The Church after the great Lenten season arrives at the marvelous feast of the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Christ endured all the disgusts and torments at the cross, he tasted death and defeated it. The gates of paradise had been closed since Adam had committed his sin, but Jesus Christ opened those gates with his suffering. And this all was done so that us ‘the sinners’ who repent may enter with him and experience the glory of paradise with him on this great day.

The burning of Notre Dame in Paris last week struck us all very deeply, more deeply, I think, than most of us imagine. Even the most secular in France were struck and saddened. Why is this? Simply put, Notre Dame is far more than a building. What follows are three short reflections on the deeper meanings of the burning of Notre Dame. What unites them is an archetypal longing for what we once were and have seemingly lost but can regain if we allow Our Lady to lead us back to her Son.

SHE IS NOTRE DAME DR PARIS

Was the near destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral simply the result of an accidental fire? Or was it also a prophetic sign?

Following is the meditation of Most Rev. Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, June 21, 2019:

The Gospel passage that the Liturgy places before us on this feast of Corpus Christi contains various paradoxes, as if to show us something excessive, exaggerations.

It is the passage that tells the episode of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes by Jesus according to the version of Luke (9:11b-17).

Following is the reflection by Most Rev. Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C, July 14, 2019:

There are two expressions that give us a first key to understanding today’s Gospel passage (Lk 10:25-37).

The first we find immediately at the beginning, when the evangelist Luke says that a doctor of the Law stands up to test Jesus.

The day after the dramatic fire, the image of the great cross, still intact behind the altar, moved many Catholics.

Moving from despondency to hope, Parisian Catholics during this year's Holy Week, experienced a kind of painful preamble to the Easter celebrations.

Upset by the paralyzing image of the inferno that consumed Notre Dame Cathedral, many felt the need to gather at Saint Sulpice Church, the new rallying point for the Diocese of Paris, on April 16.

Following is an interview on the tragedy in Paris with French prelate Monsignor Hyacinthe Destivelle, head of the eastern section of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.

“It is a catastrophe for Christianity and for the faithful throughout the world. It shakes us hard. And it calls us to put aside the divisions that are afflicting the Church”. French Cardinal Paul Joseph Jean Poupard, historian of religions, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture and of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, is desperate. A leading figure in the Roman Curia. "I can't get my eyes off the distressing scenes on TV", says the 88 year old Cardinal from his Vatican home.

In the wake of September 11, newspapers around the world carried some version of the headline, “We’re All Americans Now.” The idea was that the destruction of the Twin Towers wasn’t just an assault on the United States but on civilization itself, and everyone had a stake in defending it.

That solidarity dissipated fairly quickly amid political debates over post-September 11 foreign policy, but for a brief, shining moment the world was one.

As fire has devastates the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the building is as much a symbol of the recent history of the Catholic Church in Europe as it once was a symbol of the Church’s power and cultural supremacy. The Church had been in disrepair for decades. Calls for its restoration went mostly ignored until too late. Now that it is in ashes, people weep for its loss.