Ecclesiastes 3:4

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to mourn - namely, for the dead ().

Dance - as David before the ark (; ; spiritually, ; ; ). The Pharisees, by requiring sadness out of time, erred seriously. The Church's temporary sorrow shall be ultimately turned into joy (). Meanwhile, let us not force ourselves to laughter unseasonably, forestalling God's time, like the world, that gilds over its misery, and then falls a victim to despair ().