"Stop here! I want to admire Notre Dame from an angle that maybe no one else had a chance to…."

Thoughts of a pilgrim in Paris

I saw the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris on a common summer night, not that pretty. It was brightly lit. My car was passing on the left bank of the river going toward the island.

I looked over and saw the Cathedral from an unexpected perspective. From that angle, offered by chance (if chance exists and in a certain sense it does), I looked at Notre Dame. It was so beautiful that I wanted to tell the driver, "Stop! I want to get out here."

Everything else about it is very beautiful. But I thought that maybe few people have had the chance to see, stop, and admire the Cathedral from that angle. I wanted to be among the few to admire Notre Dame and praise Our Lady from this viewpoint…who knows?…perhaps others had not done so sufficiently.

At least now we could say that a pilgrim from afar loved what many, because of their haste or because they didn't receive a special grace for it, did not love.

With the great monuments of Christendom, after admiring the more marvelous aspects, I tend to admire the details. I do it in reparation. Perhaps these details had not been loved as they ought to have been.

From deep in our innocence comes the idea of the world’s Gothic cathedrals -- those built, and those not built.

But there’s more. Beyond the idea of the Gothic Cathedral is the concept of God, infinitely greater than all else.

The spirit that inspired all Cathedrals makes Himself felt and then we really live more in Heaven than on earth.

My longings are fulfilled. My desire for the afterlife is fulfilled. My wish is fulfilled to know God so well that He lives within me more than I live in myself.

God is supreme. Compared to Him, I’m not even a grain of sand.

I thought: "Ah! I understand. Heaven must be like this."

Then we grow in love for the Eternal and Invisible spirit that created all. He says:

"My son, I exist. See the Cathedral and understand. It is like Me. But it is infinitely less than I. My beauty is supreme. Only when you see Me will you realize Who I am."

"Come, my son. I await you. Fight on for a while. I am preparing to show you great beauties in Heaven. They will be great to the degree that your struggle is great and difficult on earth. Wait. When you are ready I will call you to see that which I intended you to see when I created you."

"My son, I am your Cathedral; your Cathedral exceeding great; exceeding beautiful. This Cathedral made the Most Holy Virgin smile like nothing else -- far more than any jewel, rose, or beautiful creature."

This Cathedral is Our Lord Jesus Christ:

"I Myself shall be your reward, exceeding great."