Editorial: Notre Dame teaches Holy Week lesson

Published 2:00 pm Sunday, April 21, 2019

By Staff reports

Some may think the devastating fire at Notre Dame happening during Holy Week adds insult to injury.

There is no good time for such a calamity to occur — the near destruction of one of the most famed and revered cathedrals in the world, a holy site for centuries, the home of numerous religious artifacts, the spiritual landmark of France, a place known to Christians around the world.

No, never a good time for such a destructive fire but to happen on Holy Week — the days leading to Good Friday and Easter, the days leading to the commemoration of the Last Supper and communion and the crucifixion and the resurrection — the events at Notre Dame could be viewed as testing, even shaking, one’s faith.

If such a terrible thing can happen to what is considered one of the holiest sites in the Christian world during the holiest of weeks in Christianity, what hope is there for any of us?

Yet, one could also ask if the Son of God was arrested, mocked, beaten, scourged, forced through the streets under the burden of a cross and the withering scorn of Roman soldiers and the mob, then nailed to a cross and lifted to die, what hope is there for any of us?

And that’s the nature of Holy Week, such loss becomes the fount of hope, such sacrifice leads to rebirth.

Jesus had to die to be resurrected. In the Christian faith, Jesus had to die to offer hope to the world.

The body may perish but the spirit can be transformed. The physical will die but the soul remains.

Notre Dame is not the church. It is a place where people of faith come together. The people are the church. Notre Dame is a place where the church meets.

Prior to the fire, Notre Dame had been struggling to secure enough funds for an ongoing renovation project.

Since the fire, hundreds of millions of dollars have been pledged and donated to rebuild the broken cathedral.

People around the world have come together with prayers and efforts to resurrect Notre Dame.

What better lesson of Holy Week than the physical catastrophe and the spiritual response at Notre Dame. What better time for such a thing to happen — if such a thing must happen — than this week.