Reflecting on Our Visit to the Notre Dame

What I remember most about Notre Dame - the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris - is the soft, authoritative shadow it cast over us when we arrived. It was a crisp May day nearly four years ago and Alec and I’s second full day in Paris. We’d hopped off the train and stood for what seemed like minutes at “Point Zero”, a spot determined some time ago to be the “center of Paris”. Just looking up. Taking it in.

We had touched down in Paris the previous morning, dropped our bags off at our Airbnb in a northern suburb of the city and headed straight towards central Paris and up the steps of the Eiffel Tower. We’d taken in the view from the top, then watched it light up from the ground as we wound down from the whirlwind day with pasta and dessert.

But seeing the Notre Dame that next morning had woken me up to the magic of Paris by day. And as the moisture ridden breeze picked up and we made our way inside, I realized the cathedral is equally beautiful on the inside. Its high ceilings, golden fixtures and intricate stained glass windows (not one the same) compete for attention. The architectural, historical and religious significance of the cathedral hit me all at once.

I can’t imagine what today could have felt like, watching the massive flames swallow so much of its history. Of all the churches we visited on our journey through Europe, this one set in my heart, imprinted. I don’t know if it was just the excitement of being in Paris that made me fall into a harder kind of love with the place, or the pure magic of it, which I still can’t quite describe, even looking back on it.

Millions of people have stood at the center of Paris to take in the Notre Dame Cathedral. As people from around the world shared their thoughts about today’s fire at the famous cathedral, I see it as a reminder of how big, and yet small, the world is.

Just days ago, a stranger pushed a 5-year-old boy off the third floor balcony to the first floor at the Mall of America. Today, over 25,000 people ran in the Boston Marathon, where exactly 6 years ago, bombs placed at the finish line killed three people and injured at least 264. New Zealand: one month ago.

Sometimes we pray for people. Sometimes we pray for buildings.

And sometimes, we just pray for peace.