Apocalypse 7:2-4, 9-14 / 1 John 3:1-3 / Matthew 5:1-12
There is no doubt that everybody wants to be happy in life. Though we know that there is eternal happiness in heaven, yet we also wish for happiness in this life.
So when we are asked if we are happy with life, it will depend on how we are feeling at that point.
So happiness, in the common understanding, can mean lucky, favoured by fortune, being in advantageous circumstances, prosperous, of events turning out well.
But in the biblical sense, happiness is understood as a blessing. So the gospel passage can be read as "blessed are the poor in spirit", "blessed the gentle", "blessed the merciful".
Today as the Church celebrates the feast of All Saints, we look at the Saints celebrating eternal happiness in heaven.
But we are also reminded that when they were in this world, they chose to see every experience, event, situation, circumstance as a blessing from God.
For the saints, there were no blessings in disguise. Everything is a blessing. And because everything is a blessing, they already experienced happiness on earth and at the same time they long for that eternal happiness in heaven, and that eternal happiness is to see God face to face and be in His presence forever.
That is the ultimate blessing for the saints. Because they saw themselves as children of God, and they believed that Jesus promised them blessings when they live by His teachings, they inherited their eternal blessings.
Jesus also promised us the same blessings. God has called us to be His children and He bestows His blessings on us even in this life.
Let us see every experience, event, situation, circumstance as a blessing, let us give thanks to God, and we will be happy in this life as well as in the next.