Miracles of Mary Stories and Humor
By Wendy Laura Belcher
January 31, 2024
Some Miracle of Mary stories are intentionally funny, as is typical of any folklore tradition.
Humor is in the eye of the beholder, so it is not easy to determine which stories were intended to be funny and which ones only appear funny to us today. Let us know what stories you think may have been intentionally funny. It's useful to consult some of the research on humor in folklore and biblical stories.
Satan
Some examples of humorous stories might be ones about Satan. Sometimes he is powerful, but sometime he is mocked and brought low. The first one below is about an innocent man who unwittingly keeps thwarting a cunning Satan. The next is about Satan having to serve humanity for twelve years. The third one is about Satan and it seems funny at first, but then the story takes a serious turn.
Satan came to some monks and entrusted a child to them; the monks ate the child
Other
A more difficult case is the following: a pair of stories that often appear together in manuscripts, depicting a jealous man or woman burning down their spouse's home. Why were these stories written down?
A man who out of jealousy burned down the house of a former wife who had abandoned him.
A man who suspected a former wife of having burned down his house.
Some stories might have been considered funny because they depict a common human mistake, such as a deacon accidentally catching the church curtains on fire with his candle.
An incense box doesn't burn and a church fire goes out
In two other stories, powerful men laugh because someone has told them something impossible will happen. But, God has the last laugh, because the impossible thing comes true.
Homily on the Virgin Mary and the Biblical Patriarchs: Part 3: The Virgin Mary and the biblical patriarch Abraham (print only)
Some stories address embarrassing situations (diegetic humor).
