Notre-Dame of Paris is burning…
An inferno whose gigantic blaze is turning the nightly sky of Paris aglow, flames evading the firemen’s water jets and carrying on with their destructive work -- four weeks after the event my emotion is still there, a deep-felt emotion that was also experienced by the passers-by or tourists stunned into motionlessness, as we all were wherever we were then, in Paris, in front of our TV sets, in France but also elsewhere and much further away; for example, Father Bernard Holzer, a French priest exercising his priesthood in Manila, recounts the worried questions about Notre Dame’s survival that his Filipino colleagues asked him during the Holy Thursday Mass (1). Notre Dame is the living heart of France, as testified, anecdotal though this may be, by the fact that the building is the starting point of every main road in France.
Merely thinking of this disaster will perforce bring to mind a thought for all those who were on the frontline in this, especially the many firemen who fought the fire for hours on end with undaunted courage and a high degree of professionalism; on behalf of all the VMI members let me express here our most heartfelt gratitude and give them the praise they so highly deserve.
Notre Dame is damaged and defaced, the "dream of stone" that it was has lost some of its age-old glory but it is still there, weakened but standing upright; it will rise again, though this will not happen overnight -- like the phoenix rising from its ashes! -- it will instead be at the end of long, collective work in which many experts, craftsmen and renowned artists will show themselves at their best; in a common impetus they will rediscover the noble intuitions and accurate gestures of the past centuries. Driven by the spiritual strength of a simple faith rooted in their innermost beings, they have testified to their capacity to "create things sublime" and, to that effect, have devoted their talents and know-how to building an edifice, a token of beauty and faith.
This impetus which reunites men is echoed in this wave of solidarity which brought in countless donations; it is proof that Notre Dame is the symbol of a common culture and that this tragedy affects in every man something deep-seated, beyond convictions, beliefs and Christian faith. This mountain of donations, evidence of circumstantial solidarity, has raised criticisms; it is true that such mind-boggling generosity pricks at our conscience at the very moment when a sharp drop in donations has been noticed in France… One way of cutting short any possible controversy is to read about the fine reaction of Manila’s shanty town residents: during the Way of the Cross on Good Friday they rejoiced about the donations for the rebuilding of Notre Dame. "To them", said Father Holzer, "this is not a case of Notre Dame OR the poor, but of Notre Dame AND the poor. In Asia people don’t seek opposition, they seek harmony… Everyone senses the profound communion around this sanctuary. May we keep this cathedral and its values, keep our land and protect its inhabitants, the poorest ones especially" (2). Along the same lines a reporter gives this conclusion to his editorial: "The Christians who are about to celebrate Easter cannot remain insensitive to this strong involvement to save Notre Dame. They can also read it as a call to care better, not only for the stone churches where they celebrate the victory of life over death, but also for their own brothers, starting with the weakest of them" (3).
True, rebuilding Notre Dame is about safeguarding a masterpiece of art, but it is also and mainly about safeguarding a masterpiece with strong spiritual overtones; is is "the vessel of a presence", as defined by Mgr. Aupetit, archbishop of Paris, during the Chrism Mass celebrated in Saint Sulpice. Beyond the emotion, this mysterious presence has created a mysterious communion between all the bystanders powerless before the flames -- between "those who believe in Heaven and those who don’t". As Christians, we know what is this mysterious presence which we recognize and affirm at each Eucharist; Notre Dame was built "for a piece of bread" (4) which opens us up to the grace of God and puts us in touch with the body of the Risen Christ. We actually celebrated this resurrection of Christ just a few days after the fire; surprisingly, I find the Easter message in a photograph -- the first one taken after the fire within the charred nave: it showed the golden cross, almost radiant, unscathed above the altar with its "glory" (5). A fine sign of hope…
(1) Daily newspaper "La Croix", April 26th, Letters to the Editor.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Daily newspaper "La Croix", April 19th, editorial by Dominique Greiner.
(4) As phrased by Mgr. Aupetit interviewed by a journalist during the fire.
(5) Glory: a circular blade floating in mid-air above the cross like a crown.
Monique Bodhuin
