On our last day in Paris, we took a day trip to Chartres to see the cathedral. It is an amazing cathedral because the townspeople volunteered their time and supplies to build it in the 12th century. As you can imagine, it's a really special place. The portals are so intricate that they are like encyclopedias for the Medieval mind. The stained glass is also impressive. The two spires are in two different styles because they were built over 300 years apart- one in Romanesque style and the other in the Gothic style. Inside, there is a huge labyrinth that was used as a poor man's pilgrimage to Jerusalem. There is one path to the center, unlike a maze, and the same path is taken out. It can be used for prayer or meditation and it is not at all New Age, rather Middle Age! I used it to meditate on Psalm 103 and make it my own prayer. It was such a beautiful experience because I find it so difficult to stay still and concentrate on something. Walking through the labyrinth as I meditated and prayed was perfect for the restless type. It was a really spiritual and calming experience.
We spent a couple days in Caen which is in Normandy, France. We went to a PeaceMuseum that covered the last century's wars. It moved from WWI and spiraled down to the Second World War. There were a lot of powerful images. For example, a large image of Hitler was projected above a dark passageway accompanied by sounds of Nazi rallies. It was chilling. That museum was emotionally difficult because I was losing an idea of the reason for war. It seemed so inhuman and horrifying. Yet, someone had to intervene in Hitler's plans for world domination and extermination of the Jews. One powerful quote was: "All war is civil war. Man is tearing out his own entrails."
I didn't get to go through the Cold War exibit but I did visit an exibit on the 9.11 terrorist attacks. It was strange to see something in a museum that I have lived through. The wounds are so fresh. We were given a global perspective on the attacks because we were reading about what happened to our nation in another country. There were profiles on all of the plane hijackers and how they got involved in Al Queda. A lot of them were not even religious much before Bin Laden recruited them. Many of them alienated friends and family upon becoming radical jihadists. There was a striking picture of the moment that Bush was told about the attacks. He was doing a reading at a school and his eyes were so intense with shock and fear that our lives would never be the same. There were also profiles of some survivors and some who died that day. One woman was a flight attendant who was flying because someone called in sick. Can you imagine dying on a day that you were even supposed to be working? And what about the woman who was sick? I felt pretty somber after that experience.
The following day, we visited a German cemetery, Pont du'Hoc and Omaha beach with the American cemetery. I really liked going to both cemeteries because it helped to remind us that we can't hate the Germans forever. It is a symbol of reconciliation and peace. It was even more beautiful because the Allies funded the cemetery to bury their enemies. Our professor reminded us that by D-Day, so late in the war, many of the Nazi soldiers were not necessarily supporters of Hitler. I looked for some soldiers that were my own age to imagine what it might've been like but I still have no idea.
The invasion at OmahaBeach was such a disaster that it caused many casualties among American soldiers. The cemetery was very calm and orderly with white crosses and stars of David. The campaign for Nazi-occupied France was costly but also necessary. Learning about the D-Day invasion is really fascinating becasue it was such a huge operation. I love learning about the little nuances like that Churchill didn't really believe in the idea of a large-scale invasion even when the Americans were really pushing it. It took Stalin to get a commitment from Churchill which was probably the best thing Stalin ever did. War is so complex because the enemy of your enemy turns out to be your friend as long as your interests match up for a time. We allied with Stalin to defeat the Germans then fought the USSR for the rest of the century.
The ideas of war and pacifism are really coming into conflict inside me now. At another museum about WWI in Flanders, I was struck by the quote that after the war-to-end-all-wars, "there has been armed conflict every day of every year somewhere in the world since 1918." Yet, I can't deny that there are times to intervene. I was looking for wisdom from the Bible (no better place than Proverbs) and fell upon Proverbs 3:27, "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act." Isn't that how fundamentalist Muslim's view jihad? Or does Bin Laden just have an evil agenda? Feel free to respond with your own thoughts...
On another note... I am in Brugge, Belgium right now, a place to rest my soul after such a difficult place to digest. Brugge is my favorite city so far because it is so tranquil and I have had only pleasant interactions. It is a Medieval town that was not ruined by either World War so it retains so much character. It is a northern version of what I imagine Venice to be like because it is full of canals and cobblestone streets. It also reminds me of Latin American cities because it is centered around the plaza. What city in Latin America doesn't have a central plaza (probably the Plaza de Armas) with a church? There was a market yesterday that we took advantage of after class. I heard a cheese vender speaking Spanish with a customer...so I just acted like I only spoke Spanish and he seemed convinced enough that I was from Spain or South America. I love those fun interactions with locals. We also went to a restaurant to get Belgiun waffles and wine and had a great time. We listened to live music by the Budapest Trio and were thoroughly entertained by our waiter who also enjoyed our enthusiasm. We saw our professors, Ken and Kim Khilstrom, sit down on the patio so we had the violinist play them a song and they loved it so much they sent us another waffle to share! It was a great night.
Tomorrow we head to Leiden, a university town outside of Amsterdam. It sounds like we'll be taking a boat tour instead of going through the Red Light District as a group...
Cher Catherine (you'll have to permit me to use the French spelling of your name...), Your comments on the Cathedral at Chartes are touching, especially the description of walking the labyrinth. I had a moving experience walking a labyrinth in Sacramento, and I wondered how your experience might be. It is wonderful to learn how to calm one’s mind and to let God speak! I’ll have to post a comment later about some of your other writings, but for now I send my love! Mom
Hey Katherine, I've just brought myself up to date with your writings, thanks to your reminder e-mail and my goodness, my heard comes alive just reading about your experiences! I crave the opportunity to see the beautiful sites you've gotten to explore. How amazing! Way to go on keeping the blog up-to-date, though I'm sure there are even more fun experiences on top of those you've written about.
