Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want...But God will tell you what I need.

What is happiness?
Of what does it consist?

We find glimpses of it in justice, financial security, confidence, relaxation, marriage, friendship, and nourishment.  But somehow, indulging even in the good, wholesome, righteous things in this world leads to our own destruction -
Wrath, greed, pride, sloth, lust, envy, gluttony.  
Wherever we turn, those things can be found twisted within the good.
Senseless,
Easy,
Fulfilling,
a trap.

It seems that happiness lies within sin.  Fortunately, these seven deadly sins, also called the Cardinal Sins have virtuous counterparts: the four cardinal virtues -- justice, temperance, prudence, and fortitude [courage], -- and the three theological virtues -- faith, hope, and charity.

As humans, what we want and what we think we want are two entirely different things.

This seems merely like a standard religion lesson thus far, and the post title is misleading. How does Heaven fit into all this?!

Here, I'll show you.
What do you want from your life?
Justice...Financial security...Confidence...Relaxation...Marriage...Friendship...Nourishment.

Very good. The fact that you desire these things are no coincidence, for within each of these things is found a virtue, or may be directed toward a virtue.

But now, wait a minute...
Each one of the cardinal sins may be found in these, too.
Quite the predicament...So, then, is it a question of motivation? Is it a question of the action taken to achieve these goals? Quite the predicament, indeed!

As humans, what we want and what we think we want are two different things.

Ever feel like you're in heaven on earth? There will be times when our sinful actions will be misleading and give us that feeling, that high for only but a moment.  But our good actions water the seed of virtue within our souls.


When we sin we feel a burst of life, but then death.
When we do something virtuous, we feel a struggle --
then a burst of life. 

The burst of life inside you is heaven on earth.  When you spend time with your friends, volunteer for a cause you're passionate about, or feel a joy in your heart during Mass, that is heaven on earth.
Heaven is joy.

Can you still be virtuous if you are happy? Absolutely!

Being virtuous is practicing all the virtues, and within the virtues there is a balance.  You may indulge in worldly things, because God has made the world good.  But the virtues allow you to be wary and vigilant, on the lookout for the cardinal sins within the worldly things.  This is definitely a struggle, especially if you constantly think of all the virtues. Essentially, Christ is the personification of all virtues; so try to follow him, and you're on the right track.

Can you still be joyful while unhappy? Absolutely! 

If you're like me, being virtuous often means letting go of worldly things, and it's so easy to allow unhappiness to dam up the joy.  The trick, which I have yet to master, is realizing that joy and happiness are not synonymous; that is, in the sense that you are only joyful when you are happy.  If you can be joyful when you are unhappy, you have achieved what many Christians (including myself) have yet to experience.


Ultimately, our bodies desire sin, while our souls desire virtue.
In our bodies, we think we want happiness,
but in our souls,
we know we want joy.