bells
did you know that each of the bells in the notre-dame cathedral have names? the largest and oldest is emmanuel. he is the bourdon, meaning he is one of the heaviest in the carillon. he lives in the south tower.
the second; marie, named after our holy mother. she is also a bourdon, and also belongs in the south tower. she is inscribed with the hail mary.
third; gabriel, named after the angel who announced the coming of jesus christ. he's the largest bell in the north tower.
inscription: l'ange du seigneur apporta l'annonce à marie (the angel of the lord declared unto mary)
fourth; geneviève, named after the french saint of the same name. she performed miracles along the ile-de-france, healing the blind and sick.
inscription: et elle conçut du saint esprit (and she conceived of the holy spirit)
fifth; denis, named after the first bishop of paris. since he was beheaded, he is often depicted in sculptures and art holding his head in his hands.
inscription: voici la servante du seigneur (behold the handmaid of the lord)
sixth; marcel, named after the ninth bishop of paris (also known as saint marcellus). he supposedly turned the water of the seine to wine. in a fable, it's said that he slayed a dragon.
inscription: qu'il me soit fait selon ta parole (be it done unto me according to thy word)
seventh; étienne, in memory of saint stephen, whom the cathedral was initially dedicated to. he is widely considered to be the first martyr.
inscription: et le verbe s'est fait chair (and the word was made flesh)
eighth; benoît-joseph, named after the late pope benedict xvi. apparently, he was very fond of cats and looked after the stray ones in his neighbourhood.
inscription: et il a habité parmi nous (and dwelt among us)
ninth (my favourite); maurice, named after maurice de sully, a bishop of paris who placed the first stone—beginning the construction of the cathedral.
inscription: priez pour nous, sainte mère de dieu (pray for us, o holy mother of god)
and lastly, the smallest and newest bell is named jean marie, named after cardinal jean-marie lustiger, who passed in 2002.
inscription: afin que nous soyons rendus dignes des promesses du christ (that we may be made worthy of the promises of christ)
okay enough about the bells
i have good eye coordination and sense of rhythm, so i think i could be a good bell-ringer. i just looked it up and, in america, bell-ringers make about $14.02 an hour. i think i'm in a reverse quasimodo situation where i'd actually love to spend my time stuck in a cathedral for the rest of my life. the sort of metaphorical barrier that separates me from people isn't brought up of stone, and if it was i probably built it. it's more of a diagnosis; and i definitely let it stop me. i let it stop me all the time.