Along with much of the world, I watched with horror as flames engulfed the 850-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last week.
For more than 13 hours, a blaze burned and smoke billowed from the Gothic cathedral. Although a spire collapsed, first responders saved many historic relics. Thank God nobody was hurt in what authorities believe to be an accidental fire.
The footage took me back to the 8 a.m. Mass my mother and I attended at Notre Dame Cathedral during our once-in-a-lifetime whirlwind trip to Europe in 1993. We set our alarm, rose early, and rode a deserted underground Metro train downtown. Climbing to street level, we stared at the towering gargoyle-adorned stone cathedral from the Middle Ages. We followed others inside, gazing in wonder at the beautiful stained glass, high ceilings, arches, statues and candles.
Shadows loomed as we followed other early risers to a tiny chapel in back, where we sat in one of 20 pews that each held about six people. We picked up a program with scripture readings and the Gospel printed in English.
An elderly priest celebrated the Mass in French. I understood then the “catholic” or “universal” part of belonging to the Catholic Church. Even though we didn’t know the language, we could follow the Eucharistic liturgical service well because it is universally celebrated. The same thing happened in Vienna where a priest celebrated Mass in German. However, we didn’t understand a word of either homily.
Sitting in the famous Notre Dame Cathedral, I thought of the generations of Christians who had gathered there through the centuries to praise God and honor Jesus Christ. I glanced at the people — old, young, men, women, black, white, Asian. A universal congregation seated together in a historic cathedral to honor God.
As we left, we noticed another Mass beginning at 8:45 a.m. in the main part of the cathedral. We lit candles in front of a statue of Saint Theresa, knelt and prayed. And we recognized that we were just two among the multitudes who flock to Notre Dame each year.
I’m glad so many people in France have pledged to rebuild the beautiful cathedral.
Armistice Day
I don’t believe in vilifying military men and women who have served this great nation. It’s especially egregious to act that way toward those no longer alive to defend themselves.
At a Centralia Armistice Day Committee meeting in January, while discussing proposed wording for a monument in Washington Park that blames World War I veterans for the gunfire that killed four of them, we suggested — to no avail — adding the words “according to the union perspective” or saying that “some” of the Legionnaires raided the Wobbly hall.
However, it’s not my responsibility to defend the honor of World War I veterans. My job is to let people know what’s going on—and I did in an earlier column. It’s up to the Centralia City Council to approve the wording on any monument erected on public property.
Because of the Veterans Memorial Museum, Chehalis has earned a well-deserved reputation for honoring those who served in the military. It’ll be interesting to see what the other Twin City does.
Association Of Writers
In late March, I joined 15,000 other writers at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland for the four-day 2019 Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference. I’d never attended such a large conference, which featured 2,000 presenters. Each 75-minute workshop slot offered a selection of more than 30 panels with authors, editors and teachers discussing memoirs, historical fiction, gender identity, poetry, minority voices, creative writing, and other topics. Between workshops, we hustled like cattle herded through chutes from one wing of the convention center to another. I found the experience interesting but much prefer smaller conferences.
Speaking of which, the Sixth Annual Southwest Washington Writers Conference takes place Sept. 7 at Centralia College. Keynote speaker is New York Times bestselling mystery and suspense author Hallie Ephron, who wrote “Never Tell a Lie,” “There Was an Old Woman,” “Come and Find Me” and “Night Night, Sleep Tight” — all finalists for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Never Tell a Lie was made into a Lifetime movie called “And Baby Will Fall.”
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
