My favorite female Disney lead is Esmeralda (cunning, beautiful, and all the empathy yes please–– also one of the 3 Disney girls I can dress up as without being called out for not being white). Today I attended evening mass at Cathedrale Notre Dame. I admit I’ve been very angry at the Christian Church and Muslim Jama’at this past week–– where are they when there are God’s children sleeping outside in the cold? I barely saw them. When did we get to a point where we could in good conscience walk past a sick refugee toddler laying on a piece of cardboard–– in Paris in the 21st century?
So I went to mass searching for some divine architecture-and-French-language-inspired comfort, and not gonna lie, I didn’t understand ANY of it. But I’ve watched Hunchback enough times to have been praying my favorite gypsy’s Notre Dame prayer the whole time. And as silly as that sounds, it’s an important one––
I ask for nothing, I can get by
But I know so many less lucky than I
God help the outcasts, the poor and down trod
I thought we all were the children of God
The photos I’ve taken this week have made me certain of a few things. These refugees are not broken people. Suffering does not a person break. These are people who give their warmest, most comfortable belongings to the sick. These are people who line up to greet the newly arrived pregnant woman to see who speaks the same language and can provide the most help. God is working through them. I can guarantee that he’s working through many of us too, but it seems like we, including the French church, have yet to answer. I hope that changes soon.
God help the outcasts, but help them by softening our hearts so that they no longer will be.