The great Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris is celebrating its 850th year, if you can imagine that.
And it has received a lot of sprucing up in recent months as a result, as this interesting Reuters piece explains.
Sacred space always intrigues me, so when I was in Paris for Christmas 1999, I went not only to Notre Dame but also to several other churches. Well, in Paris as well as in Aix and Marseille.
I wrote a piece about my visit to Notre Dame, and for a bit of a change today I'd like to read it for you. To listen, just click on this link: Download Notre-Dame-column
I hope that whatever constitutes sacred space for you will be preserved and treasured, no doubt at least in part through your own efforts.
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THE MAYBE-NOT-A-VIRGIN MARY?
Speaking of things Catholic, a newly (2011) revised edition of a Catholic Bible (the New American Bible) has stirred up the old controversy about whether the Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin. The story has interesting information about how translations are done. Besides, how can we have Christmas without the media publishing stories about religious disputes?
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