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fakename
Guest
like praying, or studying mystical theology or examining one’s conscience? Or do serious things deserve a strictly serious attitude?
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philial
Guest
Are you sure you mean ‘fun’? For me the term signifies superficial stuff, like giggling with your mates, which is a fair bit down the happy scale from watching kittens wrestle! Sure, theology can be a joy, as can prayer, but fun…?
Not sure how an examination of conscience can ever be fun, either. Well, not for me, anyhow, but if you can gleam some from it, then God bless you!
Not sure how an examination of conscience can ever be fun, either. Well, not for me, anyhow, but if you can gleam some from it, then God bless you!
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ahs
Guest
It depends. If it is fun to study the Scriptures as you increase you knowledge at home, then by all means, have fun! IF the prayer you are engagin in is “fun”, that is fine…but there are also prayers that deserve more contemplation than “fun” might allow. If you are in Mass taking part in the re-presentation of Christ’s Sacrifice for us, there is a certain amount of reverenve due and you should be in awe and worship, not making light of the occassion by imaging how much fun you are having as our Savior is presented to us, sacrificed for our sins.
So, it depends.
So, it depends.
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fakename
Guest
user "ahs":
So how should we feel?
That’s the problem: things that are very awful (in the “I’m in awe” sense of the word) are also very joyous occasions. Therefore we are supposed to feel two emotions namely joy and reverence which seem to be irreconcilable. But if you deny one feeling you deny either the awesomeness or the happiness of the occasion/action.
So how should we feel?
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Nom_the_Wise
Guest
What we feel is rarely a thing we can control at the moment, but we are called to discipline ourselves. The cardinal virtue of prudence essentially means doing the right thing at the right time, like not making jokes at a funeral. Pray to God for a deeper understanding of prudence.
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tafan
Guest
Why does joy and reverence seem jrreconcilable? Quite the opposite to me, they seen to go hand in hand more times than not. Now, I would not equate joy and fun. Fun, while I would disagree strongly with above post that it is superficial, does seem to be a more base emotion, not as deep as joy.
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fakename
Guest
user "tafan":
how can you reconcile them?
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bmullins
Guest
I’m very reverent when I am in the presence of the Eucharist at Adoration, but I’m also filled completely with joy at the fact that my savior is willing to die on the cross and be present to us in the Eucharist. They aren’t mutually exclusive. Joy does not necessarily mean disordered ecstasy, joy has many levels and ways of being displayed. You can display joy reverently.
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fakename
Guest
To Bmullins: “I’m very reverent when I am in the presence of the Eucharist at Adoration, but I’m also filled completely with joy at the fact that my savior is willing to die on the cross and be present to us in the Eucharist. They aren’t mutually exclusive. Joy does not necessarily mean disordered ecstasy, joy has many levels and ways of being displayed. You can display joy reverently.”
But you cannot be both at once, as the post implies; you were reverent at one time and then happy later.
However this is just emotional instability, for the actual thing (the mass) is at once somber and thrilling and yet, one feels their emotions at different times even when you are considering the same thing at both times. So the feelings don’t correspond to the outside world and so the character is incoherent.
Unless of course, one can say that this discombobulation is a good emotion to feel since the wonder of the mass inspires a knowledge of your own weakness.
But then how could the mass be wondrous since wonder is a type of joy? and around we go…
But you cannot be both at once, as the post implies; you were reverent at one time and then happy later.
However this is just emotional instability, for the actual thing (the mass) is at once somber and thrilling and yet, one feels their emotions at different times even when you are considering the same thing at both times. So the feelings don’t correspond to the outside world and so the character is incoherent.
Unless of course, one can say that this discombobulation is a good emotion to feel since the wonder of the mass inspires a knowledge of your own weakness.
But then how could the mass be wondrous since wonder is a type of joy? and around we go…
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bmullins
Guest
Why can it not be both at once? It is not that I feel joy after adoration, I feel joy* while *adoring. Reverence does not exclude joy.
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Alindawyl
Guest
Something GK Chesterton wrote when responding to a criticism of his works by Joseph McCabe seems to be applicable here. McCabe was a fallen away priest who was critical of Chesterton’s essays because Chesterton frequently used humor when writing on serious topics. The response from Chesterton, which he made in one of his books, was the following:
Mr. McCabe thinks that I am not serious but only funny, because Mr. McCabe thinks that funny is the opposite of serious. Funny is the opposite of not funny, and of nothing else.
To claim that something cannot be both funny and serious, or both joyful and reverent, presents a false dichotomy.
Mr. McCabe thinks that I am not serious but only funny, because Mr. McCabe thinks that funny is the opposite of serious. Funny is the opposite of not funny, and of nothing else.
To claim that something cannot be both funny and serious, or both joyful and reverent, presents a false dichotomy.
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