Bruce Tallman, who is a spiritual Director, wrote recently about attending a lecture by a Michael Higgins on his new book, The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis:

According to (Michael) Higgins, Francis was first and foremost a pastor, a pope of the heart because, although an intellectual like most Jesuits, Francis believed, like Blaise Pascal, that the heart is greater than reason. The heart has reasons of its own that reason alone cannot comprehend. As Archbishop Oscar Romero wrote, “There are things that can only be understood by eyes that have cried.”

I Believe that when we do just that – let our hearts do the thinking we approach what has been called Holy Humor.  I have written about Holy Humor previously.  So, what then do we make of Holy Humour?  Can there be true humor in such a serious thing as religion?  One author who explores this is Helen Luke in her collection of essays, The Laughter at the Heart of Things.  One commentary I came upon summarizes the essence of what Luke is saying very well:

What is at the heart of the matter, according to Helen Luke, is a sense of proportion.  Luke quotes T.S. Eliot and notes that, “Eliot is, expressing here (in the quote) the identity of a sense of humour with the sense of proportion and the humility that this engenders”.  What is at the heart of things the joy of seeing disproportion restored to proportion.

At bottom, the humour is getting us in touch with joy – the joy of being part of God’s creation.  After all, to quote a group of musical religious sister – the Medical Mission Sisters, joy is like the rain.  Perhaps those are raindrops on roses to bring in another song. 

May you be blessed with holy humour on your journey.  Remember joy is a serious matter not to be taken too lightly – too much of the time.