During his address to the Roman Curia on the occasion of the presentation of Christmas greetings (Dec 2014), Pope Francis affirmed, “A bit of good humor is very good for us! It will do us much good to pray St. Thomas More’s prayer frequently: I pray it every day, and it helps me.”
Here is the text of the prayer:
Prayer for Good Humour
by St. Thomas More
Grant me, O Lord, good digestion, and also something to digest.
Grant me a healthy body, and the necessary good humour to maintain it.
Grant me a simple soul that knows to treasure all that is good
and that doesn’t frighten easily at the sight of evil,
but rather finds the means to put things back in their place.
Give me a soul that knows not boredom, grumblings, sighs and laments,
nor excess of stress, because of that obstructing thing called “I.”
Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humor.
Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke to discover in life a bit of joy,
and to be able to share it with others.
Prayer for Good Humour
Long faces cannot proclaim Jesus
(Vatican Radio) The Holy Spirit is the "author" of Christian joy and to proclaim the Gospel we need to have joy in our hearts gifted us by the Spirit of God. There is a certain understanding of Christian life that is marked by sadness, but long faces cannot proclaim Jesus. Joy alone and praise of God are the only way to advance the Gospel. This was the focus of Pope Francis’ homily at morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta. Emer McCarthy reports:
Pope Francis began by commenting on the daily readings. The first reading, from the prophet Zephaniah, contains the exclamation "Rejoice! Cries of joy, the Lord is in your midst. " The second, from the Gospel, tells the story of Elizabeth and her son that "rejoices" in the womb on hearing the words of Mary. The Pope noted, "it all speaks of joy, the joy that is celebration." Yet, he continues, "we Christians are not so accustomed to speak of joy, of happiness", "I think often we prefer to complain". Instead, it is "the Holy Spirit that gives us joy":
"It’s the Spirit that guides us: He is the author of joy, the Creator of joy. And this joy in the Holy Spirit gives us true Christian freedom. Without joy, we Christians cannot become free, we become slaves to our sorrows. The great Paul VI said that you cannot advance the Gospel with sad, hopeless, discouraged Christians. You cannot. A certain mournful behavior, no? Often Christians behave as if they were going to a funeral procession rather than to praise God, no? And this joy comes from praise, Mary’s praise, this praise that Zephaniah speaks of, Simeon and Anna’s praise: this praise of God! "
And how do we praise God? We praise Him by coming out of ourselves, we praise Him "freely, like the grace that He gives us is free," said Pope Francis. This pushes us to an examination of conscience on how to pray to God, said Pope Francis, who then turned to those present with a question:
"You here at Mass, do you give praise to God or do you only petition God and thank God? Do you praise God? '. This is something new, new in our new spiritual life. Giving praise to God, coming out of ourselves to give praise; spending a little bit of time giving praise. But ‘this Mass is so long!’ If you do not praise God, you will never know the gratuity of spending time praising God, the Mass is long. But if you go with this attitude of joy, of praise to God, that is beautiful! This is what eternity will be: giving praise to God! And that will not be boring: it will be beautiful! This joy makes us free. "
The model of this praise, and this joy, is once again the Mother of Jesus "The Church – recalled Pope Francis – calls her the "cause of our joy," Cause Nostrae Letitiae. Why? Because she brings the greatest joy that is Jesus ":
"We need to pray to Our Lady, so that bringing Jesus give us the grace of joy, the joy of freedom. That it give us the grace to praise, to praise with a prayer of gratuitous praise, because He is worthy of praise, always. Pray to Our Lady and say to her what the Church says:Veni, Precelsa Domina, Maria, tu nos visita, Lady, thou who art so great, visit us and give us joy. "
--Pope Francis
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/05/31/pope_francis:_long_faces_cannot_proclaim_jesus/en1-697158
of the Vatican Radio website
(One of the sisters talks about Mother Teresa.)
Mother always told us: "God loves a cheerful giver. If you don't go to the people with a cheerful face, you only increase their darkness and their miseries and their sorrows." So Mother had the spiritual joy.... It is overwhelming for us to think how Mother could continue with a pleasant countenance and with such single-mindedness to cling to Jesus her one and only love, without her letting us ever know what what was going through.
(Come Be My Light, p 289)
(Letter of Mother Teresa to Archbishop Périer)
Your Grace,
Why is it that everybody is good to us?--I have no answer but one deep gratitude....
There is so much contradiction in my soul.--Such deep longing for God--so deep that it is painful--a suffering continual--and yet not wanted by God--repulsed--empty--no faith--no love--no zeal.--Souls hold no attraction--Heaven means nothing--to me it looks like an empty place--the thought of it means nothing to me and yet this torturing longing for God.--Pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything. For I am only His--so he has every right over me. I am perfectly happy to be nobody even to God....
Your devoted child in Jesus Christ,
M. Teresa, MC
(Blessed Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light, pp 169-170)
(Letter of Mother Teresa to a sister who was sick.)
My dearest Child,
Thanks for the lovely consoling letter of the 14th. Keep looking at the Sacred Heart.--Why worry if it be TB or not?--You are His and it is His gift to you, His spouse. Was it not Mother who taught you to say for the profession "I desire to become the Spouse of Jesus Crucified?"--It is not Jesus glorified or in the crib, but on the Cross--alone--naked--bleeding--suffering--dying on the Cross. So if you are the first one in the Society whom He chooses to be alone on the bed of the Cross, why my child, we must thank God for all--for this His special love for you, for me and the Society. You are but a child still, and life is beautiful--but the way He has chosen for you is the true way.--So smile--smile at the Hand that strikes you--kiss the Hand that is nailing you to the Cross.--I don't believe just as you that you have TB--but let them do all that they want with you.--Be like a little lamb--smile at everyone. Don't worry, I shall beg the money and will come to see you as soon as I hear more definite news from Sister.
"Let them look up and see only Jesus." I have promised our Lady 25,000 Memorares for your cure and we shall say it within these 9 days. Please thank M. Rose for her kindness to you. I am very happy with whatever God does with you all--you are all His.
Love Jesus and keep a smiling heart for Him.--All these disturbing thoughts come from the devil--ignore them all. God bless you my child.
Mother
(Blessed Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light, pp 156-157)
Cheerfulness is a sign of a generous and mortified person who forgetting all things, even herself, tries to please her God in all she does for souls. Cheerfulness is often a cloak which hides a life of sacrifice, continual union with God, fervor and generosity. A person who has this gift of cheerfulness very often reaches a great height of perfection. For God loves a cheerful giver (cf II Cor 9:7) and He take close to His heart the religious he loves.
(Blessed Mother Teresa, The Private Writings of the "Saint of Calcutta")
Before crosses used to frighten me--I used to get goose bumps at the thought of suffering--but now I embrace suffering even before it actually comes, and like this Jesus and I live in love.
Do not think that my spiritual life is strewn with roses--that is the flower which I hardly ever find on my way. Quite the contrary, I have more often as my companion "darkness." And when the night becomes very thick--and it seems to me as if I will end up in hell--then I simply offer myself to Jesus. If He wants me to go there--I am ready--but only under the condition that it really makes Him happy.
I need much grace, much of Christ's strength to persevere in trust, in that blind love which leads only to Jesus Crucified. But I am happy--yes happier than ever. And I would not wish at any price to give up my sufferings.
But do not, however, think that I am only suffering. Ah no--I am laughing more than I am suffering--so that some have concluded that I am Jesus' spoiled bride, who lives with Jesus in Nazareth--far away from Calvary. ...Pray, pray for me--I really need His love.
(Blessed Mother Teresa, The Private Writings of the "Saint of Calcutta")