I am in Paris on vacation with my family, and so my postings may be less frequent. Yesterday was Good Friday, and we visited Notre Dame for a most extraordinary ceremony. For nearly 800 years, Notre Dame has been the home of what many believe is the actual crown of thorns "worn" by Jesus during His Passion. The crown has been encased in gold for eighty percent of its circumference, with the remaining twenty percent or so encased in a clear tube in which it may be seen clearly.
On Good Friday, Catholics assemble in Notre Dame to venerate this relic. We joined this awesome procession. Notre Dame was flooded with tourists taking pictures of those venerating the Crown, and the veneration by each visitor was actually broadcast on big screen TVs inside and outside Notre Dame. For me, this reduced the solemnity of the moment and made it feel more like a trip to a sporting event or some other public spectacle. It was, for me at least, very difficult to be truly focused on the moment, and it felt in some ways like a missed opportunity.
Also on Good Friday, we visited a small church tucked away on a downtown Paris side street, in which Mary appeared to St. Catherine Laboure. The result of the multiple visits by Our Lady was the creation of the Miraculous Medal. The saint's uncorrupted body is displayed in the small chapel there, and it too was brimming with visitors. This group acted much more like reverent believers than the visitors to Notre Dame, and the atmosphere was, fortunately, much different and far more inspiring.
O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
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