Bonjour!! Although I am not yet back in Paris I have been thinking about my blog for awhile. I've been wanting to write about "our" church in Paris. Notre Dame de Passey, is not "the" Notre Dame but a very lovely old church in the neighborhood. We walk out the door of our apartment at about 10:15 Sunday morning, mass is at 10:30, and join the others making their way to church. You can almost feel the sense of fellowship even though we are a group of strangers gathering together!
Notre Dame is very old with many interesting archetectural elements; large collumns, beautiful paintings on the ceiling and behind the altar, stained glass windows and old, scuffed wooden floors. You feel a sense of reverence and history in this old church as it fills with people. . .children, parents, grandparents and even a few misfits like us!! There are no pews or kneelers so upon arriving you stand in front of your seat and say your prayers before sitting, some sit and reflect quietly. By seat I mean a very small highback chair that is probably considered antique and was made when the average person weighed no more than 100 pounds with a teeny, tiny butt, so we oversized Americans have no wiggle room for fear the legs will collapse...better to sit still and pay close attention I guess!!!
The mass begins with at least ten altar servers, all boys aged 7 to 16ish processing down before the readers, eucharistic ministers and priests. It is quite the sight! There is much ceremony and burning of incense (sometimes the smoke is so thick it is difficult to see the priest at the altar!) The mass itself is easy to follow as it is a typical catholic mass, but of course it is all in French! Mark and I sing the hymns the best we can (never good), sing the Alleluia and say the Our Father in english. All I can say is we are there, we participate and we absorb, observe and reflect. It is a good feeling. . .it is not a feeling of returning "home" after a long absence (a feeling I have when returning to St. John's the Evangelist of Spencerport) but a feeling of visiting a very dear friend, one you are comfortable with and can say whatever comes to mind. . .
P.S. It is fun to observe the interactions between children, parents and grandparents~families are the same everywhere I guess! Little children speaking french are just adorable. I might be a little jealous of their speaking ability, as I find french very difficult and they make it look so easy!!
I guess the equivalent to our usher in church in the U.S. is a man dressed in a tuxedo in France or at least our little neighborhood church. We are not exactly sure of his role in the whole process, but he is very dashing in dress!!
Oh, let's not forget the beggars outside of church every week. I don't know if I should be sad and upset about their plight or if this is their calling/vocation in life. There are two of them. . .one woman in a wheelchair and a man, both with little paper cups. We toss the woman a coin as she is on the side of the church we exit from. They are there every week in the same spot, getting the same coins from the same people. It is interesting to observe as we are not used to seeing so many beggars and homeless...a story for another day!!
P.S.S. Mark just called from Paris to wish me a good morning, a good day, an I love you. He does this every day, a small gesture that means the world to me and makes for a brighter day:) A bientot!!
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