I Love Fr. Z's Sense of Humor! Something We All Need These Days.

Things are never so bad that humor can't be poured on as balm. Think of all the martyrs who joked as they went to their deaths and other saints who made laughter part of their ministry. (Don't take my quotes literally; I'm writing them from memory.):

•  St. Lawrence being cooked on a grill -- "Turn me over; I'm done on this side."
• Thomas More moving his beard out of the way of the executioner's axe. "My beard has done no harm." Also, "See me safe up (onto the executioner's platform); as for my coming down, let me shift for myself"
• St. Bernard of Clairvaux, on finding his monks trying to get rid of a swarm of flies in a church about to be dedicated, solemnly said to the pesky bugs, "I excommunicate all of you," giving his monks a hearty laugh.
• St. Teresa of Avila didn't even mind tweaking the Lord. I think everyone has heard the story of when her carriage lost a wheel in a muddy stream leaving the nuns to wade out of the water. Hence her famous admonition to the Lord, "If you treat your friends like this, no wonder you have so few."
• And then there is irrepressible Don Bosco. Some people thought he was crazy and wanted to have him institutionalized. They went to pick him up and take him to the insane asylum, but, knowing their intent, he insisted they get in first. As soon as they did, he slammed the door and called to the driver, "Quick! To the asylum; they're expected!"

Anyway, I appreciate Fr. Z's quick wit:

Happy Sisters...no bus in sight! (See the rest of the post -- with pictures -- here.)

And then there's this post about Pope Francis popping into the employee cafeteria for lunch. 

Humor is a life saver. And think about it. Can you imagine the devil laughing a good, hearty, Chestertonian laugh? I can't. All I can imagine is a dirty snicker. Satan no doubt invented pornography and potty mouth. But real humor? That's as alien to him as heaven!

Too True and Too Funny!

Although this could have shown a laywoman in a veil for Mass or, let's face it, a man in a suit. The only thing missing on these two are the tattoos. Check out the Sword of Peter website.

A snowy meditation

God has a sense of humor. You have a to-do list a mile long? Two feet of snow can change your priorities real quick. The top item on our agenda over the past 24 hours has been plowing and shoveling. Last major snowfall (17 inches) we were trapped because our looong driveway was totally impassable. (A kind neighbor came to our aid fortunately.) This time we decided to be pro-active.

So when the snow began, we went out to plow/shovel every few hours to keep ahead of it. And we have: Friday: 5:00 pm,. 7:30 pm,. 10:00 p.m., 11:45 p.m. (phew!) Saturday: 2:45 a.m., (yawn!) 5:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m. (sheesh!)

I've gone through two jackets, three pairs of pants, and three sets of gloves. I found out my rainhat is 100/% waterproof and it kept my head dry. And for the last few trecks out I figured if I draped a poncho (the one in the closet that serves as a chasuble when "Paka" plays Mass with the grandkids) over the back of the tractor and my legs, it would act like a blanket and keep me dry. It worked! No more wet seat and legs. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.

At 3:30 we headed out again for what we hoped would be the last time. The driveway is getting narrower and narrower, but so far is still passable. I have never seen so much snow in my entire life. We've had a fir tree uproot and another tree fell on the trampoline which will disappoint the grandchildren, but we are praising God that the electricity is still on because if it goes we have no water. (On the other hand, two feet of snow is a lot of water. We certainly won't go thirsty! And we have plenty of wood for a fire.)

Dealing with all this snow got me thinking about the virtue of fortitude. Nature gives one lots of opportunities to practice virtue (kneeling in the garden is great prayer time!) and the one uppermost for us at present is fortitude. We prayed a lot while we worked that the electricty would stay on, the homeless would find shelter, that folks who had to travel would be safe, and that caregivers would get to the hospitals and nursing homes to tend to those in need. Now that the snow has stopped, we've checked with our loved ones and everyone is safe and warm. So this evening will be a time of thanksgiving in front of a fire roasting hot dogs and praising God for His goodness. There's nothing like praying the rosary by firelight. And thank you, Lord, that every abortion mill in the area is closed. May the moms who couldn't keep their appointments today, rethink their decisions and let their little ones live.