KNOWN BY MANY NAMES

       The twentieth century comedian and movie actor W. C. Fields had a great fear of losing all of his money in a bank failure. Fields also loved making up names, to which anyone familiar with his movies can attest. Who can forget characters named Egbert Soucé, Harold Bissonette, Larson Whipsnade, Cuthbert Twillie or Ambrose Wolfinger? Then there were the pen names he used for his scripts like Charles Bogle and Mahatma Kane Jeeves. Prior to Social Security Numbers, it was possible to open a bank account with just a signature. So he opened accounts in different banks under different names. At the time of his death in 1946, his executors were able to identify 48 different bank accounts, but many believe there were dozens more that could not be traced.

       This Second Sunday of Easter cannot match W. C. Fields in its number of aliases, but it may come close. One of its most common names is “Low Sunday.” It is not hard to figure out how it picked up this name. After all the effort put into the liturgical celebrations of Holy Week and Easter, it is natural to expect a “letdown” the next weekend. Choirs would take the weekend off; and if the weather was hot, Father might give the congregation a break and omit the sermon. And even if there is no deliberate attempt to slack off a bit, it is simply not possible to compete with the central events of Easter weekend. There is no way to replicate the feeling in church Saturday night when we baptized and confirmed eighteen people, the line stretched from one end of the sanctuary to the other.

       Another name for this Sunday is White Sunday. Easter Week used to be known as White Week because of the white robes worn during that week by those who had been baptized at the Easter Vigil. The newly baptized would then wear their robes to Mass on this Second Sunday of Easter. Perhaps the most intriguing name for this Sunday is Quasimodo Sunday. People familiar with Victor Hugo’s novel will recognize Quasimodo as the name of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Quasimodo got his name because as an infant he was found on Quasimodo Sunday. And where does the church get the name Quasimodo? From the first two Latin words of the entrance antiphon for this Sunday: Quasi modo geniti infantes (like newborn babies).

       These are all ancient titles for this Second Sunday of Easter or Sunday Within the Octave of Easter (still another title). On April 30, 2000, though, Pope John Paul II designated this Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. This designation flows from a private revelation received by St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) who said that Jesus had made this request of the church. Saint John Paul II was a great devotee of St. Faustina. Since this is a private revelation, Catholics are not compelled to accept it, but the notion of divine mercy does fit well with the Gospel read on this Sunday. The Risen Lord appears to the Apostles and offers them peace and forgiveness. Like many churches, Assumption will have a Divine Mercy Prayer Service this Sunday afternoon.

       Then there is a whole other category of names for this Sunday, associated with a particular country or region. Let me mention just one—the most outlandish one. In Campania in Italy, this Second Sunday of Easter is the Feast of Our Lady of the Hens. According to popular tradition, back in the seventeenth century there was an image of Our Lady of Mt Carmel painted on a wooden panel and hanging in an old church in a mountain village. The church and painting were in poor repair and one night Mary appeared to the Sacristan, informing him that he should tell the pastor to repair the crumbling church or she would leave and go to a place where “even the hens loved her.” The pastor was very dismissive of the sacristan’s apparition. A few days later, there was a violent storm and the painting was carried down the mountain to a town called Pagani. On this Second Sunday of Easter, some hens were found scratching on a wooden panel, which turned out to be the painting of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The painting was reproduced on canvas and hung in the village church, where a number of miracles were soon reported. Today you can visit the Shrine of Our Lady of the Hens in Pagani, and if you are there on the Second Sunday of Easter, you can participate in a Eucharistic procession.

      Fr. David Brown, who used to live at Assumption, liked to say that the Catholic Church has the world’s largest attic. Sometimes it’s nice just to take a leisurely stroll through our attic.

                                                                                   Fr. Joe