{"id":1184,"date":"2011-11-30T22:58:26","date_gmt":"2011-12-01T05:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/takeandread\/?p=1184"},"modified":"2011-12-01T09:48:18","modified_gmt":"2011-12-01T16:48:18","slug":"between-heaven-and-mirth-join-the-twitter-book-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/takeandread\/2011\/11\/between-heaven-and-mirth-join-the-twitter-book-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Between Heaven and Mirth: Join the Twitter Book Club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"Think the spiritual life has to be so serious? \u00a0Think again, says Fr. Jim Martin, Jesuit Priest, Colbert Nation \u201cChaplain\u201d and author of the new book,\u00a0Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life<\/a>. <\/strong><\/em> You\u2019re invited to join the Patheos conversation on the lighter side of faith as we tweet through his book over the next two weeks. \u00a0It\u2019s easy to join \u2014 just read the brief daily excerpt here, and then tweet a response or question with the hashtag\u00a0#patheosmirth<\/strong>. \u00a0You can follow the whole Twitter conversation here:\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/search\/%23patheosmirth<\/a><\/p>\n

And to make it even more fun, Fr. Martin will join the Twitter chat every few days to respond to a few of his favorite tweets. \u00a0If he responds to yours, you\u2019ll be entered to win a copy of his book, just in time for Christmas. \u00a0So get ready to smile \u00a0\u2026 and tweet about Between Heaven and Mirth<\/em>! \u00a0(And don\u2019t forget to check out the Patheos Book Club<\/a> for more great content, including a Q&A with Fr. Martin, videos and a blogger roundtable about the book.)<\/em><\/p>\n

CHAPTER 1: Excerpt<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Reprinted with permission from HarperOne Publishers.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>Here is one example of what leads me to believe that many modern believers often fail to link spirituality with anything joyful or even lighthearted.<\/p>\n

For the past twelve years, I\u2019ve worked for a Catholic magazine called America<\/em>, which we often call the \u201cNational Catholic Weekly\u201d (A few years ago, one of our detractors write saying that the magazine was so awful we should spell that last word \u201cW-e-a-k-l-y.\u201d) One of the magazine\u2019s regular features is called \u201cFaith in Focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFaith in Focus\u201d is reserved mainly for stories about a writer\u2019s personal spiritual life. \u00a0Each week we get dozens of articles submitted for that section of the magazine. \u00a0And guess what the most commmon topics for submissions are. \u00a0Sickness, suffering, and death. \u00a0How my illness led me to God. \u00a0How losing a job led me to God. \u00a0How my pain led me to God.<\/p>\n

Now you might say, \u201cSuffering is a way to God.\u201d \u00a0And often that\u2019s true. \u00a0We can sometimes experience God more intensely during times of suffering, since we are more vulnerable and, therefore, perhaps more open to God\u2019s help. \u00a0With our defenses down, God can often more easily enter into our lives. \u00a0Sometimes suffering can be a window into experiencing God in a new way.<\/p>\n

But during the twelve years I\u2019ve worked at the magazine, I\u2019ve rarely seen a funny or even mildly humorous submission for that section. \u00a0Lately the editors have even agreed to guard against running too many depressing articles in that section. \u00a0Just recently we accepted an article called \u201cA Journey to Death,\u201d about the writers\u2019 mother\u2019s final illness. (We changed the title to something less morbid, since we had published articles about illness in three consecutive issues.) \u00a0This is just an indication that, at least in American Catholic culture, suffering is linked to spirituality far more often than joy is.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tweet your response (#patheosmirth): \u00a0Should joy have as significant of a place in the spiritual life as suffering?\u00a0 Why do you think suffering is linked to spirituality more than joy? <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

OR tweet a question for Fr. Martin\u2026.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Think the spiritual life has to be so serious? \u00a0Think again, says Fr. Jim Martin, Jesuit Priest, Colbert Nation \u201cChaplain\u201d and author of the new book,\u00a0Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life. You\u2019re invited to join the Patheos conversation on the lighter side of faith […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBetween Heaven and Mirth: Join the Twitter Book Club<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Think the spiritual life has to be so serious? \u00a0Think again, says Fr. 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