Now, raise your hand if you've noticed people tend to think Catholics are all about rules and "can'ts" and the saints were a group of very, very sad looking people. Riiiiight, yep, everyone.
I've been thinking a lot about why this is, especially in light of Pope Francis' recent call to "be annoying." Maybe there are just too many people with repressed memories of 1960s Catholic gradeschools staffed by strict nuns. Maybe it's because we don't do the same things other people do - we don't have sex before marriage, even though everybody keeps telling us it's reeeeally reeeeally fun. Depending on the day, we might not share that bacon cheeseburger with you, even though we know from experience that they're reeeeally reeeeeally good.
Does that mean Catholics are anti-fun? Does that mean being a saint requires locking yourself in a nice, quiet monastery where you are safe from the temptation to laugh?
Not at all.
In fact, St. Teresa of Avila, one of the who's-who of the communion of saints, prayed "God save us from sour-faced saints" from her cell in a convent. She knew what it meant to laugh (seriously, if you are looking for a good role model, check her out).
And, those of you who know me in person know that if there is one thing I cannot refuse...it's an awful, so-stupid-you-have-to-laugh joke.
So, let's take another example from the Big Book of Awesome Saints (Oh wait, it's exactly the same as the Big Book of Saints 'cause they're all awesome) to see how yes, Catholic and happy aren't mutually exclusive.
