Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 281.

YOUCAT Question n. 281 - Why do we yearn for happiness?

(Youcat answer) God has placed in our hearts such an infinite desire for happiness that nothing can satisfy it but God himself. All earthly fulfillment gives us only a foretaste of eternal happiness. Above and beyond that, we should be drawn to God.

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 1718) The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it: We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated (St. Augustine, De moribus eccl. 1, 3, 4: PL 32,1312). How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you (St. Augustine, Conf. 10, 20: PL 32, 791). God alone satisfies (St. Thomas Aquinas, Expos. in symb. Apost. I).

Reflecting and meditating 

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 1719) The Beatitudes reveal the goal of human existence, the ultimate end of human acts: God calls us to his own beatitude. This vocation is addressed to each individual personally, but also to the Church as a whole, the new people made up of those who have accepted the promise and live from it in faith. (CCC 1725) The Beatitudes take up and fulfill God's promises from Abraham on by ordering them to the Kingdom of heaven. They respond to the desire for happiness that God has placed in the human heart. 

(The next question is: Does Sacred Scripture speak about a way to happiness?)