FOR WHAT END ARE WE ON THIS EARTH?
We are on this earth to glorify God and, in doing so, earn eternal happiness. The glory of God is the purpose of all creation. All creatures on earth are created for this purpose, to show the divine perfections and God’s dominion over His rational creatures, such as angels and humans, so that He may be loved and praised by them. Even the material world and creatures without reason, like animals, trees, plants, stones, and metals, all praise God in their own way. “The Lord has made all things for Himself” (Prov. 16:4).
It is misleading and ambiguous to say that man is the only creature on earth that God willed for itself. Man is created not for himself but to proclaim the majesty of God. He must do so whether he wills it or not. The structure of the human body, the lofty powers of the soul, the rewards of the good, and the punishment of the wicked, all proclaim the majesty of God, His omnipotence, wisdom, goodness, and justice. Even the wicked will have to contribute to the glory of God (Prov. 16:4). In the end, he will show how great the holiness and justice of God are.
Man, because he has reason and free will, can give glory to God in a special way. He does this when he knows, loves, and honors God. Man is created mainly for life beyond the grave. In this life, he is a stranger, a wanderer, and a pilgrim. “We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come” (Heb. 13:14). Heaven is our true country; here we are in exile.
Therefore, we are not on earth only to collect earthly treasures, to attain earthly honors, to eat and drink, or to enjoy earthly pleasures. This would be like a traveler who, attracted by the beauty of the scenery, stops his journey and allows the night to overtake him. We are not made for earth; we are made to look up to heaven. The trees and plants point upward to heaven, as if to remind us that it is our home.
For this reason, our Lord says, “One thing is necessary” (Luke 10:42), and “Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all other things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). Unfortunately, too many people forget their final purpose and fix their hearts on money, influence, and honor. They are like the kings of that heathen country who, although they only reigned for a year and then had to go and live on a barren island, spent all their time in luxury and feasting, and did not prepare any provisions for the future on the island where they were headed. He who does not think about his final purpose is not a pilgrim but a tramp, and falls into the hands of the devil like a tramp into the hands of the police. He is like a sailor who does not know where he is sailing and so wrecks his ship. Our Lord compares such a person to the servant who sleeps instead of watching for his master’s coming (Matt. 24:42).
HOW ARE WE TO ATTAIN ETERNAL HAPPINESS?
Eternal happiness consists in union with God, through the use of the intellect contemplating God and the will loving Him. If we want to attain it, we must begin to get closer to it in this life. We must seek to know and love God. The love of God consists in keeping His commandments (John 14:23).
From this, it follows that we shall attain eternal happiness by the following means:
- We must strive to know God by means of faith in the truths He has revealed to us. Our Lord says: “This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3). That is to say, the knowledge of God brings man to eternal happiness.
- We must fulfill the will of God by keeping His commandments. Our Lord says to the rich young man: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17).
By our own strength, we can neither believe nor keep the commandments; for this, we need the grace of God. Even Adam and Eve, in a state of innocence, needed the help of grace. A traveler going to a distant country, besides his own efforts, needs money for the journey. A farmer cannot cultivate his land without the aid of sunshine and rain. Man also has a special weakness because of original sin. This makes grace all the more essential. A blind man needs a guide; a sick man needs food. We are like a man who, through weakness, has fallen to the ground and has no power to rise. He must look for someone to help him. So our Lord tells us, “Without Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). As the sun is necessary to the earth to enlighten and warm it, so is grace necessary for our souls.
We obtain the grace of God through the means of grace instituted by Jesus Christ. We must, therefore, use the means of grace, of which the chief are holy Mass, the sacraments, and prayer. The means of grace are a channel through which grace is conveyed to our souls. Faith is the road that leads to heaven, the commandments are like signposts along the way, and the means of grace are the money for the journey. “The way that leads to life is narrow and thorny; the way that leads to destruction is broad, and many are they who go in thereat” (Matt. 7:13).
It is also true that he who desires happiness must have religion. Religion consists of a knowledge of God and a life that corresponds to the will of God. Religion is not a matter of feeling; it is a matter of the will and of action and consists of following the principles that God has laid down. Mere knowledge does not constitute religion; otherwise, the devil would have religion; the service of God is necessarily included in it. We do not call a man a baseball player or cricketer just because he knows the rules and nature of the game; practice is also required.
