Laughter and Lent and Links

Fr. Dwight Longenecker writes:

We are not mocking the spiritual battle but, rather, the pride and vanity of one who thinks himself the highest while he is really the lowest.

Of course we must take sin seriously. The reality of the devil must be admitted, and, especially during Lent, we must enter the spiritual battle wearing our full armor. All I am suggesting is that part of that armor should be the swift arrows of good humor and humility.

Laughing at Lucifer is a good way to do just that.

Laughing at Lucifer in Lent means that we are happy warriors. We are launching out on the spiritual battle with a spring in our step and a smile on our face. The Gospel says when we fast we should wash our face and put on a smile, and the spiritual writers speak of keeping a “joyful Lent.” We’re not going about as gloomy defeatists.

This requires a clear understanding of our own faults and the reality of temptation.

Read the whole thing. And then go check out Marcel’s terrific FAQ’s on Lent for 2010

Random links for Sunday reading:
Intellectuals and Society
After America where is there to go?
Goldberg: An infomercial in disguise
Pelosi has a trick
Oddness: Well, it is a little strange
Frankincense: A cure for Cancer?
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