Cardinal Rivera reiterates that complete happiness is found in Heaven

Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 1, 2005 / 22:00 pm

The archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, said this week Christians are called to look for complete happiness, “which begins here and reaches its fullness in the final encounter with God.”

During a homily at Mass at the archdiocesan cathedral, the Cardinal pointed out that few people know what happiness is and how to obtain it.  He said it “cannot be bought” and that many people can’t find meaning in their lives because they base everything on money, pleasure and power, and they even fall into the mistake of seeking after cults and gurus who “promise a path to light and happiness.”

Cardinal Rivera explained that one of the greatest indicators of whether a person understands “the difficult art of knowing how to live,” is a person’s interior happiness.

He recalled that, “Life is full of problems and conflicts.”  Nevertheless, today’s society “teaches us to find happiness in the wrong ways,” which lead us “to live in a miserable fashion.”

Therefore, referring to the Beatitudes, the cardinal said they “invite us to ask ourselves whether or not we have our lives in order” and to get rid of what is wrong in our lives.

“It is a lie that Christians are called to live renouncing and sacrificing themselves for sake of sacrificing, that they should resign themselves to live a life less happy than that of others.”

He said they are called instead to “live with a simpler heart, with an interior purity, without so much desire and anxiety to accumulate” and to be “more attentive to those who suffer,” trusting in God who “loves unconditionally.”