It is also true that he who desires to be happy must strive to be like God. Man becomes like God when all his thoughts and actions resemble the divine thoughts and actions. The commandments of God are a mirror in which we recognize whether our actions are like or unlike those of God.
CAN WE ATTAIN PERFECT HAPPINESS ON EARTH?
Earthly goods, such as riches, honor, and pleasure, cannot by themselves make us happy, because they cannot satisfy our souls. They often only make life bitter and always forsake us in death. Earthly goods deceive us; they are like soap bubbles, which reflect all the colors of the rainbow but are really only drops of water. Earthly joys are like artificial fruit, beautiful to behold but disappointing to the taste. Earthly pleasures are like drops of water; they do not quench the fire of the passions but only make it burn more fiercely. Man can no more be happy without God than a fish can live out of the water. Hence, St. Augustine says, “Unquiet is the heart of man until it rests in God.” No material goods will nourish or satisfy the soul. Hence, our Lord says to the Samaritan woman, “He who drinks of this water will thirst again.”
Riches will no more satisfy the soul than salt water will quench thirst. In the days of the early Roman Empire, when riches and sensual pleasures were abundant, suicide was most widely prevalent. Earthly possessions are a continual source of anxiety. He who rests in them is tormented by them, like a man who lies on thorns. As the fresh waters of rivers are changed into the salt waters of the sea, all earthly pleasures sooner or later turn to bitterness. Forbidden pleasures soon bring misery after them, like the forbidden fruit. They are like bait that has a hook concealed within it. Earthly goods all forsake us when we die: “We brought nothing into the world, and certainly we cannot carry anything out of it” (1 Tim. 6:7).
When the Popes were crowned, a handful of tow was kindled, and while it blazed up, the choir would sing, “Thus passes the glory of the world.” As a spider spins a web from its own body and in a moment a broom sweeps it all away, so man labors for long years to obtain some honor, possession, or office. Some obstacle comes in the way, death or sickness visits him, and all the labor is for nothing. As the glowworm shines in the night but in the light of day is just an ugly insect, so the delights of earth are brilliant during the night of life on earth, but under the light of the Day of Judgment, they will show themselves to be vain and worthless.
Earthly goods are given to us only so that through them we may attain eternal happiness. Every creature on earth is intended as a step to bring us closer to God. As in the workshop of a painter, brushes, colors, and oils are all destined to serve to complete the picture, so all things in the world are intended to contribute to our eternal happiness in heaven. Not to use earthly things for this purpose is to lose the hope of eternal happiness. To make them our purpose and to be dependent on them no less deprives us of the purpose for which we were created. Earthly goods are like a surgeon’s instruments; if they are used badly, they kill instead of curing. We must, therefore, use them only as they help us toward the attainment of our final purpose. When they hinder us, we must cut ourselves free from them. We must not serve them; they must serve us.
Only the Gospel of Christ is capable of giving us partial happiness on earth, for he who follows the teaching of Christ is certain to have peace in his soul. This is why Christ says to the Samaritan woman, “He that shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall not thirst forever” (John 4:13), and “He that cometh to Me shall never hunger” (John 6:35). The teaching of Christ alone can satisfy the heart of man. The reason for this is that earthly sufferings do not make the man who follows Christ unhappy.
He who follows Christ will have to endure persecution, but these persecutions can do him no harm. St. Paul tells us that “all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). Christ Himself says, “The servant is not above his master” (Matt. 10:24). That is, the servant of Christ has no claim to a better lot than his Master, Christ. We must expect the men of the world, those who seek their happiness in this life, to regard us as fools, to condemn us, and to hate us (1 Cor. 4:3, 10; John 17:14; 15:20). To be loved and praised by the world is to be the enemy of Christ. The principles of the world contradict those of Christ, and the world regards as a fool him whom Christ declares blessed (Matt. 5:3, 10).
