Am I happy?

 

Was Jesus happy in this life?  Certainly, His earthly existence was marked by hardship.  He was born in a cave, escaped Herod’s attempt on His life as an infant, and likely lost Saint Joseph at a young age.  He endured 40 days of intense temptation by Satan, was rejected by His own people in Nazareth, and, though loved by many, was hated by others.  Ultimately, He was betrayed, unjustly condemned, beaten, and crucified.

Is that happiness?  Not in a worldly sense.  But Jesus’ happiness was in doing the will of His Father.  This obedience, this perfect fulfillment of His divine mission, brought a happiness beyond our human comprehension—a deep, abiding joy rooted in perfect love and surrender to God’s plan.

As we begin Lent, a good question to ask ourselves might be: “Am I happy?”  Many people struggle with this question.  Like our Lord, we endure trials, suffering, and disappointment.  Jesus wasn’t exempt from these; He faced the full range of human experience.  He likely faced rejection as a boy because He was different.  He knew the sorrow of losing loved ones and faced the daily demands of work to help support His family.

In the mystery of the Incarnation—God becoming man—the Son of God intimately shares in every human suffering.  He understands our struggles and sorrows firsthand.  This is why Jesus can look at us with compassion and say, “I understand.”  He is not only divine and transcendent, He is also intimately close, having lived through the very trials we face.

It’s this reality that makes His words so powerful: “Take up your cross daily and follow me.”  The Cross is the roadmap to true happiness.  Our human nature might seek to avoid suffering, but Jesus invites us to embrace it with grace, uniting it with His own suffering.  Through the Cross, we find victory and fulfillment in ways that our natural reasoning could never grasp.