Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli

On June 3, 2003, Bill Wasik, a senior editor at Harper’s magazine, orchestrated the first flash mob at New York’s Macy’s department store. Soon after, flash mobs erupted in the Hyatt, in a shoe boutique in Soho and then in Central Park. People appeared, suddenly assembled together, performed a dance with lively music and then dispersed into the crowd.

The phenomenon quickly spread. Airports, restaurants, train stations, retail stores, cruise ships and universities were transformed into theater. Liverpool. Antwerp. Berlin. Verona. Paris. Warsaw. Madrid. Across national boundaries and ethnic divides, people were thrilled by the performance.

Flash mobs seem so effortless, so spontaneous. They are not! Hours of preparation. Carefully rehearsed choreography. Memorization of the lyrics. And practice. And then, before the unsuspecting spectators, the surprise of the flash mob.

A flash mob catches people off guard. As they go about their business, absorbed in their own world, all of sudden, a little music, a few people jump out from the crowd. At first, people are puzzled. Not sure what is happening. But as the performers multiply and the music becomes louder, it dawns on them: “It’s a flash mob.” Immediately the smiles, the laughter, the excitement. Many spectators turn participants. The distance between stage and audience is no more. The flash mob swells to a crescendo. People become enthralled, absorbed in the immediacy of the moment.

The flash mob evidences the inherent goodness of the performers. They want to provide some free entertainment to help others get through life more easily. But more importantly, flash mobs connect people. And this is what life is all about. As Charles Brown, a performance psychologist in Charlotte, North Carolina, reminds us, “One of the biggest challenges we have — particularly in the age where relationships are more internet-based — is to be able to have actual personal contact and to be able to deal with an interactive group.”

In the flash mob event, if only for a few brief, exhilarating moments, people step out of their own world. The burdens they bear, the sorrows in their heart, and the worries on their minds take a back seat. And, they awaken to the reality that we are part of a wider community. In the togetherness of song and dance, they experience the joy of being alive and part of the human family. A flash mob is a very positive, optimistic and even healthy way to bring strangers together that promotes happiness.

Studies have shown that what makes people enjoy lasting happiness is not money, not popularity, not success. Deep, personal, meaningful relationships: that’s the secret to happiness. And the reason is quite profound. We are made in the image and likeness of God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God who is one is a communion of three persons, three relationships. And, God has created us to be like him (Gen 1:27). That is why, in creating us, he says, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Gen 2:18).

Our being made in such a way that we are to be connected to each other is at the center of the mystery of the Church. God has made the Church the very sign and instrument of salvation (Lumen Gentium, 1). Through the Church, we come to share in the very life of the Trinity. We are connected at the deepest level of our being with God, and we are connected with each other. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we form the Body of Christ and become the kingdom of God on earth. This means quite simply, that being an active member of the Church is not an extra to true happiness. It is the very means that God has established for our happiness in this world and the next.