JMJT! Praise be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!
On this eve before the Feast day of Our Madre, St. Teresa of Avila, there is a plethora of insights, virtues, and prayer 'how to's' that we can focus on as major contributions this great saint has given to Carmelite spirituality as well as Western mysticism. Her humility and love for Our Lord and others plumbs the depths of our imaginations and showcases how God can overcome every stumbling block the world can throw at us [i.e. the Inquisition, political infighting, possible imprisonment, brutal calumnies, etc.] when we are meek, humble, and say 'yes' to His Will in trust and surrender as she did. But as we prepare for this special day as Carmelites, I wish to focus on another core feature of our Foundress' personality which is humor and the necessity to laugh in difficult situations. I certainly think most people in the world want something to laugh about right now as we daily seem to watch the world seemingly become more and more unraveled and filled with strife and affliction.
For starters, St. Teresa prayed, "God save us from gloomy saints." She understood that people yearn for true joy in life which comes only from God and continually encouraged her nuns to be affable and attractive to others in a way that would draw them to God instead of repelling them with sourness. While reading her personal letters this formation year, I repeatedly encounter St. Teresa's sense of humor in the little murmerings and comments she makes about herself and various situations that are seemingly impossible and beyond her control.
To Padre Ambrosio Mariano who has left her in the middle of a crisis with one of her houses she is trying to acquire for her nuns in Seville she writes, "Oh God help me, how apt is your temperament to lead me into temptations. I tell you my virtue has to be great in order to write you this letter. And what is worse, I fear that something of your temperament will stick to mi padre, Licentitate Padilla- may God forgive you both- since he does not write me or even send regards...When I consider the embroilment you left me with and how unaware you are of everything, I don't know what to think except 'accursed the man, et cetera. But since evil is to be repaid with good, I wanted to write you this so that you will know that in the feast of St. James we will take possession of this house." {Vol I, Letter 106, p. 272]
In another letter to a dear family friend, Don Alvaro de Mendora, St. Teresa's self-deprecating humor further illustrates her true humility and ability to laugh at herself and see who she really is before God and others. She writes, "Now, since you have many saints there, you are beginning to recognize those who are not, and so you are forgetting me. Nonetheless, I believe that in heaven you will see that you owe the sinner more than you do them." (Vol. I, Letter 60, p. 153-154]
St. Teresa even saw laughter as an excellent weapon against the attempts of the enemy to rob us of our peace. She penned, "The devil will try to upset you by accusing you of being unworthy of the blessings that you have received. Simply remain cheerful and do your best to ignore the devil's nagging. If need be even laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Satan, the epitome of sin itself, accuses you of unworthiness! When the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future." St. Teresa would contend that once we know ourselves through quiet prayer and the whispering of the Holy Spirit, we are not surprised anymore at how weak we are or the weaknesses of those around us. Laughter is a means of disarming difficulties, the enemy, and not taking ourselves too seriously, as we are dependent children of God and can do nothing without Him anyway.
I have had a couple of very humorous incidents in the last couple of weeks that have taken me out of my serious and somber mood, and brought me to a place of refreshment and seeing God's loving care. While visiting San Francisco last week for our kids' Fall break, my teenage children and I found ourselves walking back to North Beach from Chinatown to meet my husband and head down to Silicon Valley where he frequently works. I had just been praying at Mass that morning, 'Lord, help me to stop talking and to start listening to you. Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. I am really ready to listen." As we were navigating the various cross walks, I spied a dear man who appeared to have every possession he owned either on his back or in his little cart. He was muttering to himself, and my guess was that he suffered from mental illness as so many homeless people do in our cities. We came to a 'DO Not Walk' sign and all of us were waiting at the curb for the frenzy of traffic to pass by. As we stood there, I felt this man's warm breath on the back of my neck saying, "You know with every fiber of my being, I want you to listen to me. I desire that you listen and hear what it is I am saying." WHOA! He had my attention! I had just prayed that I would be a better listener. Then he continued, "You know. You really are a very good listener. Everyone says so. They do." OK. Well, I was just shaking my head in wonder and started having another dialogue with Our Lord. I told him that this man, his beloved child living on the streets, was a far better listener than I and marveled and chuckled that He used this stranger to communicate with me at that moment!
The second story involved my 16 year old son, Rhodes, AKA 'RJ'. RJ's best friend at school is Jewish. The two of them have enjoyed learning about each other's faiths immensely. As a result of their two different Sabbaths, they often cannot see each other socially on weekends, unless a lot of pre-planning is done. RJ informed me on Friday that he was going to meet Avery at his Synagogue after we went to Mass on Saturday morning.
After returning home, RJ recounted his whole experience. He related to me that after he met Avery's entire family at temple for prayers, they had returned to his friend's home where many other members of their synagogue were gathered and enjoying fellowship and food. As soon as RJ walked in the door, a dog he had never seen before began barking and growling at him and following him around. RJ got away from the dog and helped himself to a plate of food and subsequently sat down. As soon as he sat down, this same dog found him and began to sniff all around him for a long time. This dog did so for a few seconds, paused, put his snout up in the air and then began to howl! RJ's friend Avery turned to him and said, "Not a Jew." Well, we laughed until tears were streaming down our face.
It is good to laugh. We need laughter, Yes, life is serious and we seek to follow St. Teresa on the Way of Perfection and amidst the mansions of the Interior Castle. But, we do so with joy in our hearts amidst the troubles and with an ability to laugh, even at ourselves! Whatever God gives us, be it consolations, the Cross, a particular grace to develop or perfect a virtue, or comic relief, it is all a gift. Laughter is something we need, and St. Teresa knew it.
