A year ago today, all eyes were on Paris as we watched the world-famous Cathedral of Notre Dame go up in flames. For me, I felt immensely sad to see such an amazing accomplishment of faith and humanity which took over 180 years to build being destroyed in the matter of a few hours. Notre Dame had survived so much; two world wars, an anti-Catholic revolution, and even other fires. However, it was Monday of Holy Week 2019 which seemed to bring the cathedral to its knees. The world was in shock.
For some, however, what was even more shocking was the fact that fire and police officials declared the fire an accident before the flames had even been put out and that it was going to be investigated as an such when the flames were at bay. They pointed to the restoration work being done on the roof. To think it was the restoration work in many ways is understandable. When one looks at the context in which the fire happened, however, one is compelled to question whether it was an accident and believe that a more thorough investigation should have been done. At the time in France, church burnings and vandalizations were happening more and more by atheistic leftists and Islamists. In fact, the second largest church in Paris after Notre Dame, Saint Sulpice, had suffered a fire only about a month before. The church was, ultimately, saved and the fire declared arson. Notre Dame, however, didn’t seem to get proper attention. Ultimately we cannot know for sure, but some of us were left questioning the conclusion. Regardless of whether the fire of Notre Dame was an accident or not, the whole scene seems to point to something much greater. Less than two months after the fire last year, I arrived in France for a two week trip which would include the traditionalist pilgrimage to Chartres. Normally the pilgrimage begins at Notre Dame de Paris and ends at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres. For obvious reasons, we couldn’t begin at Notre Dame de Paris so we began at the aforementioned Saint Sulpice. In the two and a half weeks I spent in France on that trip and the additional month and a half I spent there in the fall, I realized how much the faith is struggling in France. As Americans, we have this idea that France is this great Catholic nation. At one point in time, it was. Countless saints have come from France including Saint Louis, Saint Catherine Labouré, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, and countless others. France has also been blessed with five apparitions of Our Lady at Paris, Lourdes, Pontmain, Cotignac, and La Salette. However, the towering edifices of the churches built during these glory days of the French faith are mostly empty while secularism rises and Muslims continue to invade. The Catholic faith in France seems to be in shambles with only a shell of what once was, just like the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. Therefore, the fire was a jarring reminder of what we are experiencing in the Catholic faith in France and in the world. Since my visits to France, I have continually been fascinated with the faith in France. To me, it seems that the restoration of French Catholicism will play a part in the restoration of the faith worldwide. Many Catholics will be familiar with the title “The eldest daughter of the Church” which is ascribed to France. Right now, the Eldest Daughter seems more like the Prodigal Son, squandering the riches of the faith she had received by throwing aside fidelity to God and instead worshiping the post-revolutionary ideals of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.” The Eldest Daughter has set a poor example for her little brothers and sisters in the faith and the errors of the Revolution have spread throughout the world with many even pointing to the French Revolution as the beginning of the heresy of modernism in the Church, a heresy which is in full swing in the current time infecting the entirety of the faith from top to bottom and from Paris to America even Rome. Be that as it may, the Eldest Daughter also has the ability to aid in the return of the whole world. Think about traditional family dynamics. If you had older siblings, you probably looked up to them in some way. You had some interest in the things they had interest in, you acted the way they acted, and you may have even went to them from time to time for advice on how to deal with your parents in a particular situation. If you were the oldest sibling, you were likely on the receiving end of this. In the same way, France can have this effect on the faith in the world. This is why so many people still regard France as a Catholic nation, because the rest of the world viewed it as such for so much of its history. In many ways, all faithful eyes were on France. I can’t help but think that a nation in which Our Lord has raised up so many saints, granted so many visits by his Mother, and through which spread the Rosary and the Miraculous Medal to the world will have a special role in the reconversion of the world and that he will raise up new saints in this very same county to bring home His Eldest Daughter so she may bring home her little brothers and sisters in the faith. I’ve seen signs of hope for this in my time spent in France. On the pilgrimage to Chartres I mentioned earlier, I encountered the traditional Catholic faith in a way I never have before. About 15,000 faithful made the seventy mile pilgrimage over the course of three days consisting of three masses, penance, sleep deprivation, hunger, and nearly nonstop devotions and songs. The majority of these pilgrims were French. In addition, while the majority of churches become more and more empty, the ones with the traditional mass are well-attended and their numbers are continually increasing. Is this unique to France? No but, it must be noted that in many ways it was some faithful of France who helped keep the traditional mass alive after what appeared to be the Church’s own revolution in the 1960’s. France is, in many ways, the hub of Catholic traditionalism with many other nations, including the United States, following behind. To put things in perspective, if one goes to the website www.latinmassdir.org they will see that for France there are 195 locations listed for the traditional latin mass. That number is amazing to see on account that France is about the same geographical size as Texas. Not to mention, the mass locations on this website don’t include those of the “irregular” (not schismatic) Society of Saint Pius X which, according to the Society’s website, accounts for an additional 109 chapels and 44 priories. Before going to France, I was regularly attending the latin mass. However, it was the pilgrimage to Chartres and the time spent in the country fully immersed in the traditional faith which really planted within me the love for tradition which I currently possess. Many traditionalists seem to find a greater love of tradition in France and are inspired by the small but quickly growing remnant of faithful which is found there. Therefore, let pray for the Church in France. May Jesus raise up more and more saints within the Eldest Daughter to restore the faith there so she may, once again, shine as a city upon a hill for all of Christendom to see and lead her siblings home. Let us, in the words of St. Pius X in his encyclical Vehementer Nos, “implore (Christ) to bend a glance of mercy on France, to save her from the storms that have been let loose upon her, and, by the intercession of Mary Immaculate, to restore soon to her the blessings of calm and peace” (VH, 18). May God rebuild His Church in France, and Notre Dame de Paris with it.
2 Comments
Hody
4/15/2020 05:52:15 pm
Wow. Thank you so much Marcus. Having been to France the past two springs, I just don’t have words to express how I agree with you on all of this. We were blessed to visiting so many places of significance to our Catholic Faith. I pray i will always pray for France. And for its retune to the faith. Well done sir!
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Michael
4/16/2020 07:13:52 am
🙏
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About MeAn Iowa-raised convert to Catholicism seeking to live my life entirely for Jesus and His Church with all the saints. Archives
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