SMILING SAINTS
Saint Euphrasia Eluvathingal (1877-1952)
was a pious nun of a Carmelite Convent in Kerala, India. She was canonized by
Pope Francis on 23 November, 2014.
Once,
St. Euphrasia had an appointment with a Dental Doctor. She told the Doctor that
she had severe tooth-pain and requested him to extract all her teeth. The
Doctor remarked that all the teeth could not be extracted together. He said he
would examine her teeth carefully and extract them one by one, if necessary. He
asked her to open her mouth wide. As she opened her mouth, the Doctor burst
into laughter as there was only a single tooth remaining in her mouth. The rest
of her teeth had been removed earlier. She joined him in the laughter.
St. Thomas More, the Lord Chancellor of
England, was sentenced to be beheaded in 1535 for supporting the Pope’s order
against the King’s decision to remarry while his wife was still alive. As St.
Thomas More was about to mount the scaffold to attain martyrdom, he said to the
executioner humorously, “I pray you, Mr. Lieutenant, see me safe up and for my
coming down, I can shift for myself.” He positioned his beard so that it wouldn’t
be harmed while he was beheaded. He said with a smile, “My short neck may
impede the blade. My beard has not offended the king. Don’t cut it.”
Archbishop Angelo Roncalli (later,
Pope Saint John XXIII, 1881 - 1963), was appointed as apostolic nuncio to
France. In the course of the meal during a banquet, he offered an apple to his
neighbour, a woman in a dramatically low-cut gown. “Do take it, Madame, please
do,” he urged in his typically genial way. “It was only after Eve ate the apple
that she became aware of how little she had on.”
Another time, he greeted an ascetic-looking
visitor with a sigh and the comment: “We will both have to say a prayer to God,
beseeching him to remove half my excess fat to give it to you!”
“How many people work at the
Vatican?” a reporter asked Pope St. John XXIII. “Oh, no more than half of
them,” the Pope replied with a wink.
On another occasion, a Curia official told
Pope St. John XXIII that it would be “absolutely impossible” to open the Second
Vatican Council by 1963. “Fine, we’ll open it in 1962,” Pope John answered. And
they did.
Then there was the time
Pope St. John XXIII visited the Hospital of the Holy Spirit. All in a flutter,
the religious sister in charge introduced herself, “Most Holy Father, I am the
superior of the Holy Spirit!” To which Pope John replied, “Well, I must say
you’re lucky. I’m only the Vicar of Christ!”
Pope St.
John XXIII struck the same humorous note on Christmas Day in 1959, when he
visited Rome’s Regina Coeli prison. He told the inmates that he came as their
brother—and confided that one of his relatives had served a sentence for
poaching. Pope John radiated so much goodness and sincerity that there was not
a dry eye in the place by the time he finished speaking.
On another occasion,
though, one prisoner refused to see him. Learning that the man had murdered his
wife, Pope John persuaded the guard to let him inside the inmate’s cell. Then
he opened with these words: “You know, I’ve never been married. But if I had
married, I might have killed my wife, too.”
Pope
Saint John Paul II the Great (1920 – 2005) also showed a talent for humorous
remarks. To keep fit amid the demands and stresses of the papacy, he had a
small swimming pool put in at the papal summer residence. When some people
questioned the expense, he answered, “A conclave would cost a lot more.” The
humorous remark was about the need for another conclave to elect a new Pope if
he happens to die by ill health and lack of exercise!
An American Bishop, recalling Pope St. John
Paul’s amazing memory for names and faces, told of returning to Rome after
having put on weight since his previous visit. “Is your diocese growing?” the pope
inquired. The obese Bishop assured him that it was indeed expanding. “So is the
Bishop,” said Pope John Paul with a twinkle in his eye.
St.
Teresa of Avila (1515 - 1582) was distinguished by a playful wit and a keen
sense of humour. St. Teresa once prayed, “From silly devotions, and from
sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us”!
There is a common misconception that saints
are generally rough and tough and would never laugh or enjoy a joke. Saints are
innocent like infants and they can enjoy harmless humour like children. Several
saints have loved to play and laugh and make others laugh with their witty
remarks and sense of humour, but they were careful not to commit a sin.”
The Holy Bible teaches, “Being cheerful keeps
you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time” {Proverbs 17: 22}.
St. Paul says, “May you always be joyful in
your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!” {Philippians 4: 4}.
……………………………………………………………………………
©
By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Former Professor, Cochin University
of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala,
India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St.
Dominic's College, Kanjirappally, Leo. S. John and Neil
John, Alfeen Public School, Kanjirappally, Kerala, India.
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