And as for the musings on war, I'd probably be as confused as you. It's an odd concept to intervene in a country for the greater good of its people at the cost of the lives of the enemy whose deaths break families and hearts. I agree with the civil war quote, because when you get down to it, we're all human. We just can't seem to agree and it comes with a great cost.
I agree with Kari, that I wish I was there with you. How amazing that your trips are taking you through so much of world history, which is really "man's history". We visited the Churchill Museum in London which was the bunker where he ran the war from...it was VERY sobering and reminded all of us that we Americans here haven't really experienced the horrible realities and sacrifices of war in our faces like so many other countries. It's always good to go to God with your thoughts, and yet often we find no concrete answers about such things. I'm reminded that Ecclesiastes tells us that "to everything there is a season" and it sounds like even your journey is taking you through many of them, like a portrait of Man. Thanks for sharing all of it with us...Blessings from Roseville!
Your comments on war are thought provoking, and I have some of my own comments to add. St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was the first to define the concept of a just war. You might want to google “just war St. Augustine”. While we won’t have true peace until the Lord returns, it is still our duty to work towards it. Some things are never acceptable under any circumstances like destroying an entire country or region, killing civilians not involved in the conflict, especially children, or mistreating prisoners captured from the other side.
However, here are some criteria for intervening if forces like those led by Hitler are on the aggressive: "1. the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain; 2. all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; 3. there must be serious prospects of success; 4. the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition" (The list of four items above is a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.)
So you are grappling with very important issues in your mind, my dear Kate. It is easy to be a pacifist when war is not on your own soil, but is an entirely different story when someone attacks your own family! I admire and agree with Gandhi’s concept of passive resistance and non-violence for making social change, but I’m not sure what he says about WWII. I know that he declined to help the British fight in WWI, but that was because he said that it was not right for Indians to fight for democracy when India was not granted democracy itself. (India was granted independence from the British less than a month before Gandhi was assassinated. Perhaps I’ll come across more of his thoughts when I get to that part in the book I’m reading on Gandhi’s life and his quotes.)
Well, this is becoming almost as long as your much more interesting post that I’m commenting on! Keep thinking about these issues, they are of extreme importance in today’s world.
5 comments:
Cher Catherine (you'll have to permit me to use the French spelling of your name...),
Your comments on the Cathedral at Chartes are touching, especially the description of walking the labyrinth. I had a moving experience walking a labyrinth in Sacramento, and I wondered how your experience might be. It is wonderful to learn how to calm one’s mind and to let God speak! I’ll have to post a comment later about some of your other writings, but for now I send my love! Mom
Hey Katherine, I've just brought myself up to date with your writings, thanks to your reminder e-mail and my goodness, my heard comes alive just reading about your experiences! I crave the opportunity to see the beautiful sites you've gotten to explore. How amazing! Way to go on keeping the blog up-to-date, though I'm sure there are even more fun experiences on top of those you've written about.
And as for the musings on war, I'd probably be as confused as you. It's an odd concept to intervene in a country for the greater good of its people at the cost of the lives of the enemy whose deaths break families and hearts. I agree with the civil war quote, because when you get down to it, we're all human. We just can't seem to agree and it comes with a great cost.
Hi Katherine,
I agree with Kari, that I wish I was there with you. How amazing that your trips are taking you through so much of world history, which is really "man's history". We visited the Churchill Museum in London which was the bunker where he ran the war from...it was VERY sobering and reminded all of us that we Americans here haven't really experienced the horrible realities and sacrifices of war in our faces like so many other countries. It's always good to go to God with your thoughts, and yet often we find no concrete answers about such things. I'm reminded that Ecclesiastes tells us that "to everything there is a season" and it sounds like even your journey is taking you through many of them, like a portrait of Man. Thanks for sharing all of it with us...Blessings from Roseville!
Hi Katherine!
Your comments on war are thought provoking, and I have some of my own comments to add. St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was the first to define the concept of a just war. You might want to google “just war St. Augustine”. While we won’t have true peace until the Lord returns, it is still our duty to work towards it. Some things are never acceptable under any circumstances like destroying an entire country or region, killing civilians not involved in the conflict, especially children, or mistreating prisoners captured from the other side.
However, here are some criteria for intervening if forces like those led by Hitler are on the aggressive: "1. the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain; 2. all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; 3. there must be serious prospects of success; 4. the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition" (The list of four items above is a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.)
So you are grappling with very important issues in your mind, my dear Kate. It is easy to be a pacifist when war is not on your own soil, but is an entirely different story when someone attacks your own family! I admire and agree with Gandhi’s concept of passive resistance and non-violence for making social change, but I’m not sure what he says about WWII. I know that he declined to help the British fight in WWI, but that was because he said that it was not right for Indians to fight for democracy when India was not granted democracy itself. (India was granted independence from the British less than a month before Gandhi was assassinated. Perhaps I’ll come across more of his thoughts when I get to that part in the book I’m reading on Gandhi’s life and his quotes.)
Well, this is becoming almost as long as your much more interesting post that I’m commenting on! Keep thinking about these issues, they are of extreme importance in today’s world.
I love you!
Mom
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