Easter is such a big day in the life of the Church that we celebrate an entire 8 days as if it were Easter morning -- we call this the Octave of Easter. This past Sunday, we closed out that Octave with the Second Sunday of Easter, a day in the life of the Church has a bunch of different names. It has been called the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, The Sunday in White Robes ("Whitsunday" in Old English), or my favorite, Quasimodo Sunday.
(c) Disney Studios, 1996
Most people hear Quasimodo and think of a certain Hunchback who lived in a certain Cathedral in Paris ... and rightly so! If we were celebrating Mass in Latin this past Sunday, the first words you would hear would be Quasi modo geniti infantes, rationabile, sine dolo lac consupiscite ("Like newborn infants, you must long for pure, spiritual milk" - 1 Peter 2:2). The Hunchback of Notre Dame was dropped off on the church doorstep as a baby on this day in the church year, and so he was named for the Mass of the day -- Quasimodo Sunday!
No matter what you choose to call it, I hope that this beautiful feast day and the great joy and hope that the Resurrection offers us may be a source of peace and gladness for you and those you love!
