*: “God has placed in our hearts such an infinite desire for happiness that nothing can satisfy it but God himself. All earthly fulfillment gives us only a foretaste of eternal happiness. Above and beyond that, we should be drawn to God.” [1718-1718, 1725]
I was in Washington, D.C., last week and, while visiting the National Mall, I walked past a group of middle schoolers who had T-shirts which read, “Because I’m Happy.”
There’s a popular song on the radio these days and one line of the chorus is: “Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth, because I’m happy.”
We all want to be happy. I read a study once that said 50 percent of our happiness is genetic, 10 percent is based upon circumstance and 40 percent is based on the choices that we make.
That last statistic is huge — what kind of choices do you make? Do they make you happy? The season of Easter is 50 days of joyous celebrating, a time to be happy. Cardinal Timothy Dolan once said: “An evangelist must be a person of joy — someone who smiles.”
So, come on, clap along and be happy! Christ is risen!
*Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church
Lisa Gomes is the director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry
