{"id":64039,"date":"2021-04-01T11:30:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T15:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/?p=64039"},"modified":"2021-04-05T11:43:51","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T15:43:51","slug":"seeking-wisdom-on-april-fools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/seeking-wisdom-on-april-fools","title":{"rendered":"Seeking wisdom on April Fools"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last updated on April 5th, 2021 at 11:43 am<\/p>\n

The origin and history of April Fools’ Day is, appropriately enough, a rather debatable and elusive subject of inquiry. Theories about it range from its explanation having to do with the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar; to its being linked to the ancient Hellenic feast of Hilaria held around the vernal equinox; to it having arisen simply from climate cycles\u2014the idea being that this time of year, the weather makes fools of us, as maybe we begin planting our gardens only to be shocked by a sudden unexpected frost. (I can sympathize with this latter theory. Having had a pleasant evening last night out on my porch in just a tee shirt, I see that the forecast tonight shows the temperature is expected to dip below freezing.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the origins of this annual celebration, I think we can be more definite when remarking upon its current and continual cultural appeal. And this year, in particular\u2014with April Fools’ Day coinciding with the celebration of Maundy Thursday in the Western Church\u2014provides an opportunity for even deeper reflection on the phenomenon, inviting us to look at its spiritual aspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, this isn’t an April Fools’ joke: I really do mean to suggest that this secular celebration relates to religious sensibilities in certain striking and profound ways. I understand if you have your doubts, but I\u2019d ask that you bear with me\u2014or, shall we say, at least to suffer this fool gladly, keeping an open mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No small amount of ink has been spilled on the perennial appeal of the Fool in culture, from the paradoxically perceptive Puckish fools in the plays of Shakespeare to the living witness of the Holy Fool for Christ, of which St. Francis of Assisi is the paradigmatic example (at least in the Western tradition). Besides the role of the archetypal Fool character, though, there is also a significant strain to be observed throughout history having to do with the characteristic of foolishness itself. For instance, there is the name \u201cFolly\u201d that is given to architectural adornments on a landscape that serve no practical purpose but function as mere extravagances and decoration. There are also the various Medieval traditions having to do with foolishness, like the \u201cFeast of Fools<\/a>,\u201d the \u201cFeast of the Boy-Bishop<\/a>,\u201d or the \u201cFeast of Asses<\/a>.\u201d For those unfamiliar, these were festivals, usually held around the Christmas season (a significant point we will return to later), which were marked by social reversals and upheavals. The sumptuary laws and other social norms governing how people could dress and behave according to their station in life were, for the time of the festival, put aside, and the poor peasants would dress up as nobles or ecclesiastics, while the high-born would participate in their own ways by abandoning somewhat their normal dignity and propriety. The occasions were even overseen sometimes by a figure whose role was called Precentor Stultorum<\/a><\/em>\u2014literally, \u201cLeader of the Foolish,\u201d but often translated as \u201cLord of Misrule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, April Fools\u2019 Day does seem to share at least this much in common with these traditions: that it likely arises from a natural impulse for wanting a sort of occasional \u201crelease valve\u201d for the incumbent strains of a highly stratified society. The lowly station of the Medieval poor, for example, if left to simmer in built up resentment and frustration, might spill out in violent ways, like Wat Tyler\u2019s revolt or other peasant uprisings. It seems natural that society would attempt (perhaps even unconsciously) to stave off such outcomes by arranging occasions wherein people could \u201clet loose,\u201d exercising their frustrations in relatively more benign ways, if perhaps ways that were a bit irreverent and embarrassing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t intend to suggest that April Fools\u2019 Day in its origins had similar sentiments of popular piety behind it as did these other feasts\u2014as I said at the outset, the history here is very difficult to pin down. But I do think that we can appreciate <\/em>April Fools\u2019 Day through the lens of the Advent and Christmastide festivals of foolishness regardless of the original intents and purposes; and I do think the seasonality of these occasions is at least suggestive, i.e.<\/em> that there should arise around the time of Easter a celebration similar to those foolish affairs that had arisen in connection with Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what are <\/strong>the religious and pious underpinnings of those Christmastide feasts? And why would \u201cborrowing\u201d those sentiments for an understanding of April Fools\u2019 Day, around Eastertime, be spiritually beneficial?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the root of the \u201cFeast of Fools\u201d and other like celebrations is the phrase from Mary\u2019s Magnificat <\/em>recorded in the Gospel of Luke: \u201cDep\u00f3suit pot\u00e9ntes de sede, et exalt\u00e1vit h\u00familes<\/em>\u201d\u2014\u201cHe hath put down the mighty from their thrones, and has raised up the lowly\u201d (Luke 1:52). Indeed, these feasts were sometimes alternately called the Festum Deposuit.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, it is obvious why celebrations associated with the \u201cdeposuit<\/em>\u201d might crop up in the Advent and Christmas seasons: Mary\u2019s prayer is recounted in the Infancy narrative of Luke\u2019s Gospel. Connecting this notion with Holy Week and Easter, on the other hand, has to do with the meaning <\/em>of the text, rather than its place in the narrative. Mary\u2019s song in Luke 1:46\u201355 is laden with allusions<\/a> drawn from the Jewish Scriptures and popular expectations of the Messiah. It would be burdensome and boring to simply cite a panoply of verses; suffice it to say that anyone familiar with Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, or the Psalms\u2014to name just a few books\u2014will recognize echoes in Mary\u2019s song of the Messianic hopes scattered throughout these texts: God scattering his enemies, uplifting the poor and lowly, confounding the kings of the earth, making fools of the wise\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same sort of paradoxical reversals surrounding the Incarnation of Christ\u2014His being born in lowly estate, of a virgin, and so forth\u2014are also attendant in the events at the completion of His earthly work: He enters Jerusalem riding a humble beast of burden rather than a mighty war horse; the crowds shout for the release of Barabbas rather than the true Son of the Father; He is finally given the crown the crowds cried for, but it is a mockery made of thorns. Of course, the biggest reversal of all is the end of the story: his followers come looking at the only place they\u2019d expect to find Him after what they\u2019d seen, and they find the most unexpected thing of all: an empty tomb. He\u2019d told <\/em>them to expect this; but they were fooled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In respect both the Infancy narrative, and the Passion narrative, we find the same paradoxical subversion of expectations. Christ as the expected Messiah does fit the mold, but not in ways anyone expected. And therefore, the Messiah\u2019s reign as it really came to pass continued to this day to be seen as a kind of misrule in the eyes of the world. A king might be expected; but his crown wouldn’t be expected to be of thorns, nor his kingdom \u201cnot of this world.\u201d A\u00a0judge might be expected, to raise up the lowly and give justice to the poor; but not such a one as would consort with and call prostitutes and tax collectors to conversion! A prophet might be expected, who would lead his people as a shepherd tends his flock; but what a shepherd!\u2014profligately seeking after the lost sheep, and leaving the ninety-nine in search of the wandering one! A throne on high might be expected; but never one the path to which led through death and Sheol! Yes\u2014to the proud, to the mighty, to the secure and rich, He does indeed seem the very Lord of Misrule: for He turns everything topsy-turvy in telling those who would be first that they should become last, those who would keep their lives that they should lay them down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today might, after all, only ever have been meant simply as a day for silly pranks and practical jokes. But even falling victim to a prank has, ultimately, a spiritual value… provided we approach it the right way. It is good <\/em>to be humbled, to be surprised and shocked, to be taken off-guard by the totally unexpected. These are experiences that prepare us for the feelings that surround every true encounter with the living God; these are the feelings which are the only right ones to have when discovering an empty tomb after the crown of thorns and the cross. We can never become too comfortable, too familiar with that empty tomb, nor cease to be shocked and surprised by it. Just as it did for all Christ\u2019s first disciples, we must allow that tomb to make fools of us; and what joyful fools we will then be!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll close this reflection with one of my favorite poems by G. K. Chesterton, who certainly understood the paradoxical side of piety. If the beast Christ rode into the city that week could have sung its own magnificat<\/em>, this might be it. Today, April Fools\u2019 Day and Maundy Thursday both, is a very good day to make the Donkey\u2019s song our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When fishes flew and forests walked
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Then surely I was born.<\/p>

