Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen could arguably be the most prolific Catholic writer that the Catholic Church in the United States ever produced.  In addition to all his writings, he also had a very popular radio show (in the days before television) and eventually his own television show.  One of his most famous quotes is the following: “There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.” For the month of May I would like to explore a small book of his called: Thoughts For Daily Living.  While this book is small it is packed with many powerful ideas for us to ponder.  His words will be in bold and my reflection will be in regular font. 
 
                There is no one who does not want to be happy.  To seek happiness is a proof of our imperfection.  As Pascal expressed it: “All men have happiness as their object: there is no exception.  However different the means they employ, they all aim at the same end.”
                Some times we ask the question “how can someone do this or that?”  This is really the wrong question to ask.  The real question should be “why does this person think this action will lead them closer to happiness.”  A person with a short temper lets the temper rage because he or she feels that the moment of release will earn some sort of respect, or fear and this will lead to happiness.  A person who stays in an abusive relationship does so because they think that they will never find anything that will make them happier and so the little amount of happiness they have now is better in their mind then not having any happiness.  God designed us for happiness and He desires to help us find it.  This does not mean the road to happiness is clear or easy.
 
If you put a penny close enough to your eye, you can blot out the sun.
                I thought that this was a beautiful image for the sin of pride.  Pride distorts our reality and makes us think that we are the center of the universe instead of God.  Pride also in some ways narrows our vision.  Pride keeps us fixated on ourselves and not on others.  Our world definitely gets bigger the less selfish we become in life.
 
Riches in great abundance have a peculiar quality; they make men more greedy.  As Thomas Jefferson said, “I have not observed men’s honesty to increase with their riches.”
                The following poem I think summarizes the problem with making riches your ultimate goal in life. “Money will buy, A bed but not sleep; Books but not brains; Food but not appetite; Finery but not beauty; A house but not a home; Medicine but not health; Luxuries but not culture; Amusements but not happiness; Religion but not salvation; A passport to everywhere but heaven. - Original source unknown.  We are made for love and love cannot be bought.  Dr. John Gottman a relationship expert who has written many books talks about how money symbolizes are dreams and our hopes so often when we are arguing about money we are talking about our dreams and our hopes.  These are things that we hold very dear to us. 
 
This spirit of covetousness hardens the soul, and drew from Our Divine Lord the warning: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”  “But woe to you rich! For you are now having your comfort.”
                Pope Benedict XVI in his first homily as pope said the following: “The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”  If our pursuit of riches doesn’t direct your energy away from doing God’s will, then it will most likely make you complacent. 
 
There is a peculiar paradox about riches: the more covetous the rich man is, the poorer he is, for there is always something he wants.  But the consecrated souls who have taken the vow of poverty are richer than all the rich, for there is nothing they desire; therefore they possess everything.
                Learning to be content with one has makes one happier than pursuing what one does not have. 
 
In any case, how foolish to make happiness consist in that which one day we must leave.  If riches are really ours, why can we not take them with us?
                As the redneck joke goes, “no one has ever seen a trailer hitch on a hearse before.”