Between Heaven and Mirth
Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life
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Narrated by:
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James Martin
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By:
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James Martin
About this listen
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.
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Do you realize that the God of the universe speaks your love language, and your expressions of love for Him are shaped by your love language? Learn how you can give and receive God's love through the five love languages: words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Gary writes, "As we respond to the love of God and begin to identify the variety of languages He uses to speak to us, we soon learn to speak those languages ourselves.
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Great narration, excellent insight
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The Kingdom
- By: Emmanuel Carrère, John Lambert - translator, Claire Bloom - director
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Gripped by the tale of a Messiah whose blood we drink and body we eat, the genre-defying author Emmanuel Carrère revisits the story of the early Church in his latest work. With an idiosyncratic and at times iconoclastic take on the charms and foibles of the Church fathers, Carrère ferries listeners through his "doors" into the biblical narrative. Once inside, he follows the ragtag group of early Christians through the tumultuous days of the faith's founding.
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The Gospel of Emmanuel
- By Mark on 12-31-17
By: Emmanuel Carrère, and others
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Out of Sorts
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- By: Sarah Bessey
- Narrated by: Joell A. Jacob
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In Out of Sorts, Sarah Bessey, award-winning blogger and author of Jesus Feminist, helps us grapple with core Christian issues using a mixture of beautiful storytelling and biblical teaching. As she candidly shares her wrestlings with core issues - such as who Jesus is, what place the church has in our lives, how to disagree yet remain within a community, and how to love the Bible for what it is rather than what we want it to be - she teaches us how to walk courageously through our own tough questions.
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Sounded like a robot reading this!
- By KNimblett on 02-23-16
By: Sarah Bessey
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Grateful
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- By: Diana Butler Bass
- Narrated by: Diana Butler Bass
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
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The author of the multiple award-winning Grounded and leading trend spotter in contemporary Christianity explores why gratitude is missing as a modern spiritual practice, offers practical suggestions for reclaiming it, and illuminates how the shared practice of gratitude can lead to greater connection with God, our world, and our own souls.
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Too much emphasis on author’s political view
- By John J. on 06-29-18
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Why are modern Christians so indistinguishable from everyone else? How come Christians who lived in times of bloody persecution were so heroic, while we who live in safety are not? How could the first Christians fast valiantly, but we feel deprived without dessert? How did New Testament believers pray without ceasing? How could the early Christian martyrs actually forgive their torturers? What did the Christians of the first centuries know that we don't? This book explores these questions.
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Illuminating wisdom! Thank you!
- By James A. Coles Jr. on 06-17-16
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Learning to Speak God from Scratch
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In this groundbreaking book, one of America's premier religion writers revives ancient expressions through cultural commentary, vulnerable personal narratives, and surprising biblical insights. Both provocative and liberating, Learning to Speak God from Scratch will breathe new life into your spiritual conversations and lure you into the embrace of the God who inhabits them.
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New in sight into stale old language
- By Fyodor Dostoyevsky on 09-01-18
By: Jonathan Merritt
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Eternity Is Now in Session
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- By: John Ortberg
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- Unabridged
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Best-selling author John Ortberg dispels the myth that eternal life is something way out in outer space that we can only hope to experience after we die - and that being saved is merely about meeting the minimal entrance requirements for getting into heaven. Instead, John unpacks the reality that the moment we trust Christ, we are initiated into “eternal living” with God as a here and now reality, one that will continue beyond our life on this earth.
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Speaker
- By Karla J Altman on 06-14-20
By: John Ortberg
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Church: Why Bother?
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- Unabridged
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Insights from Philip Yancey's personal pilgrimage away from and back to the church. Why are there so many more professing Christians than churchgoing Christians? Is it because something is wrong with the church? In his candid, thought-provoking manner, award-winning author Philip Yancey reveals the reasons behind his own journey back from skepticism to wholehearted participation in the church, and weighs the church's human failings against its compelling worth as the body of Christ.
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Indeed, Why Bother with Church?
- By David on 07-10-17
By: Philip Yancey
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Yawning at Tigers
- You Can't Tame God, So Stop Trying
- By: Drew Nathan Dyck
- Narrated by: Henry O. Arnold
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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When was the last time you were overawed by God’s majesty? Have you ever stood in stunned silence at his holiness and power? In our shallow, self-centered age, things like truth and reverence might seem outdated, lost. Yet we’re restless. And our failed attempts to ease our unrest point to an ancient ache for an experience of the holy. Drew Dyck makes a compelling case that what we seek awaits us in the untamed God of Scripture - a God who is dangerous yet accessible, mysterious yet powerfully present.
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Perspective changing
- By Chris A. on 01-06-19
By: Drew Nathan Dyck
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Encounter Jesus
- From Discovery to Discipleship
- By: Fr Dave Pivonka, Deacon Ralph Poyo
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It's exciting when someone has a living encounter with the God of the universe. A lightbulb goes on, and everything feels new. But with that sense of exhilaration comes the realization: in order to take one's faith seriously, things must change. An encounter with Jesus is a very significant experience, and Fr. Dave and Deacon Ralph show readers how to move from discovering their faith to following Jesus wherever he leads them along the path of discipleship.
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engaging
- By Maria Vidal on 03-07-24
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Ragamuffin Gospel
- By: Brennan Manning
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Many believers feel stunted in their Christian growth. We beat ourselves up over our failures and, in the process, pull away from God because we subconsciously believe He tallies our defects and hangs His head in disappointment. In this new edition - now with a foreword by Michael W. Smith, testimony by Rich Mullins and the author's own epilogue, "Ragamuffin Ten Years Later," Brennan Manning reminds us that nothing could be further from the truth.
