January 27, 2012

“At times, he simply cannot stop laughing – like a well filled bladder that is pricked and squeezed.” St. Bernard is describing a monk he observed over nine hundred years ago. Every so often, this monk shows up again. Actually, this brother belongs to all monasteries of all times, and appears in all monks at one time or another, including me. Compulsive laughter – what does it mean? To laugh and be unable to stop – this is something hard to explain, even to ourselves. Why, when we laugh this way, do we sometimes begin to cry. Such laughter is a little crisis. Bernard watching the brother is aware that he is in a sort of agony, and is concerned about him: “The air, not finding a free vent whistles out through the little hole with squeak after squeak. His silliness gathers pressure inside until it bursts out in giggles. In embarrassment he buries his face in his hands, tightens his lips, clenches his teeth. It is no use! The laughter must explode and if his hand holds it in his mouth, it bursts out through his nose.” We often call this “suppressed laughter”. Something is getting suppressed, that's clear enough. Is a saint overcome with fits of laughter like this? Does the devil experience this sort of thing? What is a man doing when he laughs like this? Is it a “release”? Then – why can't he stop? I remember, years ago, watching Johnny Carson do his opening routine on the Tonight Show. I noticed, after a few minutes, the audiences' laughter was erupting at very regular intervals; in waves following a pattern like the sound of the surf. Does this mean people are happy? St. Bernard, watching his brother, seems concerned he may not be happy. He is also confident and hopeful. Christ's sacrifice secured for us freedom from sin and death, but even from little sorts of slavery like this one.