In another article that talked about his sense of humor, he mentioned the Prayer for Good Humor that has been attributed to St. Thomas More. He said that he prays it every day. I'm including it here. One thing I do know, and that is that a good laugh is the cure for a lot of aches, pains, and grumbles. When we pray for grace, perhaps we should pray for the gift of being able to laugh at ourselves and others via jokes and amusing anecdotes. I do not defend mocking others or making cruel fun of others as humor, just so that is clear; that is bullying behavior. The Pope talks about irony, which is my preferred form for humor. Irony, whether self-irony or irony directed at others, implies seeing the contradictions in different situations and being able to point them out in a humorous, sometimes sarcastic way. An ironical situation is one that is wryly amusing. We should be able to laugh at ourselves first, to see the comedy in what we do. That encourages others to do the same.
Prayer for Good Humor
by St. Thomas More
Grant me, O Lord, good digestion, and also something to digest.
Grant me a healthy body, and the necessary good humor 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.