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JUST AS WE ARE, NOT AS WE 'SHOULD' BE
- By Kindle Customer...Tony Chiarilli on 08-30-12
By: Brennan Manning
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What listeners say about Between Heaven and Mirth
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Christina
- 01-14-16
Oh Joy!
A great listen. We all need to keep joy in our mundane and spiritual lives.
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- Kindle Customer
- 06-14-23
Joyful reading!
I just love reading and listening to Fr. Martin, who is funny, fun, and both a great writer and narrator! Not only did I learn a lot about joy in faith and a variety of religions, but I gained a lot of joy from reading this book! Recommended to everyone who needs a little joy in their lives!
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- mark
- 05-02-12
Great Perspective
A well balanced, easy to listen to and useful perception. It focuses on the important things in life for when we get bogged down by gloom and drudgery. A simple and clear perspective about choices we have in life.
I feel richer for having taken in this book.
Well done, Jim.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Angela
- 02-12-13
Uplifting
Would you consider the audio edition of Between Heaven and Mirth to be better than the print version?
James Martin SJ provides a thoughtful analysis of why humor appears to be missing from the Bible, how to find it by adjusting your cultural perspective and the importance of mirth in religion.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Between Heaven and Mirth?
How animals in sack cloth are a hilarious image in the story of Jonah.
What does James Martin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
It is always nice to hear the author's voice, particularly when listening to a joke where timing is crucial.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Carl Graham
- 05-11-15
What a great audible!
One of my favorite audibles so far. Went above and beyond my expectations. :)
James Martin's voice was a great pair for his book's words. (I know that sounds like it should always be the case, but it hasn't been with some other audibles I've listened to.)
Really easy listen, yet a very insightful listen.
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- Lyn
- 06-02-15
Another winner by James Martin
Would you consider the audio edition of Between Heaven and Mirth to be better than the print version?
I have no comparison as I only listened
What other book might you compare Between Heaven and Mirth to and why?
Martin's other books
Which character – as performed by James Martin – was your favorite?
probably Jesus I just now realized what a clever and humorus speaker He was.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
there were many
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- M H
- 11-27-19
A Wonderful Enrichment
James Martin gave me great insight into the "Good Life." He resonated positively in my daily ambitions and reflections.
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- Adam Shields
- 10-26-14
Why joy & humor are important to the spirituality
Donald Kim’s A Down and Dirty Guide to Theology, is the only book on systematic theology that I have read that includes a section on theological jokes. Kim makes the point that too often when we talk about God and Theology, only the dry stuff gets passed on. Instead Kim thought a section on theological jokes was important (in a very short introduction to theology) because it would help the reader remember that theology is not only dry academics, but rooted in a relationship with God and any relationship needs laughter. Not long after that I read David Dark’s The Sacredness of Questioning Everything. One of his chapters was on the importance of being able to laugh at yourself (and your religion).
James Martin picks up both of these ideas and expands them, looking not only at why it is important to be able to laugh at yourself and your religion but why so many of the spiritual saints have been fans of laughter and jokes.
This book caught my eye a couple years ago when it first came out. But it wasn’t until I saw Glenn Packiham recommend it on twitter a couple weeks ago that I decided to pick it up. This is my second book by James Martin, the first, a short book on Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Jesus, and a few others is on the short list of best books I have read this year.
Martin, a Jesuit priest, writer and speaker has the helpful ability to talk about serious things, be very open about his own struggles and foibles, bring in appropriate humor and still convey real spiritual depth.
The main point of this book is that our faith is missing something when we believe that spiritual things need to be serious things. At root, many things are just funny. And even the when they are not funny, a joke or laughter can make serious or hard things better and help both us and those around us to be better off.
I did not think this was quite as good as Becoming Who You Are. He spends a decent amount of time trying to talk academically about laughter and humor and I think that is important to the topic. Otherwise it would just a book of jokes. But I think Martin draws out the topic too much. I think this would have been a better book if it were about 50 pages shorter.
The book is funny and there are lots of good presentations of humor. (The audiobook is narrated by Martin so he is telling his own jokes.) Martin also strives to show that humor is a part of a variety of religious traditions. And I think that part of the book was less successful and less important. It is not that he is wrong, it is just that I think it was not necessary to try to make laughter universal. It would have been better to make it more particular. Although much of the humor, especially the self deprecating kind, is based around his own Catholic background.
I still think, even with the weaknesses it is worth picking up, especially if you find it on sale.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Donna
- 07-23-12
The is a great good a must for anyone
What made the experience of listening to Between Heaven and Mirth the most enjoyable?
I felt like i was sitting with the author and he was telling me a lot of great stories. He is very pleasant and easy to following. Very intelligent and funny. Lots of humor. You will thoroughly enjoy this book no matter what religion u r.
What did you like best about this story?
it keeps me interested ...
What about James Martin’s performance did you like?
very personable. your can tell his tone is pleasant and humorous.
Any additional comments?
Great!! i will probably read/listen to again and again
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1 person found this helpful
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- Alvaro Chacón Fallas
- 08-30-15
Excelent book
Any additional comments?
This is a great book, a really nice and psychological healthy vision of a balanced spirituality, thanks father James, this book help me a lot in the way of knowing God.
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