Did we forget to laugh?

Did you ever get so serious about life and living that you forget to laugh? I know it's Lent and we need to be serious and prayerful during this penetential time. However, our good Lord wants us to have deep joy of heart. He wants us to experience it fully in our lives. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta used to say, "Joy is a net to catch souls." So, just how many souls do you think we're going to "catch" with our seriousness or grumpiness? Even throughout our earthly trials we are called to joy. We can have joy when we pray to Jesus asking that He unite our small sufferings to His. We are called to share our joy with others in our smiles, in our extending our hand to someone, in our care to our family members, our associations in the workplace, in our help to the needy, the lonely, the poor, the forgotten. Love and joy can convert hearts! Is there someone we are forgetting to show love and joy to?

Jesus Himself

Mother Teresa said, "It is very possible that you will find human beings, surely very near you, needing affection and love. Do not deny them these. Show them, above all, that you sincerely recognize that they are human beings, that they are important to you. Who is that someone? That person is Jesus Himself: Jesus who is hidden under the guise of suffering."