Goal of this Chapter -Examine what level of happiness you are pursuing. - Direct your life to the greatest and highest levels of happiness. Intro Bible Verse:"As the deer longs for streams of water, my soul longs for you, O God." -Psalm 42:2

St. Michael prayer Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in of battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and the snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray and do thou O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen Bible Verse: "As the deer longs for streams of water, my soul longs for you, O God." - Psalm 42:2

Happiness What is happiness? - Desire linked to happiness and purpose. Purpose: Where we are going to land? Our deepest desires are good, but if solely directed on earthly things…it will lead to our unhappiness.

Level 1- Lowest Level of Happiness What? - Good? - Crisis (feeling of emptiness), if we make this our primary mode of finding happiness? - Why? -

Level 2 Happiness What? - Good? - Difference from 1? Higher level of happiness because not purely physical. It chiefly involves the ego. Crisis? -

Options of the Comparison Game Win (more)Draw (same)Loss (less) -Emptiness -Upping the stakes -Contempt -Isolation -Resentment - Nobel Prize Winner -Fear of Losing -Suspicion of others -Depression -Jealousy, anger -Inferiority - Ex. Mike

Level 3 Happiness What? - Difference from level 2? Level 2 is achieving for yourself. Level 3 is - Examples: -

What am I living for? Kind of AttitudeLevel 2 ObjectiveLevel 3 & 4 Objective 1. View of meaning-Good for others Contributions (making healthy comparisons) 2. View of OthersLooking for the bad news in others- 3. View of Relationships Being over and against others Threat > Manipulation/blame> suspicion Being with and through others Common Cause > enjoyment > team 4. View of Self Object self only; treating people of objects, not as whole human beings Healthy self image Appreciating people as human beings. 5. Overall ViewpointViewing people and life as problemsViewing people and life as an opportunity, mystery, and adventure.

Level 3 Happiness… Crisis of H3, if we make it our primary mode of happiness? - Our insatiable desires cannot be completely fulfilled by our imperfect, finite world and its people. We desire more than the world can give us. Problem? - Our desire for love and to love is unconditional, but our actuality is conditioned.

Level 4 Happiness What? Finding the satisfaction of our desire for truth, love, justice, beauty in He who is the fulfillment and source of Truth, Love, Justice, Beauty. Therefore full human actualization must include access to, contemplation of, and interaction with the perfect, unconditional, and unrestricted in the area of: 1. Truth itself 2. Love itself 3. Goodness/Justice itself 4. and Beauty itself.

We have an Insatiable Desire for Perfect Love We desire perfect, unconditional, unending Love. Reflect on your experience: - Good? - Downside? If expectations are placed on humans, we will quickly experience dashed romanticism and a slow decline of relationship (unmet expectations) - This insatiable desire for Love is like a homing device to-

We Desire Perfect Goodness/Justice We desire perfect, unconditional goodness/justice. Reflect on your experience: - Good? - Bad? False expectations of perfect justice/goodness in a finite and imperfect world. Leads to disappointment and cynicism. This insatiable desire for Justice acts -

We Desire Perfect Beauty…. We desire Perfect, Unending, Unrestricted Beauty Reflect on your experience: - Good? - Bad? Grow bored and frustrated with imperfect manifestations of beauty. Ex. Hugh Hefner, and the resentments we have in our own defects All beauty __________________and is a ________________________ He who is _________________Beauty. The dim yet attractive manifestations of beauty we experience on earth is meant to act as a homing device to Ultimate Beauty.

We have an unrestricted desire to Know… We want to know things, but not just know. - Reflect on your experience: not just pragmatic knowledge “where is my next meal coming from?” But important things like, “who should I draft on my fantasy football team?” And more important things like “does this person really love me.” “Is there a God?” “What is the purpose of life?” Example: kid asking “why” Bad? - Good? - All truth is _________________, ________________and finds ___________________in He who is Ultimate Truth. All truth, no matter where it is found, is meant to lead us to He who is _____________________.

Do you want Level 4 Happiness? The way to overcome our problems associated with our desires is to first realize that God is the ____________________________________. So seek Him first and find the fulfillment of your desires in relationship with Him above all else. “Let God be God, and let creatures be creatures.” See CCC27

Don’t Stop at the Sign…. “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” –CS Lewis It points to something (or Someone) better

Questions 1.Please explain in your own words each of the 4 levels of happiness…. 2.What caught your attention from the talk? 3.What level of happiness do you think you are pursuing most often? What level of happiness do you think you spend most of your mental energies thinking about?

