Book Review: Putting Joy into Practice by Phoebe Farag Mikhail
One of the appeals of the Phoebe Farag Mikhail book, Putting Joy into Practice: Seven Ways to Lift Your Spirit from the Early Church (Paraclete Press), is the author’s conversational tone in which she addresses forms of prayer. With the 2023 release of the audio version, the listener hears the author pull from her own experiences and those of others who work ceaselessly through difficulties, drudgeries, and triumphs to achieve the peace and elation that come only from an intimate relationship with God regardless of the circumstances. Like a caring friend who sits you down with a cup of tea and tells you what you need to hear, and not what you want to hear, she invites you to come along on this journey to an elation that supports us in this life and leads us to the next.
Achieving joy may initially sound easy, but it is not, the author admits. How does a grieving woman find comfort after the tragic death of her sister? When does a harried mother find rest after the city sewage leaks into her basement office and playroom? Why would a nation express jubilation over the beheadings of their own countrymen? It is found only through the embrace of the Resurrection and achieved with faith and persistence in the seven practices Mikhail describes: praying the hours, visiting the sick, repentance, thanks, hospitality, arrow prayers (short, spontaneous prayers in times of need), and songs of praise. First published in 2019, the book took five years to write in part because of the difficulties author faced and her desire to tell the story honestly. “Unlike me, my mother has a naturally joyous personality,” confesses Mikhail, the daughter and wife of Coptic Orthodox priests (p. 32).
She expresses awareness of the way modern culture offers immediate, superficial comforts in diets, technology and other fads and robs us of a more profound life. “For many disappointed young people, the stress of finding or following a passion creates impatience with the boring work of persistent practice that leads to mastery, and they experience failure and false starts … “ (page 24).
She differentiates joy from happiness. “For a long time, I confused joy with happiness, and sometimes pleasure,” she explains (page 14). “Easter means Resurrection, but it also once meant chocolate, cheese, chicken―everything I couldn’t eat during the Great Lent. Those are pleasures, but they don’t bring joy.”
She would like to help people pursue the better path. Shiny trinkets now or eternal life later? It’s a choice and a bumpy passage. The flow of the book and pace of the audio, combined with the author’s careful voicing clearly helps the listener transition through chapters move along to find his or her own way. Mikhail’s story is told from the perspective of her Egyptian Coptic faith which makes it unique and nuanced, even for Roman Catholics. That is where the seven methods come in which are common throughout Christian denominations. Mastering them bring us closer to Christ, which fulfills the ultimate joy. The compact volume (166 pages, excluding notes) and the audio, which runs 4 ½ hours, are so filled with stories and suggestions that each version supports the other. The listing of Arrow Prayers on pages 136-137 makes a quick reference. But the audio allows listeners to hear the author, in her pleasant and natural voice, sing songs of praise in the related chapter, a quality the reader misses.
She connects prayer and community with Christ and, with each chapter, Mikhail grips the reader/listener with a thought-provoking opening. How will she take the story of a desert monk and turn it into a lesson about visiting the sick? What does astronomy have to do with singing praise? Practice Four begins, “I never thought a suicide bombing would teach me the true meaning of thanksgiving―until April 19, 2017.” (pg. 84) She addresses basic questions like what is joy and why is it so hard? She refers to “joy thieves,” which seek to steal our joy. Here she spends time on the seven deadly sins. The author provides an abundance of sources that quote from an array of disciplines and philosophers, including ancient texts, modern psychology, CS Lewis, St. Augustine, and the Dalai Lama.
Putting Joy into Practice, while covering a profound and mysterious topic, is both an easy read and listen, thanks to the author’s style. Whether paging through in comfort at home or putting the advice to the test while listening in the car during rush hour, Phoebe Farag Mikhail offers friendly spiritual guidance that, for more than 2000 years has served many, from ancient desert fathers meditating on God’s wisdom to modern men and women desiring to grow their lives with God and one another.
Copyright 2023 Mary McWilliams
Feature Image by Jill Wellington: https://www.pexels.com/photo/lady-in-beach-silhouette-during-daytime-photography-40192/
Mary McWilliams
Mary McWilliams has been writing professionally since her first job with a trade publisher after college. But she grew deep roots in community journalism as a beat reporter, columnist, features and business writer, and editor. She later went on to manage in-house communications for non-profits. She writes short stories centered around introspective characters and their Jesus-led, “Come, follow me” pivotal moments.