Priests who tell jokes

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quiet52

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I attended mass this morning. The celebrant began his homily with a very inappropriate joke, which I wouldn’t like at any time, let alone early in the morning (I’m not a morning person). I came to be nourished, not entertained. And he disrespects Jesus and the celebration of the mass. Any thoughts about why priests think they need people to laugh … and what we lay people can do about this? Thank you.
 
They succomb to a temptation against pure clericalism, that the Mass is somehow about them.

I highly recommend His Holiness’ book Jesus of Nazareth to help anyone, even a priest, grow in faith and love.

There are things that I’ll never understand, like our neighboring parish having their annual parish beer tent Mass.
 
God calls us to community with one another-- to communication. Perhaps this priest was attempting to engage with his congregation in a human way.
:o
Perhaps he feels he is in his parish community- a comminity of brothers and sisters in Christ and he can engage on a more personal, friendly level.

What ever the case, don’t judge him too harshly eh? 😉
 
I forgave the priest, but people were offended. The joke not only was not funny, but it was inappropriate for a community of believers, and not connected to the scriptural readings at all. I’m afraid that some parishioners are dreading the masses celebrated by this priest. I wish he would have more confidence in people’s hunger for the Word, and that they would connect to him naturally if he were.
 
A frank word is indeed in order for a joke that was inappropriate. But I do think that a distinction should be drawn between humor that is inappropriate, and humor that opens people’s hearts. I don’t think that just because one priest tells an off-color joke, it follows that humor should never be used in a homily. Some humor is hurtful, some is immature and silly, but some is edifying and softens us to see our own flaws. Some people could never be reached without humor. As with everything else God has given us, humor was intended for our salvation.
 
if you decide to approach the priest, approach him with gentleness. don’t do it in front of other people. ask him, father, do you have a spare moment to speak with me? there is something i’d like to talk to you about. then mention what your concern is, but never attack a priest. iam not saying you would, but its only a good reminder.

ask him why he made the joke, and tell him honestly that you thought the joke was not appropriate. but do it in a careful gentle manner. your response will likely be one of surprise, he probably honestly never thought it would impact people negatively.

we must pray for priests. they need our prayers too.
 
TraditionalCath said:
if you decide to approach the priest, approach him with gentleness. don’t do it in front of other people. ask him, father, do you have a spare moment to speak with me? there is something i’d like to talk to you about. then mention what your concern is, but never attack a priest. iam not saying you would, but its only a good reminder.

ask him why he made the joke, and tell him honestly that you thought the joke was not appropriate. but do it in a careful gentle manner. your response will likely be one of surprise, he probably honestly never thought it would impact people negatively.

we must pray for priests. they need our prayers too.
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I like your gentle wisdom here. Priests aren’t omniscient. I told a few jokes over the years I wish I could take back. Nothing off color but some had little to do with the Scripture. Our priest often uses humor to illustrate the point. Sometimes they are very expressive, but they are always on point and they always get our attention.

Jokes are fine as long as they point to our Lord and not to the priest alone.

CDL
 
GregoryPalamas said:
I like your gentle wisdom here. Priests aren’t omniscient. I told a few jokes over the years I wish I could take back. Nothing off color but some had little to do with the Scripture. Our priest often uses humor to illustrate the point. Sometimes they are very expressive, but they are always on point and they always get our attention.

Jokes are fine as long as they point to our Lord and not to the priest alone.

CDL
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excellent reply!👍
 
If the mass was really boring, we’d hate it and wouldn’t really want to be there. Why not have a laugh sometimes? It lgihtens things up and makes us actually want to listen.
 
Sometimes our priest will tell a funny story from his own life, or a joke that he heard that connects to the reading/homily. It’s never off-colour or offensive, it’s just a joke, that points to the homily. Then because his homilies tend to be long-winded, (But they’re great) we tend to listen more because of the joke! 🙂
 
blacktiger057 said:
If the mass was really boring, we’d hate it and wouldn’t really want to be there. Why not have a laugh sometimes? It lgihtens things up and makes us actually want to listen.
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How could Mass be really boring? The homily maybe.

Who would hate to go to Mass? Because it is boring? Maybe someone that is completely clueless of what the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is about would think that, but again he/her would not be a Catholic. Mass is not about fun, it is about grace flowing toward us.

Having a laugh could be fine. I would look at Bishop Sheen comments on laughing and sense of humor. He had an interesting sense of humor and he used it often.
 
We have had our share of joker priests at my parish. I have learned to put up with it without getting upset, but when our priest made a big haha joke at Ash Wednesday Mass, which should be a very solemn event, I was a bit annoyed.
 
krazykatlady said:
We have had our share of joker priests at my parish. I have learned to put up with it without getting upset, but when our priest made a big haha joke at Ash Wednesday Mass, which should be a very solemn event, I was a bit annoyed.
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Yeah, that would annoy me too.
 
We have an associate pastor from India. He is very shy. He’s known to tell a joke before his homily as well (nothing inappropriate though). I think this helps loosen him up when he engages the congregation this way.
 
If you have a well-footnoted version of the Gospels, you will see that Jesus peppered his sermons with puns and clever turns of phrases. (From fishermen to fishers-of-men is one of the few that makes it through translation intact.) Humor, when used well, is an extraordinarily valuable tool in teaching, in that it helps people remember the lesson. Humor is disarming, so it helps people to be more open to teachings which may be hard to follow. And humor is quintessentially human and social – it’s often impossible to explain why we all find something funny, and a simple joy simply to share it. Psychologists claim that humor (especially the gentle self-deprecating kind) is a key indicator of psychological health.

An inappropriate joke shouldn’t be there because it in inappropriate, not because it’s a joke.
 
quiet52 said:
I attended mass this morning. The celebrant began his homily with a very inappropriate joke, which I wouldn’t like at any time, let alone early in the morning (I’m not a morning person). I came to be nourished, not entertained. And he disrespects Jesus and the celebration of the mass. Any thoughts about why priests think they need people to laugh … and what we lay people can do about this? Thank you.
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What was the joke?
 
We have a wonderful Irish priest who tells a good story with humor and the anecdote at the end always has a thread of it tied to the scripture and gospel of the day. Actually a very clever way of bringing the power of the word to life. They are never inappropriate and used to supplement the liturgy. He doesn’t do it on those solemn days when it would not be appropriate.

If your priest doesn’t use them to enhance the liturgy, perhaps a private conversation as mentioned earlier wouldn’t hurt. Good luck.
 
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