From the Friars: Rejoice Jerusalem!
In Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a badly deformed newborn child is abandoned at the doorstep of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Frollo, the Archdeacon of the church, names the little boy Quasimodo because the day he was found was the Second Sunday of Easter. This day was known as Quasimodo Sunday because these were the first words of the Introit, or Entrance Antiphon, for the Mass of that day. The Latin phrase is “quasi modo geniti infantes” from 1Pet 2: 2: “Like newborn babes, long for pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation.”
The towers of the west facade of Notre Dame, by Peter Haas, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Today, the Forth Sunday of Lent, is called Laetare Sunday also because the first words of the introit are “Laetare, Jerusalem…” in Latin or “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful… and be satisfied at her consoling breasts.” (Is 66: 10-11) The focus of this Mass is the joy of Hope in the coming redemption won by Our Lord that we celebrate in Holy Week. Quasimodo Sunday is an exhortation to the newly baptized to grow and mature in the Divine Life that has been given them. Both introits use the imagery of a mother nursing her newborn baby.
When I lived in Nicaragua a woman invited me to her house to talk about the Bible. I went and she and her sister were there with their babies. As I started our discussion, they both began to openly nurse their children. It seemed clear to me that they were trying to shock the gringo priest. Discerning my options, I chose to continue as if I didn’t notice. But this memory came back to me as I reflected on these earthy Biblical images. They remind us of fundamental truths of our spiritual life.
God is a Father but He is like a mother. He gives and nourishes life, physical and spiritual, through the maternal mediation of a woman. Holy Mother Church is the new Jerusalem and we are nourished with the milk of the Sacraments and True Teaching. And Our Blessed Mother calls us all to a child-like trust in her. Like Quasimodo we have our imperfections, but we find a refuge in Notre Dame.
Rejoice Jerusalem!
–Fr. Peter
