Saturday 18 April 2009

What day is it?

The Octave day of Easter is a Sunday with identity issues. In the old calendar it was marked as the first Sunday after Easter or "Low Sunday". I think that in Latin it was "Dominica in Albis". It appears also to have been known at times as "Quasimodo" Sunday, from the first word of the Introit, and after which the hunchback of Notre Dame was named. The revised calendar, however, sorted it out good and proper in 1970, calling it the Second Sunday of Easter. At least we thought it had until Pope John Paul II named it as "Divine Mercy Sunday". In the Spirit of Summorum Pontificum I should like to propose that we call it by whichever of the above names takes our fancy.
This suggestion does, it must be said, raise two questions. Firstly, what is the Spirit of Summorum Pontificum? and, secondly, which do I, as the proposer, favour?

The first question may be dealt with as follows: Why, it is just like the Spirit of Vatican II. It is whatever the person using the term wishes it to be! To the second question I have to admit that I am inclined to favour "Quasimodo"- not least because it goes with Gaudete and Laetare Sundays and Requiem Mass but also because it raises a smile!

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