Yet Christ tells us: “Every one that heareth My words and doeth them shall be likened to a wise man, that built his house upon a rock” (Matt. 7:24). He who trusts in God builds on solid ground. The patriarch Joseph benefited from being persecuted, not harmed. The pious David was persecuted, first by Saul and then by his own son, Absalom. From his own experience, he was able to say, “Many are the afflictions of the just, but out of them all the Lord will deliver them” (Ps. 33:20). All the saints of Christ have been persecuted, but God has turned to good the evil that their enemies thought to do them. “If God is with us, who can be against us?”
Hence, perfect happiness is impossible on earth, for no man can entirely avoid suffering. No one can escape sickness, suffering, or death. The world is a valley of tears; it is a big hospital, containing as many sick men as there are human beings. The world is a place of banishment where we are far from our true country. In the world, good and bad fortune succeed each other like sunshine and storm. Prosperity is the sure forerunner of adversity. In life, we are on a sea, now lifted up to heaven, now cast down to hell. Society is always sure to be full of all kinds of miseries, whatever efforts may be made to improve the condition of mankind. The hopes of the ideological and political programs of communists and social Democrats who dream of gradually abolishing all evil and misery from the world are vain indeed. (cf. Rev. Francis Spirago, The Catechism Explained. An exhaustive exposition of the Christian religion, with special reference to the present state of society and the spirit of the age. A practical manual for the use of the preacher, the catechist, the teacher, and the family.)
Saint Francis of Sales speaks in his book, Philothea, about the purpose for which we are created. God has placed you in this world not because he has some need of you, for you are completely useless to him. It was only to show His goodness for you by giving you His grace and His glory. For this, He has given you the understanding to know him, the memory to remember him, the will to love him, the imagination to represent to yourself His blessings, the eyes to see the wonders of His work, the tongue to praise him, and so for your other faculties.
Since you have been created and placed in this world for this purpose, all actions contrary to it must be rejected and avoided. Actions that do not help this purpose in any way must be despised as useless and irrelevant. Think of the unhappiness of worldly people who pay no attention to all this but live as if they are convinced that they were created only to build houses, plant trees, store up wealth, and be occupied with trifles.
- Be filled with shame and rebuke yourself for your wretchedness, which has been so great in the past that you have seldom or never thought of all this. “Alas, you will say, What was I thinking about, my God, when I was not thinking of you? What was I remembering when I was forgetful of you? What did I love when I was not loving you? Alas, I ought to have nourished myself on truth, but I was filling myself with vanity. I was serving the world, which is made only to serve me.”
- Detest your past sinful life and say to yourself: “I turn away from you, vain thoughts and useless reasonings. I reject your hateful and foolish memories. I give you up false and disloyal friendships, wasted and wretched occupations, unprofitable pleasures, and burdensome satisfactions.”
- Turn yourself back to God and say to Him: “You, my God and my Savior, from now on you will be the object of my thoughts. No more will I turn my mind to thoughts displeasing to you. My memory will be filled each day of my life with the greatness of your loving kindness so tenderly shown to me. You will be the joy of my heart and the delight of my affections.”
- Thank God who has made you for such an excellent purpose and say to God: “You have made me, O Lord, for yourself, that I may enjoy forever the immensity of your glory. When shall I be worthy of this? When shall I bless you as I ought? My God, I humbly ask you to accept my desires and my resolutions and to give me your blessing, that I may be able to realize them by the merits of the blood of your Son shed upon the Cross” (Part 1, 10).
Saint John Marie Vianney explains in one of his catechetical instructions the purpose and end for which we are created: “There are many Christians who do not even know why they are in the world. ‘Oh my God, why have You sent me into the world?’ ‘To save your soul.’ ‘And why do you wish me to be saved?’ ‘Because I love you.'” The good God has created us and sent us into the world because He loves us. He wishes to save us because He loves us. To be saved, we must know, love, and serve God. “Oh, what a beautiful life! How good, how great a thing it is to know, to love, and to serve God! We have nothing else to do in this world. All that we do besides is a waste of time. We must act only for God and put our works into His hands. We should say, on waking, ‘I desire to do everything today for You, O my God! I will submit to all that You shall send me, as coming from You. I offer myself as a sacrifice to You. But, O God, I can do nothing without You. Do you help me!'”
