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!

Can You Teach an Old Dog?

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well, I'm proof that you can, because I've never taken a computer course, but I've picked up enough skills to do my blog, add hyperlinks in the comments section, crop photos, publish a newsletter using Windows technology, etc. But I'm on the verge of ulcers today as I work with two computers side by side. My techie son-in-law advised me to get a more up-to-date machine and he's been so helpful setting it up, transferring data, etc. However, I'm still very dependent on my old computer because the new system is so different it's exasperating. I can't find my email address book. (Really, why isn't it listed on the left with the inbox, outbox, sent items, etc.?) I can't figure out how to easily delete e-mails so my inbox is growing by the minute. I haven't figured out how to open a tab so I can work on a page and do research on another. All this is making me pull my hair out and I have none to spare.

My son-in-law assures me that once I learn how to use it, I'll be delighted. It will be faster, I'll have more storage, etc., but at present I'm praying for patience and getting plenty of opportunity to practice it. My guardian angel is keeping his wings over my mouth. I suspect my husband is downstairs chuckling. He does very little on the computer and is probably the better for it. But since writing is my apostolate, I'm just offering this up and hoping it will get me a little time off in Purgatory. What a terrible prospect to think it might result in added bench time in the steam room. Please pray that this old dog can be a quick learner and things will be back to normal soon!

You're Never too old to have a Sense of Humor!

This is too funny. I love this wonderful lady and hope I can be as sharp when I'm her age which is creeping up on me in another decade. But don't expect me to tell you how much I weigh!