Limestone Mourning
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
We stood on a cobblestone walkway in front of the ancient building. The Spring had yet to grow warm, so we huddled together and braced ourselves with coffee and miles of walking. But we were now stopped at one of the most iconic places in all of Europe—the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The sister-towers loomed over Paris like silent secret-keepers. The gothic construction gives a feeling of mystery. It makes you feel like you don’t know everything. Gargoyles and other creatures of fictitious wariness stand eternal guard, hanging off the limestone façade. If it wasn’t a church, and there were no sounds, and every person around me were suddenly gone, the cathedral would frighten me.
Over 800 years old, Notre Dame has stood like this, guarding Paris. It has not stood unwaveringly. The structure went through a reckless youth and horrific mid-life crisis. Originally a place of worship, the cathedral has been used for everything from a storehouse to a revolutionary headquarters. It’s fallen, broken, burned, and collapsed in the earlier days. From rebuilding to revolution to restoration and renovation, Notre Dame is now an icon of traditional Catholicism, artistic freedom, Gothic beauty, and outright French Nationalism.
Notre Dame is France.
Monday, April 15, 2019
One month later, we sat in our living room watching Sky News out of the UK. They were playing continuous coverage of the burning of Notre Dame. During a renovation, the building caught fire and ignited the buttresses and vaults and frames and trusses. Miles of hundreds year old oak burned like a tinder box. France stood in horror.
Soon the social media stories circled. Ideas and opinions surfaced.
Should the world care so much about some building?
There are people starving and we’re going to spend how much on rebuilding?
Is this a picture of the declination of French nationalism?
Perhaps the destruction of Notre Dame is symbolic of a crumbling religious foundation in Europe?
I can’t say the truth of the matter. But I do know that the world is a little emptier without Notre Dame. Our world is often polarized, ugly, uncertain, and fear-filled. Places like Notre Dame stand as a reminder of days past. It teaches us the history of mankind. Helps us not to make the same mistakes. It fights for peace. It keeps the mystery alive. It reminds us that there are things we just don’t and may never know.
But most of all, it reminds us of beauty.
Notre Dame is France.
Notre Dame is us.
anthony forrest
