Monks of New Skete - In the Spirit of Happiness

Copyright 1999 by the Monks of New Skete

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

First eBook Edition: May 2007

Unless otherwise noted, New Testament translations are reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster from The New Testament in Modern English, evised Edition translated by J. B. Phillips. Copyright 1958, 1960, 1972 by J. B. Phillips.

Hymns, liturgical texts, and Psalms translated by the Monks of New Skete.

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ISBN: 978-0-446-93051-2

Book design by Melodie Wertelet

Line illustrations by the Monks of New Skete

E3-20190924-JV-PC-AMZ

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If you take my words to heart,
tuning your ear to wisdom,
tuning your mind to understanding,
then you will come to know God,
for the Lord himself is giver of wisdom.
then you will understand what virtue is,
justice and fair dealing:
all paths that lead to happiness.

Proverbs 2:1a, 2, 5b, 6a, 9 (translation New Skete)

Some twenty-five years ago, an elderly monk was spending the summer with us here at New Skete in preparation for making his own monastic foundation. He planned to stay with us until he settled on a suitable location elsewhere. During those weeks, we had many energetic and enjoyable discussions with him on all sorts of topics concerning the spiritual life in general and the monastic life in particular.

On a few occasions we got into a lively debate on, of all things, human happiness. Though it took a while for us even to realize that we were not using the word in the same way, what was really surprising for us was his sweeping insistence that human beings should not be seeking happiness in this world!

The Bible, of course, states clearly that man and woman were made to be happy in this world. However, they soon enough fell into sin. This original sin of disobedience cost them their primeval happiness, drove them from paradise, and brought down on them a life of toil and tears. Since then, life has hardly been a picnic. As a result, it seems, most religious teachers have come to the conclusion that happiness is not attainable in this world. Some even think it should not be attainable in this world!

Our elderly monastic guest was certainly of this mind. Life, he insisted, necessarily is a bed of suffering and pain; happiness is out of the question. In fact, according to him, to seek happiness in this world would even be quite possibly a serious offense against the Almighty, as well as a deceptive indulgence of our worst tendencies, precisely because it is a refusal to accept our lot in this life. And to boot, it is a hindrance and distraction from trying to be good.

Most people probably understand happiness in very earthly and materialistic terms, ranging from having no responsibilities or cares to having two beautiful cars in the garage. For others, it means enough prestige, power, money, and health that they need never worry.

According to such meanings, it would seem correct to say that happiness is not what people should be after, that there is more in human life to think about than merely material possessions and earthly considerations. It in fact does not seem right that such preoccupations should be the sole focus of human life. But is this what happiness means?

All this is doubtless the reason our discussions became quite heated. Our elderly monastic friends thinking did not resonate in us at all. The very fact that human beings always and everywhere (barring some kind of psychological dys-function) desire and try their best to attain some kind of happiness is proof enough for us that the traditional religious stance which he so forcefully defended was anything but true. To thirst to attain some degree of happiness in this world seems to be an inherent part of human nature. The universal human desire for happiness is itself evidence enough that it should in fact be pursued. It would seem somewhat disingenuous to say that although human beings have all kinds of desires, that doesnt mean we should pursue them. The desire for happiness, and not just in the next life, is the very essence of the pursuit of anything.

Is it really possible to conclude that, since desire is what caused the fall of Adam and Eve, all desire must be eliminated from a thoughtful and wise life? And furthermore, would it be out of place to point out that the human desire and capacity for happiness seems entirely consonant with the goodness of God? Where did we get this drive to be happy if not from God himself ? To think it improper (or worse, destructive!) to pursue happiness is intrinsically unreasonable for the simple fact that it goes against reality.

When the summer was over, we were still deadlocked; he maintained his own position and we ours. So much for theological discussions.

for our part, we understand happiness as a deep and lasting interior peace. It is one that comes only with the struggle to search out and accept the will of God in our lives, one that demands of us a faith, hope, and love upon which and through which we strive to elevate the quality of all human life. It is the same peace of which Jesus spoke, the same inner tranquillity and serenity we see in him throughout his life. We think this is what human beings were created for, so that our lives become a knowing and loving service of God and each other in this world, which will be completed in the world to come.

Happiness, then, is ultimately what this book is all about. It is about attaining happiness, true happiness, not only in the world to come, but in this world as well, even in the midst of the worst suffering. Through this book, we offer the reader an inside look at how to go about attaining true happiness in life, in the midst of and by means of all the myriad of things that happen to us in the short span we have on this earth, by doing the good and the right because it is good and right. After all, isnt that what God, too, is all about?

Attaining happiness is indeed the struggle of a lifetime. Yet, the difficulties and all the stumbling blocks aside, we can honestly see that we were indeed created to be happy, that happiness arises from its very pursuit.

This is a book on the spiritual life from a monastic perspective, which we hope will be of help to anyone seriously interested in pursuing the spiritual life. It has been said that monasticism is rooted in the blood, not the ink. If this is so, it is only because monasticism emphasizes the way spirituality is lived out in everyday life over against a purely theoretical understanding of the subject. The monk is not interested in accumulating facts in some purely academic manner; he is interested in obtaining wisdom, and learning how to manifest it in everyday living. We believe this is the key to living a full life, which is why it concerns each of us, whatever our religious affiliation happens to be.