When we hear the Beatitudes, we might think that Jesus is turning the world upside down. Blessed are the poor, the mourners, the persecuted? Surely not! But in truth, Jesus is turning the world the right way up. He is revealing what real happiness means – not fleeting pleasure, but deep joy rooted in love.

The world constantly tells us that happiness comes from pleasure, possessions, power, and popularity. Adverts whisper that we’ll be fulfilled if only we buy more, earn more, look better, or travel further. There was even that well-known atheist slogan that once appeared on London buses: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” But what happens when enjoyment fails? When life brings pain, loss, or disappointment – as it always does – that kind of happiness collapses like a house built on sand.

Jesus’ words challenge this illusion. He invites us to discover that the truest happiness is found not in avoiding suffering but in finding meaning within it. The saints understood this. They knew that blessedness is not the same as comfort, and joy is not the same as pleasure. St Thérèse of Lisieux, dying at just 24 after years of sickness and misunderstanding, could say, “I am not dying; I am entering into life.” St Maximilian Kolbe gave his life for another prisoner in Auschwitz, and in his dark cell sang hymns of praise. St Bernadette of Lourdes, ridiculed and chronically ill, said simply, “My job is to be ill.” None of them sought pleasure or recognition, yet their hearts overflowed with peace. They were happy, not because they were free from pain, but because they were filled with love.

The Christian life is not a search for ease but a journey into truth. Love and sacrifice belong together. Every parent who loses sleep for a sick child, every carer who tends patiently to the weak, every person who forgives instead of resenting – all of them discover that real joy costs something. The Beatitudes are not about comfort or success but about courage and trust. They teach us that happiness is not a feeling but a faithfulness – the quiet joy that comes from doing God’s will, even when the road is hard.

Jesus does not promise an easy life; he promises a blessed life – a life filled with meaning, hope, and love. When he says, “Blessed are those who mourn,” he is not saying that sorrow itself is good, but that through sorrow, those who turn to God will be comforted. Grief and pain can become sacred places where God draws near. When he says, “Blessed are the pure in heart,” he is calling us to be undivided, to live truthfully before God – and to discover that those who live with integrity begin to see God’s presence even in this life.

The saints were not perfect. They were people who let grace work through their weakness. That is why All Saints’ Day is not only about them – it is about us. The call to holiness is universal. As St John Paul II said, “Do not be afraid to be saints.” We are called to that same blessedness in the ordinary fabric of our lives – in the kitchen, the classroom, the office, the hospital ward. Holiness is not something distant or reserved for the few; it is the destiny of every Christian.

True happiness comes not from owning but from loving, not from taking but from giving, not from comfort but from courage. To be blessed is to be free from the tyranny of self, to live in the generous freedom of God’s love. That is why even in suffering, Christians can rejoice. We can face loss without despair, because we believe that love is stronger than death and that the cross always leads to resurrection.

To be holy is to be fully alive – to live as God created us to live, in love, humility, and truth. The saints, though they suffered greatly, were profoundly happy because they found joy not by avoiding the cross but by carrying it with Christ. They discovered that every act of love, every acceptance of suffering, every small fidelity to God becomes part of his saving work.

Let us then follow their example, confident that God calls each of us to the same happiness, the same blessedness, the same unshakeable joy that nothing in this world can take away. For “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” – and blessed are those who trust, who love, and who live for God.