Prayer for Good Humor by Saint Thomas More

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
‘Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
   as on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your ancestors put me to the test,
   though they had seen my works for forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
and I said, “They always go astray in their hearts,
   and they have not known my ways.”
As in my anger I swore,
   “They will not enter my rest.” ’
Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. (Hebrews 3: 7-14)

Prayer for Good Humor, Available from the CFP Holy Angels Gift Shop

            Now that the holidays are over, what excuse do we have for all the hustle and bustle of our lives? What distractions have replaced those of holiday preparation? The author of the letter to the Hebrews seems to be writing to people who have 'tuned out,' or who hear but don't listen. It seems that when the hearing is impaired, the heart tends to grow hard towards God and others. We need to surrender to the movements of grace and open ourselves to the needs of those we encounter along the way. 

Listening demands an act of the will. We need to cut through the chaos and chatter of the world and strive to enter the solitude of our hearts. There, in that secret space, to listen for the voice that speaks in hushed silence. There with our defenses down our hearts can respond to the movements of love. Taking the words of the author of the letter to the Hebrews to heart, let us strive to be present to the One Who is Ever-present and listen to His voice. I will close with the prayer of St. Thomas More that Pope Francis alluded to in his speech to the members of the Curia 

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. 

This Prayer is available from the Confraternity of Penitents Holy Angels Gift Shop on this link.