Entering the Final Stretch

May 07, 2008

I made it back from Paris. Only three weeks left of my sabbatical. It has been great but, of course, I would love more time. I spoke with the Bishop a couple weeks ago and wanted to ask for another two months but thought I better not press my luck. After a long, dreary winter spring is finally here. Temperatures in the 70's and lots of new life. This is the view from my window today. Compare it to one of my first posts and you will see the difference.

But, back to Paris! I was disappointed to discover along the way that the batteries for my camera were not charged so I was not able to take any new pictures. What you see here are from my Easter time in Paris.

After the first few days of rain the weather changed and the last several days were quite beautiful. I am glad that I rearranged my schedule a bit to leave some of the more outdoor things to the end of the stay. In my last post I mentioned that I had gone to the Medieval Museum of Cluny. Included were some stained glass windows from Sainte Chapelle which I had visited over Easter. Here is one of windows still in its original spot in the chapel. It gives a nice sense of the beauty of the craft in the Middle Ages.

On Thursday, which is still celebrated as the Ascension I made my way up Montmartre to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. I attended Mass for the holy day there. The music was quite nice, lead by the community of sisters who reside there. I then walked through the quarter to see some of the local sites. One was the church where St. Ignatius founded the Jesuit order. I did not realize that was in Paris, so you are never to old to learn. I then headed down to the Seine and took a boat tour around the main sites of the city. An interesting perspective from what one normally sees. Unfortunately, it was raining off and on so I had to stay inside the boat so the view was not quite as good. I then headed into Notre Dame for the organ recital. Selections from Messian's Ascension Suite. Very appropriate for the day. I stayed for evening prayer and then headed back to the apartment.

On Friday I took the train into the Normandy country side to the town of Bayeux which has a famous 1000 year old (that's right - one thousand years) tapestry which depicts William the Conqueror's battle to claim the crown of England from Harold in the Battle of Hastings (1066 for you history buffs). It was really impressive. I am bringing back some patterns to give to my sister who does cross stich and see if she can make something with them for me. (Look out, Lori!) I then went to the Cathedral where the tapestry originally hung. Finally, I went to the Normandy invasion museum. A well laid out and moving presentation of the landing on the beaches of Normandy and the subsequent battle for the area. Bayeux was saved devesation when the German's pulled out to defend other cities. So you can see what the small towns of the area were like in the pre-war era.

On Saturday I fulfilled a life long dream to visit the chateaux's of the Loire river valley. Ever since studying French in high school I have wanted to do this. I was able to take the train to Blois and see the chateaux there. Someday I hope to get back to see some others.

Sunday I went to Mass at the Church of the Trinity which was not too far from the apartment. This is the church where the great organist Olivier Messian was organist and for which he created many of his works. He is a favorite organ composer of mine so it was great to see this church. Unfortunately my schedule was such that I had to go to the 9 a.m. mass which was sung in Gregorian chant and did not use much organ. In fact, the organ that was used was the small choir organ and not the main organ. This is the 100th anniversary of Messian's birth so they are doing all of his compositions over the year. None of the dates have worked for me while I was here. Oh well, we never get everything we want.

This week the group arrived for the Sedes Sapientiae program which is a kind of short, two week continuing education program. They have a great line up of speakers from the university and outside. We are able to take part in the lectures and activities and I have found it stimulating.

As the end of my time draws near my travel schedule will lighten up. I will travel to Brugge, Antwerp and Maastricht as part of the Sedes program. A group of us is still working on a trip to Mont St. Michel. I may also try to take in one or two other things on a free afternoon. But time is flying.

I am beginning to make plans for my return, working on arranging the big move from Winona where my things have been stored to Owatonna. It is beginning to feel that the return home is just around the corner.