Notre Dame Points Me to God

When I watched Notre Dame burn, it took my breath away. Watching the spire fall  brought tears to my eyes. I wondered how the rose windows and the organ fared.

In my opinion any great building or work of art humbles us because most of us  are incapable creation on a grand scale. But we are thrilled to see the result of others’ vision. We are enlarged and blessed by the achievements of other men and women in the arts. 

So the damage to Notre Dame naturally caused sorrow for the millions of us who have visited. 

I'm grateful for my opportunity to sit in the cathedral for an organ concert years ago. Sounds on that scale vibrate through our bodies, and fill our minds and souls. (Standing on a German cathedral roof when the bells tolled the hour knocked me off balance.) I hope Notre Dame's organ will again someday fill the huge church with magnificent music.

Notre Dame was part of the historic musical shift from a unison melody line, like Gregorian Chants, to polyphony (more than one voice.) The organs in Notre Dame were used in the composition and performance of the newer style. The sample I’ve linked to is multiple voices, a brief example of a sacred meditation on Christ’s suffering before the crucifixion. It could have been performed at Notre Dame.  

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Joy and wonder fill us when the sun lights up windows with colors that are seldom gathered together in nature as they are in stained glass. 

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

This week many commentators lauded the cathedral's beauty, its fine example of Gothic architecture, and how it has been a  symbol of the French people.  But we stand in grave danger of making the building an idol if we forget it’s original purpose—to be a place of worship to God. 

The grand spire pointed us up to Heaven, not the heavens. 

Similarly, the center of the north rose window points us to Jesus' birth, the pivotal moment which divided Judaism and Christianity. 

If we focus on stones and architectural style instead of Jesus, his death as a sacrifice for our sins, and his resurrection proving his divinity—Notre Dame is a magnificent building and nothing more. 

In this brief meditation, Bishop Robert Barron eloquently describes how the church was designed to point us to God.      

May the damage to Notre Dame as a place of worship point us to the Person we worship, not a place we worship. 

What an appropriate reminder for Easter, when millions of people worship the risen Christ.