Paris – Part 1
Lindy, Molly, and I decided to jet off to Paris for the weekend. We left Friday and came back Monday; this being one of the great benefits of being married to a Flight Attendant. I had never been to Paris and it was a rushed, but very good experience.
Part 1 – Notre Dame – Three Quick Thoughts
As we walked through one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, Notre Dame de Paris, I was amazed, awed, inspired, and curious. The stained glass was pure and bright, the details intricate and beautiful, the rooms were original and functional. Notre Dame implored many emotions, but one thing that it seemed to completely miss was joy. Nobody was smiling, nobody laughed, nobody looked happy. There was no joy in the art or in those stone walls. I noticed this half through my walk inside and at the end I mentioned it to Lindy, and as I did, I noticed the two people in front of us smiling, their faced filled with joy and love, and I thought my theory was quickly proven wrong. But they weren’t smiling at the statues, or the message of that day’s mass, or even beautiful stained glass. They were smiling at Molly. Notre Dame must have cost millions of dollars and tens of thousands of hours of work. It is a symbol of god and the church and it is managed by hundreds of artisans and staff, but it still could not provide something that a single child gives to those around them. In the end, I wonder which is really the temple of god.
Off to the side of the main Chapel of Notre Dame you can pay three Euro (two if you are a student) to view some specialty objects that the church has collected. There were Saint’s robes, old bibles, diamond encrusted crowns, and golden statues. There was one particular display that caught my attention, on one side it was a small plague of Jesus on the cross. He had no special clothes, wore no honorary garb, had no jewelry of any kind; he was without any material possession. Next to the statue was the ring of a pope with a jewel as wide as a golf ball. And I wondered how did the image of god’s messenger go from a man with no possessions to one that wore that ring.
In front of one room was a sign that asked patrons to donate money to help maintain the house of god that is Notre Dame. I saw this sign, looked up at those rose glass windows, glanced at the priceless paintings that hung on every wall, and thought of crown they displayed with hundred on diamonds in it. Then I thought of the people in Southeast Asia whose villages were destroyed in the Tsunamis a few years ago. Who really needs some money for their house, the homeless person wiped out by an act of nature or the Catholic Church (with assets over $100 billion). Of course if the Church was using all their resources to help such people that would be a different story, it made me wonder how much that Pope’s ring would fetch on ebay.
Part 1 – Notre Dame – Three Quick Thoughts
As we walked through one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, Notre Dame de Paris, I was amazed, awed, inspired, and curious. The stained glass was pure and bright, the details intricate and beautiful, the rooms were original and functional. Notre Dame implored many emotions, but one thing that it seemed to completely miss was joy. Nobody was smiling, nobody laughed, nobody looked happy. There was no joy in the art or in those stone walls. I noticed this half through my walk inside and at the end I mentioned it to Lindy, and as I did, I noticed the two people in front of us smiling, their faced filled with joy and love, and I thought my theory was quickly proven wrong. But they weren’t smiling at the statues, or the message of that day’s mass, or even beautiful stained glass. They were smiling at Molly. Notre Dame must have cost millions of dollars and tens of thousands of hours of work. It is a symbol of god and the church and it is managed by hundreds of artisans and staff, but it still could not provide something that a single child gives to those around them. In the end, I wonder which is really the temple of god.
Off to the side of the main Chapel of Notre Dame you can pay three Euro (two if you are a student) to view some specialty objects that the church has collected. There were Saint’s robes, old bibles, diamond encrusted crowns, and golden statues. There was one particular display that caught my attention, on one side it was a small plague of Jesus on the cross. He had no special clothes, wore no honorary garb, had no jewelry of any kind; he was without any material possession. Next to the statue was the ring of a pope with a jewel as wide as a golf ball. And I wondered how did the image of god’s messenger go from a man with no possessions to one that wore that ring.
In front of one room was a sign that asked patrons to donate money to help maintain the house of god that is Notre Dame. I saw this sign, looked up at those rose glass windows, glanced at the priceless paintings that hung on every wall, and thought of crown they displayed with hundred on diamonds in it. Then I thought of the people in Southeast Asia whose villages were destroyed in the Tsunamis a few years ago. Who really needs some money for their house, the homeless person wiped out by an act of nature or the Catholic Church (with assets over $100 billion). Of course if the Church was using all their resources to help such people that would be a different story, it made me wonder how much that Pope’s ring would fetch on ebay.
Comments
Jared wants to type something now...
,jkjfhuuuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu jchruyhreh
Words of wisdom. I couldn't agree with Jared more.