4 Objective : Characteristics: Gratification: Ultimate Good Participate in giving and receiving ultimate meaning, goodness, ideals and love. Principles include ultimate Truth, Love, Justice and Beauty The good is a means to the Ultimate Good. Eternal 3 Objective: Characteristics: Gratification: Good Beyond Self Do good beyond self Principles include justice, love and community. Intrinsic goodness is an end of itself. Decisions are focused on the greater good. Long term 2 Objective: Characteristics: Gratification: Personal Achievement/Ego Be better than, gain advantage, ego centered Promotion of self is primary, Personal power, control and popularity are key, fear of failure, loneliness. Short Term 1 Objective: Characteristics: Gratification: Immediate Gratification Maximize Pleasure and minimize Pain Obligation is to self alone, Lack of self worth, fear of boredom No desire for common, ultimate good Immediate

How can our desires like love and beauty lead us to unhappiness or to the 4 th Level of Happiness- God? Unhappiness- These desires can get us into trouble not only when _______________, but also when we put our desire for lower levels of happiness before God. Finite, earthly things and people were __________to completely satisfy us. There are only meant to reflect ultimate Beauty & Love and not BE Ultimate Beauty & Love for us. Analogy -It is like putting a putting a 100 lbs weight on a plastic coat rack. The coat rack cannot hold the weight. Just like _______________________________________________. Example- Hugh Hefner is a good example because he exchanges wives like a rich man exchanges cars. He is looking for Ultimate Beauty, but that is not going to be found in earthly things. Happiness- 1. Overall our desires are good, but we ___________________________________________________. 2. After we start to incorporate this training into our life our desires can act as a homing device to find He who is Ultimate Beauty and Love. How can our desires act as a homing device? Because hopefully in desiring greater fulfillment and more perfect forms of love and beauty, ________________________ ___________________________________________________ Analogy- If the above happens, then our desires can act as a movie trailer to lead us to the real movie(God). Our desires can act as a appetizer to lead us to the main course (God).

How can you direct your life towards level 4 happiness?

Pick one of your favorite activities. How can you fulfill your desires at each of the 4 levels?

Why were you created? Why did God create us? God who is perfectly happy in Himself, created us to find our complete and total satisfaction in Him. What is one way we can know this to be true? By searching our hearts we can discover that our deepest desire and ultimate purpose is only fulfilled when we encounter God and seek union with Him. Things of this world when used properly are good in themselves and can bring some happiness, but they can never satisfy our deepest desires and ultimate purpose that can only be found in God. Misguided Understanding: -.A false view of why God created us is He was bored or lonely. - We can find ultimate and everlasting fulfillment and happiness apart from God. - A false view of creation is that earthly pleasures and goods are somehow opposed to Christ. Scripture verse: "As the deer longs for streams of water, my soul longs for you, O God." -Psalm 42:2 Mediation: 1. What thoughts and feelings come to mind knowing that the reason God made you was to find your satisfaction in Him? 2. If our ultimate fulfillment and happiness is found in God, do you believe it? Why or why not? 3. In what ways has God’s creation; our world, hindered and helped in drawing you closer to Him? Please explain.

What is your purpose in life? Principle #2: Our Purpose What is our purpose in life? Our purpose in life is to know, love and serve God in this world and be with Him forever in Heaven. How do we Know, Love, and Serve God and how does doing these things satisfy the desires of our heart? Know: We know God by being aware of His presence, talking and listening to Him in prayer, receiving Him in the Sacraments, and learning about Him through Scriptures and the Catechism, which is a summary of the essential revealed truths about God. This helps satisfy our desire for Truth, especially the most important questions like our origin and destiny. Love: We Love God by cherishing Him above all things, being faithful to His commandments, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. This helps satisfy our need for love, especially a love that transcends love of mere humans. Serve: We serve God by sharing His love to the world, genuinely welcoming all people, seeking to provide for their spiritual and material needs, and sharing the awesome gift of our Catholic faith. This helps satisfy our need for purpose and mission, which involves living a life greater than ourselves. Misguided Understanding: A false purpose of life shared by many people in the world is that we are created to achieve personal fulfillment that is best obtained by becoming rich, popular and successful. Scripture verse: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength..and love your neighbor as yourself.” -Mark 12:30 Meditation: 1. Why does this misguided understanding seem so appealing to many people? 2. What is your current purpose in life and what changes can you make so that it better reflects God’s purpose for you? Please explain.