The Cathedral Challenge

Have you ever walked into a cathedral when it was quiet and still? As soon as the wooden doors closed behind you, did you feel a sudden awareness that this space was special and holy? Did your soul quicken in excitement and whisper, "This is where you find me"?

I had this experience when I visited Nortre Dame Cathedral in Paris many years ago. It was August and the stifling heat of Paris was left behind as soon as we stepped inside the massive doors. Although the place was packed with tourists, their voices faded when I stepped from the nave into the main body of the church.

I was awestruck.

Alcoves lined the walls, each one dancing in its own candlelight. The main aisle lead up to the altar like an arrow, drawing me forward. Incense filled the air with a mystical scent. The art work and architecture were stunning, but it was the space - the vastness - of the interior that spoke to me.

I saw a vision of monks in their coarse, brown robes walking slowly up the aisles, chanting softly. Their reverence for each other, this special place and for God were tangible feelings that I somehow understood. As I watched, the perspective changed and instead of being an outsider watching a procession, I became one of the monks!

I was the last in line, the novice, trying to step in cadence with my brothers who led the way. I carried the latern in my right hand, and I held it high to light the way. Words of an unknown, but familiar chant fell from my lips and I felt as if I were one with these people, this place and with the Spirit of God that connected us.

The vision only lasted the span of several heartbeats. But I was transported to a different relm - a place where I was special, valued and loved. I have never had that experience before or since, but it has obviously stayed with me as a moment to ponder.

Life goes on and moments to ponder become few and far between. Until a passage in a book I was reading by Paulo Coelho startled me into remembering my vision. In the Zahir, Mr. Coelho describes a cathedral in Vitoria, Spain that started out as a small chapel. Over the years, the chapel became a church, then after more than a century, it became a Gothic cathedral. Over time, it was venerated and then neglected. Restoration work had taken place haphazardly over the years, but the cathedral withstood everything.

The main character's visit to this cathedral merged with my experience at Notre Dame. Let me quote the passage and see if you don't agree:

"And suddenly, in the middle of the central nave, I realize something very important; the cathedral is me, it is all of us. We are all growing and changing in shape, we notice certain weaknesses that need to be corrected, we don't always choose the best solution but we carry on regardless, trying to remain upright and decent, in order to do honor not to the walls or the doors or the windows, but to the empty space inside, the space where we worship and venerate what is dearest and most important to us." The Zahir, by Paulo Coelho, Page 54.''

It was an "aha" moment for me! Now I understood why that grand empty space called Nortre Dame affected me so deeply. My inner space yearned to expand and grow. Instead of focusing on what is important to my soul and creating an active inner life, I was focused on fixing the exterior - the doors, walls and windows of my life. But those are the trappings of a material world that dissolve when I pass from this world.

My cathedral, my space that is uniquely my own, requires focus and attention to expand and grow. My challenge is to find the way to do that, and to share my journey with others. Only then will the cathedral of my spirit be free to express itself in the material world of form.

Are you ready to begin your own Cathedral Challenge?