Three Churches - Part Three: Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, France

It's been a while - and I have to return to the reflections on the three churches I began last spring/summer, after returning from London/Canterbury/Paris. I think I've been resisting this reflection because of all the experiences, this was the most puzzling.

First, I have to admit the overwhelming awe that gripped me as I approached the west door of Notre Dame de Paris. Awe at its beauty, especially in the afternoon sun, which shone across the front of the church. Awe at its testament to French faith and culture. Awe at the beauty of its gothic design that captured the awesomeness of God.

Second, though, I have to admit the overwhelming sense of disconnection once we went inside. For there was a definite division between those who were there for worship and those that were there for site seeing. The two were absolutely integrated, tourists and children running through the apse, faithful pilgrims deep in prayer, acolytes lighting altar candles for Holy Eucharist, gift booths in the nave where you could purchase refigerator magnets and postcards to send home. And votives EVERYWHERE, constantly being replaced and cash boxes being emptied.

I suppose this is the world in which we live - where the sacred and the profane live, not side by side, but completely integrated. Where the holy and and homey coexist. While I am sure that is the way of the world, I feel a lament that those places that were vortices of faith and worship have lost their individual identity. That the sacred spaces of history have lost their sacrality and that those who enter them may not have the same sense of awe that inspired those who built these great structures, those who make pilgrimage to these fantastic palaces of faith, or those who simply recognize that there are places in our world where the veil between this reality and the divine are permeated by prayer and grace.

Perhaps I am a romantic or a sentimetalist. Or maybe too, too spiritual for my own good. I can't help it - I have stood on the border of the holy, and have gazed on the divine. I want for everyone to share this sensation - of beauty, of grace, and of awe.