Joy to the World: Thank you Katelyn Ohashi

The Christmas season has come and gone. I hate taking down the decorations; I long for the lights people once assembled to illuminate dark places and warm our homes. Now that we rest in ordinary time, the real work of Christmas has only begun. We are called to bring joy to the world long after the those twelve days of Christmas. The Incarnation needs to be lived and made known all year long. How? live joyfully.

Thomas Aquinas has said "we do not speak of joy except when delight follows reason; and so we do not ascribe joy to irrational animals." In other words, joy is much more than an emotion or feeling. It is not whimsical or trite. Joy engages our minds and our hearts. I think it is one of the great virtues we humans can acquire; indeed it is a gift of the spiritual life. 

In The One Minute Philosopher, Montague Brown, Ph.D. writes that to have joy is

to delight in the good. Joy involves thought as well as emotion. It is an appreciation or approval of something good along with a feeling of excitement. Joy is the opposite of sadness. In both joy and sadness, reason leads, and there is some rational explanation for the emotion. 

Since joy involves thoughtful appreciation, it always has an objective component and a universal appeal. When I rejoice in something such as the birth of a child or an act of generosity the object of my joy is something I believe others would and should rejoice in, too. I can explain to others the reason for my joy, and I can expect that, when they understand the source of my joy, they will know and share the same joy. 

We rejoice in many different good things. We rejoice in the beauty of nature and the beauty of artistic creations. We rejoice in the well-earned success—whether our own of that of a friends—for we understand the good things that success brings, as well as the virtue and effort required to achieve them.\

Dr. Brown wrote these words in 2001 but they speak to the performance and experience of UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi on January 12, 2019 perfectly. Like 20 million other people, I caught sight of her floor routine thanks to social media. Indeed it's appeal is universal. In fact, I found it so compelling, I had to share it with my students the next day. I found the beauty in her artistic creation, and no one was surprised to see that it led to a perfect 10. Her "well-earned success" is a win not just for Ohashi, her teammates or for gymnastics, but for everyone to behold. And if that can't lead a person to prayer, I don't know what does.

I concluded class with a call to live the Joy of Christmastide all year long. I asked my students to look for examples of joy in everyday life. Where do they see it? How can we share that with others? Forgive my bias, but sports isn't a bad place to start. As Jason Gay in the WSJ writes

These instances are rare, but they’re really the reason why we watch sports, aren’t they? Sure, we come up with all kinds of rationalizations for our sports obsessions—tradition, regional loyalties, very bad bets on the Minnesota Vikings—but what truly keeps the audience coming back is the chance that every once in a while, you’ll see a radiant expression of human greatness and joy.

Want joy? keep your eyes and ears open. Look for it and let it find you. Behold and pass it on. Give thanks to God for it's source and pray to grow in this gift. Happy New Year!

And if for some reason you haven't seen the video. watch it here and now!

Photo CreditsTop image is in the WSJ article

Joy, Humor and Laughter in Sports & Spirituality

Looking at Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer during ALDS Game 5 last week, I couldn’t help but respond to my friend’s comment with a “bad” theology joke.  What’s up with his eyes? Whoa! One is so blue and the other is so dark.  He should wear a contact lens!  I turned to her with a straight face and said “he’s just like Christ.  Jesus sees us with two eyes—one human and one divine.”  I thought it was brilliant (another pun?).  Was it appropriate? I think so….

In case you haven’t noticed thanks to the popular writer, James Martin, SJ there’s been a movement toward emphasizing and recognizing the need for joy and laughter in the Catholic Church.  Fr. Martin may promote his latest book Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life but he’s on to something. Being a Catholic is demanding—we must carry our cross, die to self and live the call and the challenge of the Gospel. But this doesn’t mean we need not find joy in the journey or a laugh along the way.  

Stephen Colbert, one of the more popular figures in mainstream media today is both a Catholic and a comedian.  His story moved me. “A Comedian and a Cardinal Open Up on Spirituality” explains why he does what he does.  It says, “Mr. Colbert is the youngest of 11 children, raised by Catholic parents who both attended Catholic colleges. His father and two of his brothers died in a plane crash when Mr. Colbert was 10. He said that after the funeral, in the limousine on the way home, one of his sisters made another sister laugh so hard that she fell on the floor. At that moment, Mr. Colbert said he wanted to make someone laugh that hard.”  French philosopher and Jesuit priest, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. said, “Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” Indeed God can be with us at the funeral of our parents or even at an event that brought together Timothy Cardinal Dolan and Stephen Colbert in front of 3,000 students at Fordham University on September 14, 2012. 

The New York Times reported that “The evening was billed as an opportunity to hear two Catholic celebrities discuss how joy and humor infuse their spiritual lives. They both delivered, with surprises and zingers that began the moment the two walked onstage. Mr. Colbert went to shake Cardinal Dolan’s hand, but the cardinal took Mr. Colbert’s hand and kissed it — a disarming role reversal for a big prelate with a big job and a big ring. The event would not have happened without its moderator, the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and prolific author who has made it his mission to remind Catholics that there is no contradiction between faithful and funny."

So in that spirit, I would like to share another example of what has brought me joy and laughter, even bemusement in sports and spirituality.  I encourage you to think of your own.

As many San Franciscans know, October is our warmest month of the year.  We finally have temperatures climb above 75 degrees for more than one day at a time.  This is a welcome thing, with exception. 

My path to cross country practice leads me from the women’s coaches’ locker room past the girls’ locker room and then…the boys’ locker room.  As the season progresses, an odor builds to the point that it penetrates the hallway.  Boys sweat and girls do too. But boys who play football wear pads that they do not wash. I have often wondered if a power hose could assuage the olfactory cocktail of dirt, blood and sweat.  On these days, I cannot help but thing of John 11:39. 

Jesus arrives at the home of Mary and Martha knowing their brother, his beloved friend Lazarus is dead. Jesus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days."

I walk by that locker room and after I am assaulted by the stench. I can’t help but wonder what has been dead for four days.  I also want to know how boys are able to eat food in there.  Boys. 

This is just one of many ways to link the tradition, stories and experiences of our faith to our everyday experiences—good, bad and ugly.  Funny and joyful.  We can all use a little more of that!

Photo Credits
Max Scherzer
Cardinal and Comedian
Lazarus' Tomb