Pilgrimage

Our blog title is taken from a giant sign we found hanging outside of Notre Dame de Paris.

The phrase means "the way seeks wayfarers." We had no idea why it was there, or why the square outside of Notre Dame was covered in a bunch of tents when we arrived on the night of January 1, intent on attending mass and possibly seeing some medieval things too. According to the cathedral's website, the phrase is taken from Augustine and is a reference to the Christian life of pilgrimage. In the case of Notre Dame, the phrase is part of its celebration of its 850th (!) anniversary, which coincides with the Church's year of faith. In our case, it suits both because of our interest in the medieval past of Paris, and because we hope to make our travels into a pilgrimage of our own. The way seeks wayfarers: it found us!

After standing for a while in a line that wound around the block, we realized that it was for "visite," whereas the side of the entrance marked "messe" had no line at all. In we went, and heard (without a lot of comprehension, admittedly) sung vespers, got directions from a French church lady, and attended mass. Standing in the slightly smelly, crowded, cold environs, not understanding the details of the language despite more or less knowing what was going on, in a thirteenth-century church, I felt I had quite a bit in common with some of my medieval forebears. So our pilgrimage began where many good pilgrimages end: in a cathedral church on a feast of Our Lady.

Then we walked home along the Seine, in the rain.