Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, October 12, 2000
The Southern Cross, Page 5
Appreciating the humor in daily annoyances
B y now we’ve heard all the
reports: Laughter is
healthy. People who laugh
a lot relieve stress and
build up their immune
systems. In contrast, those
who take life too serious
ly, especially those who
become irritated over small
annoyances, are more
likely to become ill. For
parents of young children, these
reports contain both good and bad
news.
They contain good news because
children provide lots of opportuni
ties for humor. Babies are often very
funny; just looking at one can make
us chuckle. Small children catch us
off guard by inadvertently saying
and doing funny things. And all
children are great at finding humor
in everything from a milk mustache
to Mickey Mouse.
But these reports contain bad
news for parents as well because
children are also excellent at creat
ing those stress-inducing irritants
which try even the most patient
adults. How many parents find
humor in puddles on the bathroom
floor, dirty socks on the kitchen
table, and Bristle Blocks under foot?
What happens to our stress levels,
and our immune systems,
every time our kids forget
to close the refrigerator
door?
So while there’s plen
ty to laugh about with
kids in the house, the
challenge is overlooking
the irritations long enough
to find the humor. Indeed,
household humor is best
appreciated when we separate our
selves from the stress of the situa
tion. The late columnist Erma Bom-
beck was a genius in pinpointing
those universally funny moments in
family life. Her appreciation for the
absurdity in ordinary life offered a
refreshing perspective.
It takes that refreshing perspective
to make almost anything funny.
Watching your child’s toothbrush
slip deep into the bathroom sink
drain doesn’t seem remotely funny
as it’s happening. But the humor in
that mishap, like the toothbrush
itself, can always be extracted.
Indeed, quirky mishaps often
make the most remarkable family
stories. Some of the strangest things
can happen in a house full of chil
dren. For example, my boys used to
enjoy hammering nails into scraps
of wood near the garage. One time,
finished with the hammer, they
placed it on the back bumper of my
car and went off to play elsewhere.
Later that day, running an errand, I
drove off, unaware a foreign object
was on my bumper. Imagine my
surprise when at a stoplight, a dozen
miles down the road, someone in
the car next to me honked then
yelled, “There’s a hammer on your
bumper!” It hadn’t budged from
where the boys placed it. Had the
hammer fallen and damaged some
thing, the humor probably would
have been lost. Yet even mishaps
involving damage can, over time,
seem funny.
Comedian Jeff Foxworthy speaks
to every parent’s experience when,
in referring to his family’s posses
sions, he says, “If it ain’t broke, it
ain’t ours.” And while broken
household items are not in them
selves funny, parents are sometimes
forced into laughter at the absurdity
of what can “accidentally” happen
to possessions once children are in
the home. It took at least a year
before I could laugh about the time
Katie, then 4, belly-slid across a
brand new coffee table and gashed
the cherry finish with the zipper of
her shorts. The head print denting
the drywall that resulted the night
Jimmy jumped into bed became
amusing only weeks after it materi
alized. Indeed, as upsetting as they
seem at the time, if they’re not mali
cious and no one is hurt, such “acci
dents” eventually become family
stories to laugh about when recol
lected later on.
Yes, we parents benefit most from
the inevitable mishaps of family life
when we learn not to take ourselves
and our stuff too seriously. That les
son is hard to retain, and we’re
forced to learn it again and again.
(Yet our children make sure we
keep at it.) I was the recipient of
such a lesson years ago, when as I
finished a column I’d been working
on for hours, Anna, then 2, who’d
been playing quietly at my feet,
reached for the switch on my com
puter’s surge protector. Before I
could react, Anna pressed the
switch, shutting off the power. My
column vanished from the screen,
lost forever. At the time, I didn’t
appreciate the humor of the situa
tion. But I’m beginning to.
Mary Hood Hart lives with her
husband and four children in
Sunset Beach, N.C.
Mary Hood Hart
Lay ministry observance prompts reflections
Editor's Note:On November 26 the church will
celebrate a Jubilee Day for Lay Ministers. Our
diocese in many ways depends on the service of
dedicated lay ministers who are both paid staff
members and volunteers. In a series of articles
Cathy Gilligan, director of the Diocesan
Tribunal will explain the scope of lay ministry
and introduce you to a few of the lay ministers
in the Savannah diocese.
his week we will look at some general
questions related to lay ministry. If readers
would like to ask questions about this area of
church service please send your questions to
the editor at 601 E. Liberty St., Savannah, GA
31401 (e-mail: DClark5735@aol.com).
1. What is lay ministry? Ministry is the way
in which the Church continues what Christ
began and still intends, namely, the salvation of
humanity and the transformation of the world.
All baptized and confirmed Christians receive a
call and gifts enabling them to participate in
this mission. When lay people carry out
Christ’s work as priest, prophet, and king in
their own proper way through public activity
authorized by the Church, we call this lay min
istry.
In recent years, a growing number of lay per
sons have prepared for and been appointed to
positions of service and leadership in the
church. Some of the recent documents of the U.
S. Catholic bishops refer to such ministers, who
often work full-time for the church, as lay
ecclesial ministers.
2. Are deacons considered lay ministers?
No, deacons have received the Sacrament of
Holy Orders, so they are ordained ministers of
the church.
3. Are religious brothers and sisters consid
ered lay ministers? Yes, because they do not
receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders, religious
brothers and sisters are considered lay minis
ters. Some studies of lay ministers and of per
sons preparing for lay ministry create a separate
category for religious brothers and sisters. In
1992, such religious constituted 41% of parish
lay ministers; in 1997, they were 29%.
4. Will lay ministry make up for the priest
shortage? Lay ministers can help meet the
needs of the parish and the church, but there
will always be a need for priests. As lay minis
ters collaborate more and more with priests,
priests are freed to do what only they can.
Shortage is a relative term. The United States
has a much better ratio of priests to Catholics
than many other countries. In a recent docu
ment written to the Church in America, Pope
John Paul II urged pastors to encourage lay
leaders in the community. That, said the Pope,
“will lead to a better distribution of tasks
enabling priests ‘to dedicate themselves to the
encounter with and the proclamation of Jesus
Christ, and thus to represent better within the
community the presence of Jesus who draws
his people together.’”
5. What can lay ministers do in relation to
the Mass?
Lay ministers have long been assisting in the
celebration of the Liturgy. They have been
acolytes (altar servers), musicians and choir
members for centuries. Since Vatican II, lay
ministers have participated by reading the
Scripture, reading the general petitions, and
serving as extraordinary ministers of commun
ion. Only an ordained priest or bishop can pre
side at the Eucharist. In the absence of a priest,
a lay minister may lead a Communion service;
but that is not Mass.
6. What can lay ministers do in relation to
the sacraments? Baptism is ordinarily admin
istered by an ordained minister but in a case of
necessity any person can baptize. Confirmation
is normally administered by a bishop or a spe
cially delegated priest. Presiding at the
Eucharist, Reconciliation, and Anointing of the
Sick is limited to those ordained as a priest. In
the Sacrament of Marriage the couple adminis
ter the sacrament to each other; the official wit
ness is normally an ordained person but church
law provides for lay ministers serving as the
official witness when diocesan circumstances
are determined to warrant a special provisions
by the Vatican (this is generally found in mis
sion countries with few priests for many
Catholics). Conferring Holy Orders is limited
to those ordained as bishops. Lay ministers play
a very important role in preparing those who
are to receive the sacraments.
(Continued on page ! I)