Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life - Paperback

by James Martin (Author)

"Between Heaven and Mirth will make any reader smile. . . . Father Martin reminds us that happiness is the good God's own goal for us." --Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York

From one of America's most beloved spiritual leaders and the New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage Father James Martin, SJ, comes a revolutionary guide to Christian living that looks at how you can change your life and save your spirit through joy, humor, and laughter.

Martin shares how you can strike a healthy balance between spirituality and daily life and live as a joyful believer. In Between Heaven and Mirth, he uses scriptural passages, the lives of the saints, the spiritual teachings of other traditions, and his own personal reflections to show us why joy is the inevitable result of faith, because a healthy spirituality, a healthy sense of humor, and a dedication to spiritual growth go hand-in-hand with God's great plan for humankind.

How can we find the humor and happiness at the heart of the spiritual life?

• Christian Humor: Why holy people are joyful people, with hilarious and touching stories from the lives of the saints, the wisdom of Scripture, and the author's own experience as a Jesuit priest.
• Finding Joy: Practical, heartfelt advice on how to strike a healthy balance between modern daily life and spirituality, showing that joy is the inevitable result of a deep faith.
• Spiritual Wisdom: A refreshing look at the spiritual teachings of Christian and other traditions that prove a healthy sense of humor goes hand-in-hand with God's great plan.
• A Joyful Believer: An invitation to change your life and save your spirit not through seriousness and gloom, but through the revolutionary power of laughter.

Front Jacket

In Between Heaven and Mirth, James Martin, SJ, assures us that God wants us to experience joy, to cultivate a sense of holy humor, and to laugh at life's absurdities--not to mention our own humanity. Father Martin invites believers to rediscover the importance of humor and laughter in our daily lives and to embrace an essential truth: faith leads to joy.

Holy people are joyful people, says Father Martin, offering countless examples of healthy humor and purposeful levity in the stories of biblical heroes and heroines, and in the lives of the saints and the world's great spiritual masters. He shows us how the parables are often the stuff of comedy, and how the gospels reveal Jesus to be a man with a palpable sense of joy and even playfulness. In fact, Father Martin argues compellingly, thinking about a Jesus without a sense of humor may be close to heretical.

Drawing on Scripture, sharing anecdotes from his experiences as a lifelong Catholic, a Jesuit for over twenty years, and a priest for more than ten, and including amusing and insightful sidebars, footnotes, and jokes, Father Martin illustrates how joy, humor, and laughter help us to live more spiritual lives, understand ourselves and others better, and more fully appreciate God's presence among us. Practical how-to advice helps us use humor to show our faith, embrace our humanity, put things into perspective, open our minds, speak truth, demonstrate courage, challenge power, learn hospitality, foster effective human relations, deepen our relationship with God, and ... enjoy ourselves. Inviting God to lighten our hearts, we can enjoy a little heaven on earth.

Back Jacket

In Between Heaven and Mirth, James Martin, SJ, assures us that God wants us to experience joy, to cultivate a sense of holy humor, and to laugh at life's absurdities--not to mention our own humanity. Father Martin invites believers to rediscover the importance of humor and laughter in our daily lives and to embrace an essential truth: faith leads to joy.

Holy people are joyful people, says Father Martin, offering countless examples of healthy humor and purposeful levity in the stories of biblical heroes and heroines, and in the lives of the saints and the world's great spiritual masters. He shows us how the parables are often the stuff of comedy, and how the gospels reveal Jesus to be a man with a palpable sense of joy and even playfulness. In fact, Father Martin argues compellingly, thinking about a Jesus without a sense of humor may be close to heretical.

Drawing on Scripture, sharing anecdotes from his experiences as a lifelong Catholic, a Jesuit for over twenty years, and a priest for more than ten, and including amusing and insightful sidebars, footnotes, and jokes, Father Martin illustrates how joy, humor, and laughter help us to live more spiritual lives, understand ourselves and others better, and more fully appreciate God's presence among us. Practical how-to advice helps us use humor to show our faith, embrace our humanity, put things into perspective, open our minds, speak truth, demonstrate courage, challenge power, learn hospitality, foster effective human relations, deepen our relationship with God, and ... enjoy ourselves. Inviting God to lighten our hearts, we can enjoy a little heaven on earth.