Laughs leaven heavy homilies, priests find

"People are at their most receptive when they're laughing. If you want to make a point, that's the best time to make it," he said. "In preaching, we need to take account of that and set the stage as much as we can, and I think humor does that very well."

Father Molyn and other humorous priests in the Albany Diocese recently shared their tips for getting laughter from the lectern with The Evangelist.

Attention-getter

Rev. Peter Sullivan III, weekend assistant at Holy Cross Church in Albany, said humor is a good way "to check to see if people are awake. Now, they're used to it, they're waiting for it, so they're attentive to what I'm saying."

Even St. Thomas Aquinas realized the importance of humor and how it separates humans from all other animals, Father Sullivan noted. The priest gets his own sense of humor from his father, whom he affectionately described as "the Roman Catholic, Irish Archie Bunker of Boston."

Blarney

Father Sullivan easily pokes fun at himself by pointing out his own considerable weight when talking about the need to fast during Lent. Some of the funniest moments, however, involve children, and their humor makes everybody feel at ease.

"You have the congregation in the palm of your hand when you make children laugh," he said.

Kids and fun

At another children's liturgy, a boy interrupted the proceedings by pointing to the tabernacle and announcing to the congregation, "Jesus lives in there."

Such situations make it easy for Father Sullivan to get laughs and teach his congregation at the same time. "You build on the humor and faith of the child, and the lesson isn't lost on older people," he said.

True-life stories

"I don't tell jokes. I tell life stories," he said. "I think there's always humor in what happens. It's important on a human level for people to identify. Theology can distance people."

He talks about funny people, such as his Uncle Luigi, a good-hearted man who always was running late, had clutter in his house, wore spaghetti sauce on his tie and enjoyed anisette in his coffee. There also are funny moments, such as pounding his steering wheel when in traffic, accidentally hitting the horn, causing the person in front of him to look and wave because it's someone he knows.

"I want parishioner to laugh. I don't want them to take it so seriously," he said.

Bible humor

Jesus walking on the water provides some humor when Peter asked Jesus to order him to come out on the water to him. Peter's bravery escaped him, and he cried out to Jesus to save him when he sank. Jesus grabbed him but said, "What little faith you have! Why did you doubt?"

Somehow, there seems to be humorous behavior almost every Sunday at Mass, whether it's a child bringing up a canned good for a collection and "sinking it from half-court," or Father Gelfenbien forgetting to look in a mirror and see that his vestments are stuck in back.

Lots of laughs

"It's usually not the humor you would take as a joke, but a real-life situation that you experienced. In the priesthood, there's a lot of things that make you laugh," he said. "I try to keep it from my own personal perspective on life. There's enough around you that you can find. You don't have to look for jokes."

The priesthood is filled with laughable moments, and Father Jillisky uses such instances to his advantage. "Priests are capable of creating their own humor. They're considered by others to be a little different," he said.

Taking care

He gets a pretty good idea of his parishioners' opinion of his humor and has learned what they appreciate and what isn't so funny. "Usually, if it hits their own funny bone, they'll tell you on the way out. If they don't react, you'd better cease and look for something different," he said.

Smoothing the edge

Humor can take the sting out of a serious point Father Molyn is trying to make and shield people who might have drawn attention to themselves unwittingly.

"I learned a long time ago that you can cover a lot of awkward moments with humor, particularly if someone is doing something like falling in the sanctuary," he said. "Humor smoothes it over."

Tips on comedy

"Humor is best used around common situations that everybody's been in. If humor is too self-consciously cute, it doesn't work; if you're poking fun at experiences everybody's had, it works," he said.

Father Molyn tries to keep his homilies succinct, and "humor is one of the most effective methods of doing that," he said. He writes everything down to prevent himself from rambling, and he holds onto extra material that he might not use right away because "after you've been preaching for a couple of years, you save everything."

Making fun

"I guess I would describe it as self-deprecation, usually making fun of myself to get a point across," he said. "I use jokes, as well."

In a homily toward the end of Lent, for example, Father Diacetis said he was grateful that the six weeks were coming to an end because he was feeling guilty for not giving up anything.

He also finds humor in Scriptures, such as Peter's decision to leave his job as a fisherman behind and follow Jesus. There's no account in any of the four Gospels that Peter ever caught a fish, Father Diacetis said, and maybe Peter decided to become an apostle because he figured, "it's better than fishing."

Gift of humor

"I was encouraged in the seminary to use humor. People often give me jokes to say, but I'm not much of a joke teller, and I don't remember jokes," he said.

Father Fleming looks for "a humorous spin on the readings" and finds humor is a good way to bring himself down from the lofty ideas he occasionally expresses in homilies. "Sometimes, I find myself getting too pious or out of touch. I find humor balances it out," he said. "And it's a good way of getting attention. You know they're connected with you and they're following."

George's month

Such self-deprecation endears Father Fleming to his parishioners. "It's never at anybody's expense -- maybe a little bit at mine," he said.

Jesus' humor

Sometimes, parishioners worry when Father Diacetis doesn't give a humorous homily. "I'm very serious and solemn, and people ask afterward, 'Is anything wrong? Are you okay?' They expect humor," he said.

The homily isn't the only time when he intersperses humor. An announcement about an estate planning session so people would know how to give money to Our Lady of Grace Church in their wills prompted Father Diacetis to quip: "Spell my name correctly."

(04-01-99) [[In-content Ad]]