“Oh, how bitterly shall we regret at the hour of death the time we have given to pleasures, to useless conversations, to rest, instead of having used it in mortification, in prayer, in good works, in thinking of our poor misery, in weeping over our poor sins? Then we shall see that we have done nothing for Heaven. Oh, my children, how sad it is! Three-quarters of those who are Christians labor for nothing but to satisfy this body, which will soon be buried and corrupted, while they do not give a thought to their poor soul, which must be happy or miserable for all eternity. They have neither sense nor reason; it makes one tremble.
Look at that man, who is so active and restless, who makes a noise in the world, who wants to govern everybody, who thinks himself of consequence, who seems as if he would like to say to the sun, ‘Go away, and let me enlighten the world instead of you.’ Some day this proud man will be reduced at the utmost to a little handful of dust, which will be swept away from river to river, from Saone to Saone, and at last into the sea.
See, my children, I often think that we are like those little heaps of sand that the wind raises on the road, which whirl around for a moment and are scattered immediately. We have brothers and sisters who are dead. Well, they are reduced to that little handful of dust of which I was speaking. Worldly people say it is too difficult to save one’s soul. Yet nothing is easier. To observe the Commandments of God and the Church and to avoid the seven capital sins, or if you like to put it so, to do good and avoid evil, that is all. Good Christians, who labor to save their souls and to work out their salvation, are always happy and content. They enjoy beforehand the happiness of heaven. They will be happy for all eternity. While bad Christians, who lose their souls, are always to be pitied. They murmur, they are sad, they are as miserable as stones, and they will be so for all eternity. See what a difference!
This is a good rule of conduct, to do nothing but what we can offer to the good God. Now, we cannot offer to Him slanders, calumnies, injustice, anger, blasphemy, impurity, theaters, and dancing. Yet that is all that people do in the world. Speaking of dances, St. Francis of Sales used to say that “they were like mushrooms, the best were good for nothing.” Mothers are apt to say, indeed, “Oh, I watch over my daughters.” They watch over their attire, but they cannot watch over their hearts. Those who have dances in their houses load themselves with a terrible responsibility before God; they are answerable for all the evil that is done, for the bad thoughts, the slanders, the jealousies, the hatred, the revenge. Ah, if they well understood this responsibility, they would never have any dances. Just like those who make bad pictures and statues or write bad books, they will have to answer for all the harm that these things will do during the time they last. Oh, that makes one tremble!
We must reflect that we have a soul to save and an eternity that awaits us. The world, its riches, pleasures, and honors will pass away. Let us take care, then. The saints did not all begin well, but they all ended well. We have begun badly, let us end well, and we shall go one day and meet them in heaven.” (Instructions on the Catechism, I, 1)
Being in trials and persecution, Saint Thomas More nevertheless always kept in his soul the truth about the true purpose and end of man on earth. He said, “God made the angels to show Him splendor, as He made animals for innocence and plants for their simplicity. But man, He made to serve Him wittily, in the tangle of his mind! If He suffers us to fall to such a case that there is no escaping, then we may stand to our tackle as best we can, and yes, then we may clamor like champions.”
We know the conversation of Saint Thomas More with his wife during his imprisonment. Alice, his wife, tried to persuade him not to give up her, their children, their country, and his life, which he might still enjoy for many years to come. As she harped on this, More said to her, “And how long, my dear Alice, do you think I shall live?” “If God will,” she answered, “you may live for twenty years.” “Then,” said Sir Thomas, “you would have me barter eternity for twenty years; you are not skilled at a bargain, my wife. If you had said twenty thousand years, you might have said something to the purpose, but even then, what is that to eternity?”
If a person possessed all the riches of this world, lacking, however, the faith, he would indeed be the poorest person on earth. And if a person would lack material riches, being materially poor but possessing the faith, that person would be the richest one in the world.
We conclude with the known expression of Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, a Father of the Church from the second century, who wrote these profound words about the purpose of human beings on earth: “The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God” (Adversus haereses, 4, 20:7).
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen