My thoughts on the fire at Notre Dame

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Sean

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For me this is one of the saddest days of my life I have never been to Paris but Notre Dame has ever since I was a infant it has been a church that has inspired within me a deep love for the art of the Church. I have a deep love for the Gothic style it is the most fitting of all architectural styles. The soaring vaults, the stained glass flooding the church with light and the spires that all point to heaven everything leads us toward God and his kingdom.
Next I would like to add some observations as you know Notre Dame has gone through a lot the Huguenots who were statue hating protestants who wanted to destroy all idolatry sacked the church but failed on bringing it down. Then the revolution which took most religious imagery and replaced it with the “Cult of Reason” I am pretty sure it was used as a store house at one point. Now at the darkest time in the history of the Church the church has been left as a shell of its former self. The Cathedral is like the Catholic Church itself it has had its ups and downs yet it has always come back. Satan has tried his tricks but they have never worked the stones have defended the church for centuries just as we defend have defended our faith for centuries and sure we are a shell of what we used to be but we continue we will fight the good fight. I was watching Chris Cuomo I’m not a huge fan of CNN but he said something stricking that this world lacks beauty today and we need more beauty. I don’t normally agree with him but this is something everybody can get behind we need more beauty we can’t let this go away and just be another piece of history that we will have pictures of or end up like the greek temples and go the route of the pagans we must rise up and show the world the catholic church is about beauty. This is the time finally as unfortunate as it is the catholic church is not being put in a negative spotlight we can reclaim the church and show the world the beauty that is this church. As St. Pope Pius X motto says Restore All Things in Christ.
 
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Would you please just type your post, it’s hard to read like that.
 
I was contemplating this today & wonder if God permitted (allowed, not caused) this fire in attempts to draw back the French people back to the Church. I’ve heard that in France most people have fallen away from the Church in the last several decades. It’s a very sad occasion, but wonderful to see the crowds gathered around praying and singing.
 
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I hope that the French come back to God they need God. France has needed wake up calls multiple times in the history when it comes to God. They have always come back and I hope they come back now.
 
There is a saying Germany* about a man of leisure:
“He lives like God in France”
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i.e. nothing to do.

*Germany does not have a lot to brag about in this regard. A friend in Karlsruhe and his wife looked after an elderly lady in the last year of her life. She never missed mass when she was able. At the funeral, those in attendance were the priest, my friend and his wife. No one else from the parish even bothered to attend.
 
I deeply regret your Churches loss of such a beautiful Church in France. Hope they are able to rebuild that beautiful Church. God bless you this Easter weekend
 
Wife.of.Gabriel said:
I was contemplating this today & wonder if God permitted (allowed, not caused) this fire …
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“All things happen by the will of God.”

That is a quote from an elderly Carthusian monk in the movie “Into Great Silence” filmed at the Grande Chartreuse Monastery in the French Alps.

Sometimes it is hard for us to understand, but God has absolute control over everything, including satan. The result appears confusing to us - probably because Catholics usually look and rely upon the mercy of Jesus and Mary so often. But we have to realize, when satan comes in and destroys something, God is still allowing him to do so for reasons we cannot always comprehend, except (perhaps) by faith. That “permission” God gives satan is probably what the wrath of God is. It’s also why we should fear Him, and we should be thankful for the mercies of Christ Jesus, Mary, the Holy Spirit, and all the heavenly host of angels and saints.

In the Old Testament the Book of Job probably explains this “phenomena” (and it’s solution) best; and, in the New Testament, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus explains it best.

Job’s story appears quite confusing. Why would an innocent man suffer so much? Because Job was rich? That was satan’s argument to God - when he said Job’ faith had never been tested. However, Job was ultimately proven to be a just man, and the way he did it was always to bless God in the face of every adversity. There’s the actual solution to the problem.

Jesus’ crucifixion was similar. Jesus was a great man who helped and saved many people in his three year ministry. No one could have been spiritually richer. And, even on the cross, he still glorified God and prayed for his enemies - who were tearing down the temple Christ dared them to tear down, so He could rebuild it in three days.

