What do you think of this statement?

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ABostonCatholic

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“God did not put us in this world to be happy. For that purpose He created the next world. He put us in this world to learn how to love Him. We must learn how to love Him despite our sufferings, not in virtue of a lack of them. That is why a rich man cannot easily get into Heaven, for He is content in his riches and sees no need to love God, but a poor man suffers and learns to trust in and love Him, not for the purpose of obtaining riches and happiness in this world, but to be with Him in the next when all the things in this world come to their end.”
 
I would like to know who said this and the context it was said.

St. John Bosco was quoted somewhere on this site as saying that God wanted us to be happy in this world AND in the next.

St. Paul said that joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

And on the very night of His agony, Jesus told us to ask for things in His name “that your joy may be full.” John 14:26
 
I think the old Baltimore catechism went like this:“Why did God make me? God made me to know,love and serve Him in this world,and to be happy with Him in the next.” I have not always had this gem as a guidepost for my life much to my sorrow,for it sure could have saved me a lot of perplexity over the course of my life.I don’t know the sourse of the quote above but it certianly sounds like the catechism quote.
 
ABostonCatholic said:
“God did not put us in this world to be happy. For that purpose He created the next world. He put us in this world to learn how to love Him. We must learn how to love Him despite our sufferings, not in virtue of a lack of them. That is why a rich man cannot easily get into Heaven, for He is content in his riches and sees no need to love God, but a poor man suffers and learns to trust in and love Him, not for the purpose of obtaining riches and happiness in this world, but to be with Him in the next when all the things in this world come to their end.”
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**I like the old Baltimore Catechism explanation:

Why are we here? We are here to love and serve God in this life so that we can be happy with Him in the next.

It used to be understood so easily before!
 
peary said:
**I like the old Baltimore Catechism explanation:

Why are we here? We are here to love and serve God in this life so that we can be happy with Him in the next.**

It used to be understood *so easily *before!
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I may be wrong, but I thought it went:

Why did God make us?

God made us to know, love and serve Him so we may be happy with Him in this world and in the next.
I think He wants us to be happy with Him in both this world and the next.

After all, if we do know, love and serve Him in this world, should that not make us happy?
 
Indyann said:
I may be wrong, but I thought it went:

Why did God make us?

God made us to know, love and serve Him so we may be happy with Him in this world and in the next.
I think He wants us to be happy with Him in both this world and the next.

After all, if we do know, love and serve Him in this world, should that not make us happy?
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Hey, cut me some slack after all these years LOL
And I learned a long time ago that Happy was one of the 7 Dwarfs.
 
😃
peary said:
Hey, cut me some slack after all these years LOL
And I learned a long time ago that Happy was one of the 7 Dwarfs.
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Well actually, I think you are correct. I did a quick google and I could not find any version that said “happy” in this world.

catholicinformationcenteroninternet.org/Catechism/Part1/les1.html#RTFToC5

It seems like the cover of the ones we used were either a deep blue or dark green without any pictures on the cover. I couldn’t find any that looked like that in my search.

But then again, they could have been polka dot.
Senior moments, ya know

Regardless, seems like God would want us to be happy. Not Ha Ha Ha happy, but truly joyful and at peace.
 
Indyann said:
😃

Well actually, I think you are correct. I did a quick google and I could not find any version that said “happy” in this world.

catholicinformationcenteroninternet.org/Catechism/Part1/les1.html#RTFToC5

It seems like the cover of the ones we used were either a deep blue or dark green without any pictures on the cover. I couldn’t find any that looked like that in my search.

But then again, they could have been polka dot.
Senior moments, ya know

Regardless, seems like God would want us to be happy. Not Ha Ha Ha happy, but truly joyful and at peace.
Click to expand...
**I found this in the Baltimore Catechism 1:
  1. Who made us?
    God made us.
    In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. (Genesis 1:1)
  2. Who is God?
    God is the Supreme Being, infinitely perfect, who made all things and keeps them in existence.
    In him we live and move and have our being.     (Acts 17:28)
  3. Why did God make us?
    *God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven. *Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love him. (I Corinthians 2:9)
  4. What must we do to gain the happiness of heaven?
    *To gain the happiness of heaven we must know, love, and serve God in this world. *
    Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth; where the rust and moth consume and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven; where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. (Matthew 6:19-20)
  5. From whom do we learn to know, love, and serve God?
    We learn to know, love, and serve God from Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who teaches us through the Catholic Church.
    I have come a light into the world that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness. (John 12:46) **
 
ABostonCatholic said:
“God did not put us in this world to be happy. For that purpose He created the next world. He put us in this world to learn how to love Him. We must learn how to love Him despite our sufferings, not in virtue of a lack of them. That is why a rich man cannot easily get into Heaven, for He is content in his riches and sees no need to love God, but a poor man suffers and learns to trust in and love Him, not for the purpose of obtaining riches and happiness in this world, but to be with Him in the next when all the things in this world come to their end.”
Click to expand...
The bible tells us that God wishes us to be happy with what we have and to allow God to give us all what we need.

For most there is always going to be suffering, and it is in “loving” God through this suffering that we can have joy. When we involve the Holy Spirit inviting Him in we can have the joy God promises us.
Jesus tells us to save in the bank that the worms cannot eat away.

Godbless
 
Ok, this is actually a comment I made.

Bpbasilphx is correct that, in a certain sense, we are to be happy in this world. And I think joy is that sense. Because happiness is our ultimate goal in all that we do, and this happiness only comes from union with God (in fact, some, myself included, would say that the search for happiness is the search for God) true happiness is only found in Heaven. We speak of happiness in this world, but we mean many different things. We might mean pleasure, we might mean freedom from suffering, we might mean contentment. Happiness includes all these things, but true happiness is eternal rather than temporal.

One difference between happiness and joy is that happiness precludes all suffering. There cannot be happiness when there is suffering. Joy, however, exists despite suffering because it flows from love. That is how it is a gift from the Holy Spirit, which is the bond of love between the Father and the Son. So we can feel joy in our hope of happiness, we can feel joy at the sight of our Redeemer, despite our sins and despite our sufferings.

As for the context of this statement, a friend asked me asked me why I am not happy (in response to a comment I made), and this was my response (though I forgot to mention that I do have joy!)

As for what St. John Bosco said, I haven’t read anything he’s written, but I suspect I wouldn’t disagree with him. If he did use the word “happy”, he probably means it in a less restricted sense than I am using it.
 
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