Laughter, Humor, and Joy

One of my favorite spiritual books, "Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life" by James Martin, S.J., recounts the importance of maintaining a sense of lightheartedness in our lives as Christian disciples. We, as Christians, are not supposed to be rigid and sour-faced curmudgeons, but joy-filled witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The light of Christ reaches all corners of our lives, including our funny bones!

Here, then, are but a few quotes from various figures throughout the Church's history who have expressed the importance of not taking ourselves too seriously:
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"Smiling Jesus"

"Lord, give me the gift of chastity...but not yet!" 
- St. Augustine of Hippo (before his conversion to Christianity)

"I am more afraid of one unhappy sister than a crowd of evil spirits...what would happen if we hid what little sense of humor we had? 
Let each of us humbly use this to cheer others."      
- St. Teresa of Avila

"Christian joy is a gift from God flowing from a good conscience."
- St. Philip Neri

"Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly."

Pope St. John Paul II 

- G.K. Chesterton

"About half of them."
- Pope St. John XXIII (response when asked how many people worked at the Vatican)

"An evangelizer must never look like somebody who has just come back from a funeral!"                 - Pope Francis

"Nonsense and laughter are very important to a community. 
Lord, preserve us from being too solemn, or severe or pretentious. 
Humor is a sign of the best of our humanity. 
You don't find any laughter in prejudice, no joy in intolerance. 
Where there is a rigid and closed mind, there is no smile. 
Humor kind of blushes us with a touch of humility that we need."
- Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan