Take Joy!
When I was growing up, The Tasha Tudor Christmas Book, Take Joy!, was a cherished part of our family Christmas tradition. It was unpacked and displayed in a place of honor, along with all of the other special holiday books that came out once a year. I loved them all, but this one was my favorite.
And my favorite part of this favorite book has always been the epigraph, an excerpt from a letter attributed to the Renaissance scholar and architect Fra Giovanni. This letter, known by the same title, Take Joy, is a lovely, hopeful message that comes to us across centuries.
This year, the message feels even more relevant and poignant.
"I salute you! There is nothing I can give you which you have not; but there is much that, while I cannot give, you can take.
No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today. Take Heaven.
No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present instant. Take Peace.
The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet, within our reach is joy. Take Joy.
And so, at this Christmas time, I greet you, with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away."
- Fra Giovanni, 1513
2016 was a heartbreaking year in many ways. So it's especially heartening to encounter reminders that, despite the 'gloom of the world', whose existence we can't deny, Heaven, Peace, and Joy, are still ours for the taking, here in the present moment.
Here's wishing that heaven, peace, and joy find a home in your heart on this day!
Notes:
- More on Fra Giovanni Giocondo
- The full text of the letter from Fra Giovanni, along with further reflections on his life and the implication of his words in our world today from another writer and blogger, Laura Grace Weldon.
- More on Tasha Tudor.
- The Tasha Tudor Christmas Book, Take Joy! is out of print, but you can find collectible and used copies here. A classic reprint from Forgotten Books can be found here.