Happiness On Trial – Part II

By Artur Suski, S.J.

In my last blog (“Happiness on Trial I”), I presented two ideas of the Christian vocation. You are all very familiar with the first: “I want to be happy!” The Christian strives above all for her happiness. St. Thomas – with “a little help from his friend”, that is, Aristotle – states that the Christian will only be happy if she lives according to her human nature, and to truly live according to human nature, she is to be a ‘reasonable’ person; in other words, to use her reason. St. Thomas, of course, goes further than Aristotle: not only are we to use our noggin properly, we are also to contemplate God’s truths. We, however, will only be complete and truly fulfilled when we see God face to face. But it is not that simple … it is only when we live virtuous lives that we will be properly disposed to ascend to this glorious beatific vision!

So, what is wrong with this model? I’ve pointed out in my last post, using Bl. Duns Scotus’ reasoning, that this is too “me-centred”. Check out what Hans Urs von Balthasar says about this: “Now, if according to St. Thomas, God is the indispensable One, that without which the hunger for happiness cannot attain its end, is not there in this concept the danger of turning God inadvertently into an end? … In this perspective, God can certainly be the end of the human being – a desired end perhaps sought out through asceticism and mystical passion, with a scrupulous observance of the Commandments – but at the end of the day, it will be my end, it promises my ultimate fulfillment.”

Happiness on Trial – Part I

By Artur Suski, S.J.

What is the meaning of life? What is our purpose, our end? What is the deepest desire of our hearts? These are all very relevant questions for contemporary society. But what should be the Christian response to these questions?

Back in the days of the Church Fathers, St. Augustine thinks that all people desire to be happy. The “who” and the “how”, though, is another matter. St. Augustine, along with St. Thomas Aquinas, are said to have successfully baptized the teachings on happiness by Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. These two saints are the representatives of a certain take on the Christian life which is called ‘the way of ascent’. According to this model, the goal of the Christian vocation is the ascent of the soul toward God – the Beatific vision – in which the human will find his ultimate happiness and fulfillment.

The Christian hence leads a virtuous and prayerful life, to further dispose and perfect themselves so that he may participate in this divine encounter that will bring him unending happiness. One can say that this model of happiness has dominated the Christian understanding of the Christian life.