Fr Jim Cogley
My first encounter with the healing power of laughter and humour came while I was still a seminary student in Maynooth. I was forced to take time out from college and return home because of a kidney stone that would give rise to recurring and excruciating pain. Various medications made no difference and an operation was on the cards. One day, while yet again confined to bed, an old man who had a way with words, came to visit and began telling funny stories. For over two hours I forget about the discomfort and rocked in the bed with laughter as he recalled so many humerous yarns from his years at sea. Just as he was leaving, I felt a sharp jab of pain, and within minutes, and even worse pain, the stone was passed. Two hours of hilarious laughter had succeeded where the best of modern medicine had failed.
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