Two words I often don’t hear together: “contemplation” and “fun” — or, for that matter, “mysticism” and “fun.” Recently I have been thinking about this, and I decided it was…
Tag: joy
Joyful Penitence and a Continuous Lent
Alleluia! Lent is almost over! In just a few days to come we will journey through the Sacred Triduum of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, culminating in the Great Vigil of Easter, marking the Resurrection of Christ—and the end, for another year, of our Lenten fasts and sacrifices.…… Read more at Patheos
Why Finding God In All Things Leads to Fullness of Joy
One of the my favorite Christian writers is a woman who lived in fourteenth century England. We don’t even know her name. But we know her by the name of…
We Need to Find the Silence Within — Even in the Midst of a “Joyful Noise”
Check out this insightful, evocative quotation from Barbara A. Holme’s wonderful book Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices in the Black Church: Those who study contemplation have assumed that the difference between European…
Joyful Sanctity
What is the relationship between holiness and joy? A reader named Gordon writes, in response to my concerns about how “experience” can be misunderstood in a spiritual context: I agree…
The Place of Joy in Christian Spirituality
What is the relationship between prayer and joy? If we enjoy our prayer, does that mean we are avoiding the hard work of spirituality (which, at least in Christian terms,…
Joyful Contemplation (No Fooling!)
If you are engaged in a serious and sustained practice of silent prayer and contemplative spirituality, then you need to be a very somber, sober, and serious person, for the…