A note on Notre Dame
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hey say it's heartbreaking. And it is--I don't know that there's a better word.
They say it matters not only to Catholics, but to all Christians--in fact, to all people of faith. Even to those not of faith. And that's true.
They ask us to consider this not just a loss to architecture, but to the entire realm of art. Unquestionably.
But the charred walls that remain in Paris represent something even more foundational. Beyond any other description, they stand testament to humanity itself. Only mankind could marshal the ingenuity and resolve to erect something as magnificent as Notre Dame.
In fact, its primal legacy is a monument to human trust. Like similar cathredals acorss Europe, stonemasons and carpenters and engineers and artists toiled for a lifetime at Notre Dame...fully aware they would never live to see the vision realized. That would be saved for the next generation...or the one after that...or many more down the road. They knew and accepted that they were part of a purpose larger than self. Whether or not they believed in a god...they believed in one another.
Thus, this blaze further singes the fragile fabric of our time. We are faced with yet another reason to doubt that mankind can still work in collaboration...across time and belief...to achieve such a commanding wonder.
Are we still together?
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