Episode 1: Joy does not have to contain happiness (23 min.)
In today's world, it seems out of place to be joyful - you can list the woes, Tom Fox tells Fr. Ed Hays. Fox says, Help me understand that. Hays responds: "You have to be joyful in the real world." In his book, he writes: "Joy must know the seemingly dark pit of anguish."
What joy is and what joy is not
Chasing Joy: Musing on Life in a Bittersweet World, by Father Edward Hays, is a spiritual meditation on life in a bittersweet world. Hays talks to Tom Fox about what is joy and what isn't, the components of authentic joy, and its connections with anguish, suffering and death. He speaks about the connections joy has with gratitude and prayer. Hays, a priest in the archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, is one of the modern eras spiritual gurus. His book is published by Ave Maria press.
About the Book
Chasing Joy: Musing on Life in a Bittersweet World . Joyful living is our God-given right, says Hays, as he challenges readers to dig through life's miseries and darkest pains to discover the goodness God continues to promise all of humanity. Hays takes common joys and struggles of ordinary lives and blends them with some of the great wisdom figures to offer spiritual exercises for cultivating deeply rooted joy.
