from fr Clod's homily

3rd Sunday of Advent C
Lk.3: 10-18
Finding Happiness by Giving it to Others
He said to them in reply, "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise" (Lk.3:11).
This Sunday is called, Gaudete Sunday, which means rejoice. But how can we rejoice with all the evil things that are happening around us? How can we rejoice if someone is sick in our family? If you just lost your job? If you are buried in debts? If you cannot celebrate Christmas with your love ones? If someone has cheated you? Or if bad luck has besieged you? There may be too much misfortunes in this world but the very reason why we need to rejoice is because Jesus is coming to bring us love and compassion, peace and joy. We want Jesus to come and give us hope in our despair, comfort us in our suffering, courage in our fears, and help us rediscover the meaning of our life. Yet, we can only welcome Jesus if we are willing to give Him to others.
The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of giving. St. John the Baptist’s outstanding message to us is share what we have with one another. "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise" (v.11). It is said, “Nobody is too poor that he has nothing to give or too rich that he has no capacity to receive.” Even in our own desire there is something that we can share. What is important is our motivation to share and nothing could motivate us best than to realize that we are richly blessed. We may not be enjoying the best of world, but we can’t deny that there is something good that we can do for others.
A rich lady went to her psychiatrist because she felt that her whole life was empty and had no meaning. The counselor called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors, and then said to the rich lady, "I'm going to ask Mary here to tell you how she found happiness. All I want you to do is listen." The old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story: "Well, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I had nobody... I had nothing left. I couldn’t sleep; I couldn't eat; I never smiled at anyone, I even thought of taking my own life. Then one evening, a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten in. I gave it some milk, and it licked the plate clean. Then it purred and rubbed against my leg, and for the first time in months, I smiled. Then I stopped to think; if helping a little kitten could make me smile, maybe doing something for people could make me happy. So the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was sick in bed. Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy. Today, I don't know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do. I've found happiness, by giving it to others."
All of us want to be happy. Being happy is not tantamount to being gratified. Happiness does not only mean having new clothes, new car, or getting those what you crave for. Happiness is knowing that you have a sister or a bother. Happiness is knowing that someone loves you. Happiness is sharing your love in spite of the pains that you go through. Happiness is knowing that you make someone happy. Happiness means finding Jesus in all and sharing Jesus with all.
What is happiness for you?