The great bell of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral will ring out tonight.
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the blaze that consumed the spire and roof of the 850-year-old cathedral. Officials say the fire came within half an hour of burning the building completely to the ground.
The bell will ring at 8 p.m. Paris time, coinciding with the hour when Parisians applaud from their windows and balconies in support of frontline staff risking their lives to treat COVID-19 patients. The pandemic has killed nearly sixteen thousand people in France.
“The restoration of Notre-Dame . . . is a symbol of the resilience of our people, of their capacity to overcome hardships, and to recover,” said President Emmanuel Macron today. He reiterated his promise to rebuild the cathedral within five years.
Work is running months behind schedule, delayed by winter storms and now the pandemic. Nonetheless, as the retired army general leading the restoration project said, “Our objective is to prepare the cathedral for mass on April 16, 2024.”
A coal taken from the fire
More than 2,200 people in America died from the coronavirus outbreak yesterday, which is a one-day record. In the face of such a threat, hope is vital to life.
We are made by God to need help beyond ourselves. Just as babies cannot survive without the protection and provision of their parents, so we cannot do life alone. Even if we could find a way to produce our own food, shelter, protection, and medical care, we need other people psychologically and socially.
This is why social distancing is so difficult for us—not just economically but personally. Psychologists say social isolation poses a significant danger for mortality. It is associated with depression and a lack of meaning in life. And those who have lost their jobs are understandably feeling dangerous…
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