Engraved in my mind since mid-June are the inspiringly awkward images of the first mass held in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. After its devastating structural fire on April 15th, 2019, the pictures capture well the task of living in the middle space of trauma—the place between destruction and recovery. Priests wearing white hard hats as they are adorned in their ceremonial robes demonstrate both a commitment to sacred tradition and a wisdom that structural safety has been compromised.
As you look through these images, what event in your life comes to mind? When did you stand on the banks of the Seine and stare dumbfounded as something valuable in your life was consumed by flames? What hard hat did you wisely learn to put on if you were ever to go inside again? As you searched for a sense of normalcy in the aftermath, how had the view of the ceiling changed?
