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Comments
I believed once that to be deep spiritually meant to be deadly serious. How wrong I was. Rather, to be deeply religious alone is to be deadly serious.
One trait of deeply spiritual persons of faith traditions is humor. Certainly, God does not expect us to take our faith walk with deadly seriousness. Maybe God could say sometimes, "Oh! Get over yourself!"
We may go to church services thinking to be serious minded is to be reverent. But laughter can express reverence.
During a prolonged meditation sit in my closet--not metaphor here!--closet, defined as that dark, silent place where you hang your clothes and put other sundry matters, I had St. Teresa of Avila's image come to awareness. She was smiling and winking at me.
St. Teresa (also known as Teresa of Jesus) was a Spanish mystic of the 16th Century. She was discontent with the laxness of her Carmelite monastic life. So, she sought new depths of contemplation and underwent a profound spiritual awakening at age 40 (recall Carl Jung said we are typically not ready to wake up until about age 40--imagine 40 years of sleeping!).
Teresa, after her awakening, founded the first Discalced ("barefooted") Carmelite convent community--she started sixteen more. Teresa was a semi-invalid but traveled extensively in Spain and became a leader in the Catholic Reformation. In spite of her infirmity and apparently fragile psyche, she retained a busy schedule and was a prolific writer.
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So, why would the image of St. Teresa winking and smiling to me erupt unbidden into my Deep Prayer time? I think the Spirit was letting me know that St. Teresa, with all the good she did and with the hardships she endured, knew the joy of the Spirit. I think God was reminding me that a wink is more characteristic of deep spirituality than the seriousness of much religion.
"Ha! God! Thanks for the wink of Teresa. She reminds me that one can be deeply spiritual and deeply elated, yes, intoxicated, with Life."
We each can choose the basic demeanor of our faces and lives. Let it be one of joyfulness and laughter, too.
Suggested Reflection
How do you express humor in your spiritual walk?
See next page for details on OneLife Ministries, Brian's book An Ache for Union, and material pertaining to sources used in the writing.
Feel free to submit a query on how OneLife Ministries can better serve you. Thanks! Brian K. Wilcox
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