This weekend the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris reopens. It is a major event for France and maybe for us all. Thanks are due to the expert craftspeople, historians, architects, donors, and government leaders who resurrected the Cathedral only five years after we watched it blazing on our television screens.
The Cathedral is newly enforced with a new roof and spire and cleaned and shiny on the inside. “Like new,” one might say. There is symbolism in this resurrection surely and one must understand that the Cathedral is not just a religious monument for the French but a symbol for the French people of their love of art and beauty that unites. There is a national pride in its presence.
It also speaks to the theme we have been meditating on for some time—the teaching from Otto Rank that you do not cure an ailing democracy with more democracy but with more of the “irrational.” Consider yesterday’s DM about how important a role tone played in the recent election.
Also, of course, patriarchy played a major role in the recent election and I devote a chapter on Hildegard’s painting of the Antichrist as patriarchy in my recent book on the subject.
The Gothic movement of the 12th/13th centuries occurred when the Divine Feminine penetrated European history and gave birth to an aspiration of Light and Expansiveness and Color—the stained glass invites sunlight in to dance as the sun makes its way through its day journey. The pillars imitate the solid trees of a great forest.
That revolution was in many ways a feminine one. “Notre Dame” means “Our Lady” after all and there were over 80 such cathedrals built in 100 years, all dedicated to “Our Lady”–Notre Dame de Paris, de Chartres, de Lyons, de Reins, etc.
Henry Adams, whose grandfather and great grandfather were both US presidents, names this revolution as a movement from the masculine to the feminine in his iconic work, Mont-Saint-Michel & Chartres. Its presence is a stark contrast to the architecture of the dark ages and represented a very masculine era—thick walls for defense against marauders but also against the cold; with small windows.
Rank tells us that if you want to know the essence of a culture, go to its architecture first.
Says Adams: The necessity for light was the motive of the Gothic architects. They needed light and always more light [and took] all the light there was to take. For the same reason, fenestration became the most important part of the Gothic architect’s work.
The first command of the Queen of Heaven was for light but the second, at least equally imperative, was for color….The Virgin required chiefly these four things: space, light, convenience; and color decoration to unite and harmonize the whole.*
Adams puts it this way: Society was turning from worship of its military ideal, Saint Michael, to worship of its social ideal, the Virgin.
The Virgin stood for justice for the poor, not for the powerful. That is why she was honored by the poorer classes. Compassion and grace and acceptance were her attributes and her contribution to authentic power.
To be continued.
*Henry Adams, Mont-Saint-Michel & Chartres, pp. 105f.
See “Feminism” in Matthew Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul &Society, pp. 113-115, 243-247.
And Fox, “The Green Man in the Twelfth Century,” in Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine,” pp. 23-26; 239-242.
And Fox, “Hildegard of Bingen: The Antichrist as Patriarchy,” in Fox, Trump & MAGA as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, pp. 81-84.
Banner image: Notre Dame Cathedral., taken March 11, 2026. Photo by Luc Mercelis on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
What does the resurrection of Notre Dame mean to you at this perilous moment Earth and human in history?
Recommended Reading
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
7 thoughts on “Notre Dame Rising from the Ashes”
There are many, meaning millions, news events and stories of a range of ‘magnitudes and personal relevancy’ occurring around the world daily. Of those we hear of, most go in one ear and out the other. Some, like the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, most of us only think about again if there is progress being reported, etc. Quite frankly, a small country could disappear overnight ‘into thin air’ and unless it drew our fear due to horrendous circumstances that might affect us, most of us would just continue on as usual. We are to be survivors and not victims and we have our responsibilities to continue to undertake regardless of circumstances happening around us. I am happy for the French, the rebuilders/restorers, the donators, the Catholics, the art, cultural and history lovers and the Holy Mother. Now onto a day of joyful and loving service. – BB.
Thank you for enlightening us! I remember watching ND engulfed in flames. Many women saw Kali!! The Dark Mother. Perhaps a sign of reckoning?
Our Lady has been close to me in these past few weeks.
I am receiving comfort in rereading Clarissa Pincola Estés book ‘Blessed Mother’s Love for the Wild Soul; Untie the Strong Woman’. I have faith in the power of the Divine Feminine
To protect and hold us close in this darkness…to show us The Way! Immaculate heart of Mary, Compassion…a blessed burning flame in this dark night of the world’s soul. My candle of Hope burns bright in this first week of advent.
Thank you Matthew and DM team for today’s beautiful DM commemorating the opening and renewal of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris! The resurrection of Notre Dame spiritually means to me the resurrection, faith, and hope we have in the DIVINE FEMININE continuing to be within and among Our humanity and Sacred Mother Earth with DIVINE LOVE & WISDOM both personally and COSMICALLY in Our Creation and Evolution… COSMIC CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS… in the Sacred Process of the ETERNAL PRESENT MOMENT….
Die Auferstehung unsrer Notre Dame ist eine Metapher für die Auferstehung der 13 indigenen Großmütter und die Arbeit der „Omas gegen rechts“ https://www.omas-gegen-rechts.org
die in Verbindung stehen zu https://www.volksverpetzer.de/aktuelles/wie-gewarnt-trump-project-2025/
Ich bin auch Großmutter und ich hoffe für meine Enkeltöchter, dass Gottes Weiblichkeit, dass die Trommel Mirjams und die vier Erzmütter, vertreten durch alle Omas dieser Welt den rechtsradikalen Spuk verjagen.
… und da sagte Gott zur Liebe:
“Du bist meine weibliche Seite ich nenne dich jetzt Channa = Anna (im Hebräisch das weibliche Wort für Gnade) auf das durch dich die Welt alle Katastrophen überdauert.“ Anna ist die Mutter der Gottesmutter.
The restoration of Notre Dame I find greatly pleasing. Personally, with Norman ancestory and having lived and worked in Paris and with French family ties, I have a deep and nostalgic feeling of warmth for the past and France. Secondly, it shows what can be done when everyone pulls together. We have skilled craftspeople still able to replicate what was built in ancient times; and a general feeling of bonhomie despite the present political turmoil within the country. But I am also struck by the quote from Otto Rank about how the architecture speaks for the culture. Years ago, on a visit to Italy, I could not help but notice that the great buildings of the day were not the cathedrals but the banks, impressive with their grandeur, marble and glass and even art. It spoke volumes.
I was very moved by the ritual, the music and the prayers in today’s celebration of the restoration of Notre Dame. Dignitaries from around the world were present for the occasion. In the front row sitting between Macron and his wife was Donald Trump. I think I saw Elon Musk a few rows behind. Vladimir Zelensky was there in a front row as well. I wondered if I was being prompted to pray that Trump and Musk would be enlightened, even transformed, by the Spirit of the event and that Zelensky would feel a measure of consolation and hope.
I must admit that when I heard about the amount of money that was going into the restoration of Notre Dame I wondered, “What would Mary do?” My first reaction was wishing that a good portion of the money would go to feeding and housing impoverished people, so I was disappointed to learn that the plan was for a full-blown restoration of the building. Today’s DM softened my heart! And I’d like to add one thought to this mind and heart changing DM. I wonder if the unbelievably short time it took for the restoration is yet another sign of the increasing pace of evolving consciousness. Maybe we should consider this when we make time related predictions and groan, “How long O Lord. How long?”