At the Center of it All

Where do you start when there is all of Paris to see?

We went to the epicenter of the city and worked our way outward. In one of the guidebooks there was an "Historic Paris Walk" and that seemed as good as anything and that meant we began at Notre Dame Cathedral.

Our neighborhood is north of that area of Paris but it is literally all down hill and it gave us the opportunity to explore the basic neighborhood and see who lives around us and what shops there are. The non-surprise is that the area is crowded. The small surprise is that this is a working neighborhood. A locksmith is just down the street and small fruit groceries are on several corners. Those businesss don't cater to the tourist trade but rather the locals.

No, I don't see us going out and mingling with the working French, but there are not a lot of tour buses in the neighborhood. I recall a man in Lisbon bemoaning that his city was being bought up by outside interests and turning neighborhoods into boutique hotels and increasing property values so the average Lisboan could not live there. I imagine Paris has long since been that way, and folks like me are part of the problem, so I will try to blend in (good advice in so many things.)

Notre Dame. Imposing. Gothic. History laden. Cold...outside...actually the wind down along the Seine was bustery reminding us that it is but mid March. Still, lots of folks were mingling and having their photos taken in front and yours truly did the same.

Entry is free, as this IS a living church and when we walked in the front door (along with half the populace of Western Europe) the priest was celebrating Mass. We had walked a long way. It was cold and we were interested in seeing and hearing the French words of the Eucharist and having a quiet place to sit. (And....Notre Dame, as opposed to nearly every other huge cathedral around the Mediterranean, was actually warm. I didn't detect central heating but it was not drafty, so I tip my hat to the Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee.)

Immediately inside the front door (which is actually the secondary front door....the huge front door is locked) was a booth with Information People selling guides and audio guides and I looked to their right and there were what I at first thought were lotto machines. I suppose it is my own prejudice that I did not seem surprised, but upon further inspection the machines sold Notre Dame booklets for two Euros....I bought one and sat down and read up on this historic place.

It's a good little booklet but on page two it says this...

"As soon as visitors enter the cathedral, their attention is drawn to the flames of the lights that burn unceasingly in front of the great bronze cucifix."

I didn't notice any "flames of lights burning unceasingly on a great bronze crucifix." As soon as I walked in, I noticed and information booth and then I noticed what I thought was a lotto tickets machine. It was clear that I needed to find that crucifix which the devout notice and I failed to notice. But for the moment we sat and took it all in.

The atmosphere was wonderful but what most impressed me was that during the mass, a woman was liturgist. The male priest led the service but parts were read by a woman. I haven't seen that elsewhere. It may be common elsewhere, but here in Paris, a woman is liturgist. The French just went up a few notches in my estimation of them and their worship.

The faithful sat in a roped-off area in front. They were actually worshipping. A few hundred others were walking around the cathedral, quiet and respectful, but walking nonetheless. They were allowed to do so and I suppose that is symbolic of how worship must be a part of everyday life and be interrupted by everyday life and yet stand apart from everyday life. Ministers like me can make a theological equation out of anything and I imagine Makaila was rolling her eyes, but I rather liked the faithful woshipping/tourists gawking thing. God is in the midst of all we do, life is short, worship while you can.

Notre Dame is not nearly as ornate as most cathedrals we have seen. I am sure it has something to do with the whole French Revolution and how Catholics in France go about their worshipping. Many of the chapels looked more like storage space. Frankly I was surprised.

The huge circular windows are a gem, but for me, the most interesting....the wooden, carved scenes of Christ. It begins with Mary and the mother of John the Baptist and continues on. Here is a scene from the killing of the two year olds after the birth of Christ and the fleeing of the Holy Family into Egypt.

Don't read anything into why I chose that particular part of the massive carving and I certainly will not make light of it because it is quite Biblical and quite disturbing....but frankly, the lighting was best on that part of the long carving. I could not use a flash and so I used their light. (And that in itself may be another metaphor for life.)

We walked around. Most impressive. The wooden carvings depicted the life of Christ and then His teachings. My absolute favorite in the cathedral.

But I had to find that "great bronze crucifix" which everyone, but apparently me, notices upon entering the cathedral. And there it was, neatly tucked in behind the audio-guide rental booth, just like in days of yore.

Just being there amidst the people and the history was fun. We noticed that you could tour the top of the cathedral by entering on the side. A long line was there. The line indicated another hour wait. The wind was about 50 mph along the outside of the cathedral and my journey to the South of Spain had thinned my blood and I was in no mood to stand and wait to see the home of Quasimodo.

Out to the back of the cathedral to eat our sandwiches and plan the rest of the day.

Oh, and I bought three Notre Dame Cathedral gargoyles for my office door.

Peace,  Bob