“They say that money can’t buy happiness, but if I have a lot of money, I can go on a cruise, and that would make me happy.” That philosophical twister was posed by one of my eighth graders with the approval of many of his classmates. What followed was a spirited debate that was, as is often the case when teaching, completely off topic but completely on point. We talked about the difference between enjoyment and happiness, and we discussed the emptiness of always striving for that next shiny thing. Can something that fleeting really be called happiness?
Toward the end of the class period, another student – one who had spent a year traveling the world with her family – wrapped it up quite well. “We have too much stuff in this country,” she said. “When I was in Africa, I met the poorest people I have ever met, and they were all so happy.” Clearly money had not bought their happiness.
It all comes down to grammatical semantics – adjective versus noun. Money may have the power to make you feel “happy” by acquiring some good or adventure you long for, but those feelings are temporary. “Happiness” as a noun is much deeper, more profound. It is a contentment and a peace in the soul for one who has discovered a deeper purpose in connection to God. That is the happiness that money can’t buy. And that is the treasure Jesus urges us toward in today’s Gospel.
Our hearts will seek that which we treasure. When we treasure (value, long-for) the newest gaming system, a shiny new car, or the praise of our peers, the fleeting happy feeling we may experience when we get these things won’t last, and it will leave us longing for more. But when we treasure God and treasure discovering and living His purpose for us, we find true, deep, abiding happiness. As St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Things of this world can never fully satisfy. If our happiness is based on these things, and even the “happy” in our lives fades, spoils, and disappoints, how devastating will the sad days be? In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us to look toward the light so that we will be filled with light. We are called to set our hearts on God and the graces of our faith. Finding joy in the treasure that endures, the abiding love of God, makes our earthly joys more sweet and our earthly sorrows less bitter.
So, to the bright young man who posed our opening question, yes, money may be able to buy you a happy feeling here and there, but, no, it cannot buy happiness. That happiness, as the villagers your classmate met in Africa would likely be able to tell you, is a treasure borne of their Creator, and it doesn’t cost a dime.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading I Genesis 32:23-33 In the course of the night, Jacob arose, took his two wives, with the two maidservants and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the…
Saint of the Day
Sts. Aquila and Priscilla
Sts. Aquila and Priscilla
Feast date: Jul 08
Saints Aquila and Priscilla were a Jewish couple from Rome who had been exiled to Corinth, and were friends of St. Paul in the first century. They hosted St. Paul on his visit to that city and were probably converted by him. They are mentioned a few times in the New Testament in glowing terms by their friend Paul, who calls them “my helpers in Christ, who have for my life laid down their own necks” (Romans 16:3-4).They were tentmakers, thus sharing the same profession as Paul, and because of this it is thought that Paul may have worked with them. Acts 18:18-19 tells us that they accompanied Paul to Ephesus and stayed there with him for three years.In the era of house churches – when Mass was always celebrated in the house of one of the Christian community – their house was an important one.According to tradition they were martyred in Rome on their return, probably around the same time as St. Paul.