In a post-Pentecostal example, Saint Francis of Assisi was once being physically attacked and beaten by demons, and he conquered them by thanking Christ for showing his soul mercy by mortifying his body.

Fast forward to the present…

So why would (parts) of a beautiful old church loved by so many for so long burn before the eyes of the world in the course of a few hours during Lent?

The mysteries of God are very great, but I would hazard a guess to say the glories of heaven are even greater than anything we could ever see on this earth.

In a way, what I guess I am saying is, the same force which built that church also allowed (part of) it to be destroyed… That in and of itself should provide us with an overwhelming sense of awe… But what’s more - that same force will also rebuild it even bigger and better than ever, too… That is why we should still nevertheless invoke a blessing upon God, Jesus and Mary… for - whatever God has in mind at this point - is something tradition cannot account for…

Ad Jesu Per Mariam,
Totus Tuus,

Wm
 
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Sean said:
For me this is one of the saddest days of my life
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Prayer of Saint Teresa of Avila
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> Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

– St. Teresa of Avila
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http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/stteresaofavila.htm
 
Sean said:
For me this is one of the saddest days of my life
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I don’t know if you have ever seen “Into Great Silence”, but it is a wonderful movie you would probably enjoy.

https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/intogreatsilence

Your passion for Our Lady’s House in Paris is commendable, but you’re saying you’re also suffering because of it.

The Grande Chartreuse Monastery isn’t really the same place, I know, but - since there’s nothing you can do to help what happened in Paris - maybe there’s something in the movie you would find spiritually comforting?
 
A Dutch blogger posts regarding the fire, its timing and the miraculous sparing of irreplaceable relics.

incaelo.wordpress.com

Mourning and rejoicing after Notre Dame burned

“We are gathered in the Mother Church of the Diocese of Paris, Notre-Dame Cathedral, which rises in the heart of the city as a living sign of God’s presence in our midst. My predecessor, Pop…
incaelo.wordpress.com incaelo.wordpress.com
 
I’m sad and sorry that Notre Dame was damaged, but there are really so many things to be thankful for here that there’s no reason for anyone to be sad in the extreme.
  • No one was killed and casualties were kept very low (so far I’ve only heard one firefighter was injured). It’s fortunate that this did not occur during a huge, crowded Mass such as Easter. Thank God. People are more important than things, even awesome old buildings.
  • The Blessed Sacrament, the Crown of Thorns, and other holy relics were saved. The Blessed Sacrament and the Crown of Thorns are certainly more important than even awesome old buildings.
  • Much of the artwork was saved and/or had been removed before this happened. Also the three rose windows survived, which seems quite miraculous. Those pictures of the altar cross standing in the smoke-damaged church are also quite impressive and to me are signs that we should be focusing on God as we rebuild.
  • A lot of what burned was not that old or wouldn’t have been for long as it would have had to be replaced due to wood not lasting forever. The spire that fell is only a couple centuries old.
  • The building was also needing major repairs anyway, which were nowhere near finished, so it’s not like they just finished all the renovations and spent all the money and THEN it burned.
  • The French president has pledged to rebuild and there is no reason to think they won’t as he has a lot of support.
  • This may very likely have the positive effect of focusing the French once again on actual Catholicism. The whole reason cathedrals were built in the first place was to get people’s minds on God, not just so people can take a selfie in front of the building. This happening during Holy Week may very well be God’s wake-up call. The world would do well to heed it.
 
But why on U.S. Tax filing deadline day? We know that dates are significant in Catholicism.
 
Interestingly, insofar as this is particularly interesting to me–most of the online despair I’ve seen is coming from non-Catholics and people who view Notre Dame as a more-or-less secular symbol of French pride, heritage, and unity. There is, of course, absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s also fascinating how my non-Catholic friends are posting how they’d been spiritually overwhelmed, personally, when visiting and experiencing Notre Dame.

The Catholic perspective seems to me a lot more pragmatic. It’s almost as if the building is a place, merely a representation of something bigger. Hmm…😉
 
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