Such a great book extolling the virtue of joy which produces laughter. Going through a history of why laughter is suppressed in the church and suffusing personal and Biblical examples of joy or laughter Martin does a compelling job of showing a God who not only loves us but enjoys our presence too. I love the last few lines of the book too "Preparation for heaven forms the basis of a great deal of Christian theology...In that case why can't earthly joy, humor, and laughter be a way of preparing for a lifetime of happiness? "

Martin also does a great justice to differentiating between laughter that lifts up and laughter that tears down. Obviously pointing us to the laughter that lifts us up today and how it brings sustaining joy.

So thankful for the reminder that God does in fact delight in us and delights in our joy as we delight ourselves in Him.

Reading about humor is just not as enjoyable as reading humor… …there are some delightful and edifying bits contained within, and I get what Martin was attempting to organize, but it was just not put together in a very compelling package.

Yet another book I would not have read had it not been for my annual challenge. I am grateful for the challenge & this book. I enjoyed Between Heaven & Mirth much more than I expected.
Author James Martin SJ is a Jesuit priest who uses this book to stress the message that we should not take ourselves too seriously. I went to Catholic school from first grade through my freshman year of high school. During those years, the priests and nuns in authority were stern. School & church were always serious.
James Martin SJ defies that stereotype. For example, he spiritedly explains how parables and prayer can be funny. The levity he brings to the religion is enlightening to someone who was raised to worry, pray, feel guilty & pray some more. I learned early on that Catholics can be self-righteous about their religion. Father Martin acknowledged this fact which I found refreshing. To find balance, he references several leaders from other religions. I hope this makes the book appealing to any denomination since the point is humor.

I really enjoyed this book, but found parts f it hard to get through. I liked reading it because Father Martin is right - it's often hard to see the humor in spiritual life. Fortunately, I the religious communities I was raised in and continue to participate in have always had a strong enjoyment in joy and humor, but it was interesting to read about the background of the Church and to read actual examples from the bible to better understand my own faith. It also really makes you think about your relationship with God, so I particularly liked the questions that asked you to reflect throughout the book.

A great book about an important facet of spiritual life that may be easily overlooked. Also a good reminder not to take myself and my thoughts so seriously :)

I love to laugh, and maybe that’s part of the reason I was attracted to what I envisioned James Martin’s new book, Between Heaven and Mirth, would be.

It didn’t let me down. Each chapter contained at least one good laugh, and I caught myself actually giggling out loud a few times.

Laughter is medicine, but it’s also, Martin maintains, an often-overlooked element that’s needed in our spiritual lives. He relates that he’s come to see, in his life as a professionally religious (he’s a priest and a Jesuit), that faith is often grim.

The spiritual life does not have to be–should not, in fact, be!–without laughter and smiles. He points to Jesus himself and expounds on the fact that joy can–and maybe should–lead to lightness and levity.

Martin makes his case using anecdotes, jokes, and even studies. He interviewed people of various stripes and shared personal experience. I started off agreeing with him, but by the end, he had dispelled any doubts I may have had. He inspired me to focus on my own approach to spirituality and to keep that twinkle that must have been in Jesus’ eyes in front of my own.

The finished product–the book itself–is the kind of book you’ll want to buy two copies of: one to keep and reread, one to share with at least one person who could use a reason to smile.

One thing that I thought was a really good point, and inspires further study, or reconsidering viewpoint, is that some of the Bible is humorous or would have been to its initial audience, in a way we no longer understand today. That’s the kind of thing I’d like to know more about, like when original language didn’t translate quite right into a English, and we misunderstand details.
I'm not one of those that thinks religion and spirituality has to be all serious, so a lot of the book concept I just agreed with and didn't need persuading on.
I did appreciate his mentioning and explaining of how various spiritual people and religions have recognized and incorporated joy, laughter, and humor, especially the more specifics about Jesuit spiritual practice of imaginative prayer, imagining yourself in God's or Jesus' presence, and taking joy in that.
I didn't like some of his sense of humor, and in other cases I am one of those that "doesn't get it", but I don't see that all humor has to be gotten by everybody, some humor needs context of experience.

“Unplanned occurrences are reminders to check your tendency to think that you're the one in control. In reality, it's someone else....It is a vivid reminder that, no matter how hard you work, ultimately it's not [in your control]. All this puts our work in perspective.”