I have a question for you. I want you to fill in the blank. Here it is: Happiness is ____.

I assume there will be a wide array of answers. The answers may include things like a nice house or a nice car, a job with plenty of money so you can buy the things you want — but it can’t be a stressful job either. Maybe winning the lottery so you don’t have to work. Maybe you want recognition for the work you do. Happiness for some is the ability to travel when you want. Maybe you want good health and to be free of pain. Maybe for some of you, happiness is peace in your family, or helping others, or doing something to make the world around you a better place.

When I was younger, I thought I would be happy with a fast car. So I bought a used 1972 Mustang Fastback. It was a great car. There was only one problem: it went too fast, and after a few speeding tickets, I was not happy with it. So I traded it for a truck.

I think I can safely say we all want to be happy.

Today we hear Jesus talking about happiness in what are called the Beatitudes. That word means to be happy, to be in a fortunate situation — not the emotional state we often think of. Jesus, as always, is countercultural and tells us we need to think of happiness in a different way than the world does. The world says we will be happy with possessions or power or prestige. Those are things of this world, not the Kingdom of Heaven. Our ultimate happiness, or blessedness, is to be with Jesus, Mary, and all the saints in heaven.

Jesus wants to lead us to heaven, and through these Beatitudes He gives us the attitudes and characteristics of a disciple of His, and tells us those who take this path are the truly happy ones.

To be a true disciple of Jesus requires humility, love, trust, and sacrifice.

For example, to be poor in spirit — we tend to think of it as lacking something like money or being down on your luck. But when we think like Jesus, it means we understand we are powerless and know that we must rely on God for everything. He is the only one who can help us. We trust that God will act on our behalf, and because of this, Jesus tells us we can merit the Kingdom of Heaven. So people who are poor in spirit are blessed in the eyes of Jesus.

How about those who mourn? How are they blessed, as Jesus tells us? For us, mourning is a sad emotion. But for Jesus, those who are sad or grieve the evil in the world — whether it impacts the person directly or not — are blessed, because even though they may not be able to change the circumstances, they can resist the evil by mourning it internally. They trust in God to support those faithful ones and bring them comfort.

How about the meek? We tend to think of the meek as weak people who can’t or won’t stand up for themselves. The world tells us to be powerful, to be a winner. But the world is wrong. Being meek means refraining from responding in anger when you are wronged. It takes courage and strength to let God set this right and not try to do it yourself. Blessed are the meek.

I’m hoping you see the pattern here — trust, humility, and love. I’m not going to go through all the Beatitudes unless you want me to. But I want you to look at them through the eyes of Jesus, not through the eyes of the world. We are called to live humbly, to give generously, and to trust in God with all our strength.

We see the call to live humbly from Zephaniah. Living humbly means letting go of our pride and relying on God. Letting go can be very hard to do because we think we have the strength to fix or change things all by ourselves. But true strength comes from trusting in God, not in our own power.

When we live with humility, we open ourselves to God’s grace. God lifts up and blesses those who put all their trust in Him and follow His way.

The world tells us we must be strong, rich, or important to make a difference. When we think that way, we tend to put ourselves above God, and we make fools of ourselves. But Paul shows that God works through those who seem unimportant. He makes the humble part of His plan.

God does not ask for perfection from us because He knows we are not perfect. He does not ask for greatness from us either. He asks us for faith, love, humility, and trust. When we trust Him, He can use us in ways we never expect.

We are called to so much more than happiness. We are called to holiness — to be a saint. I hope you recognized the attitudes and characteristics in the Beatitudes are those of Jesus. He wants us to be like Him: meek, merciful, peacemakers, etc. He knows this is where our true happiness lies, even if following Him can be hard and lead to persecution for us.

When that happens, do not be afraid, but trust in Jesus. Be happy to be worthy to be associated with Jesus. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.