With monstrous head and sickening cry
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And ears like errant wings,
The devil\u2019s walking parody
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On all four-footed things.<\/p>

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I keep my secret still.<\/p>

Fools! For I also had my hour;
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And palms before my feet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is good to be humbled, to be surprised and shocked, to be taken off-guard with the totally unexpected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":64041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"It is good to be humbled, to be surprised and shocked, to be taken off-guard with the totally unexpected.","format":"standard","video":"","gallery":"","source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override":[{"single_blog_custom":"","sidebar":"","second_sidebar":"","share_position":"","share_float_style":"","post_date_format":"","post_date_format_custom":"","post_reading_time_wpm":"","zoom_button_out_step":"1","zoom_button_in_step":"1","number_popup_post":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"","single_post_gallery_size":""}],"trending_post_position":"","trending_post_label":"","sponsored_post_label":"","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":""},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":""},"jnews_social_meta":{"fb_title":"","fb_description":"","fb_image":"","twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,695],"tags":[9534,9535],"class_list":["post-64039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-opinion","tag-april-fools","tag-faith"],"yoast_head":"\nSeeking wisdom on April Fools - 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He also served as Director of Communications for the National Organization for Marriage. Joseph has a B.A. in Philosophy from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook and M.A. in English from Marquette University.\u00a0 Joe has appeared as an expert on traditional marriage and family in local and nationwide media, including\u00a0The New York Times,\u00a0The Washington Post,\u00a0The Boston Globe,\u00a0Breitbart, and elsewhere. Joe\u2019s writings on traditional marriage and family, as well as on Catholic Social Teaching and the writings of G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc, have appeared in\u00a0The Stream,\u00a0Gilbert\u00a0Magazine,\u00a0Ethika Politika, and\u00a0The Distributist Review, and he has spoken at several national conferences on the place of G.K. Chesterton in 20th Century literature and thought.","sameAs":["https:\/\/joegrabowski.com","https:\/\/fb.com\/JoeyG2001","https:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/josephlgrabowski\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/ArthurInglewood"],"url":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/author\/jgrabowski"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64039"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64050,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64039\/revisions\/64050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}