A week before Easter is a fitting time for a religious catastrophe.
On Monday night the 15th April in the year of our lord 2019, Our Lady, Notre Dame ignited into flame shortly before 7pm in the evening. The epicentre was the roof of the cathedral. The fire was eventually subdued and extinguished fifteen hours later by the fire crews of Paris. There were still however, some residual fires to put out throughout the scene.
The Spire, a symbol of the “martial power of religion” lends the impression of strength and glory to religious buildings. The reaching to celestial heights gives hope that the mass believers will reach heaven. Spires symbolise wealth and power and often honour the patron of the building.
Notre Dame’s spire and roof eventually caved in on the church itself causing considerable damage to the interior of the building, the upper walls and the windows, destroying stained glass that dated back to the 13th Century. Many works of art are now lost. The stone vaulted ceiling beneath the roof ensured that the damage was contained and did not eliminate the building.
An investigation is underway to find the culprit.
The bees who lived on the roof of Notre Dame are alive and buzzing. They survived the devastation that ripped the cathedral. There were three bee hives in the roof over the sacristy on the first floor, at the bottom of the rose window. The bees have lived there since 2013. There are 60,000 bees in each hive. Making a total of 180,000 survivors of the devastation.
The bee is Melissa of the great Greek myth.
Melissa entered a competition to supply the best food at the Wedding Feast of Zeus and Hera – the King and Queen of Heaven.
Melissa won with her honey. The prize was such that the winner could ask Zeus anything. Melissa asked for a fatal weapon. One which could kill anyone trying to steal her honey. Her honey takes an age to make, she explained. A weasel or any such creature could come along with one swipe of a paw and undo months of work. I need a weapon to defend myself just as the Scorpion.
Zeus was outraged at the audacity of this tiny insect. How dare you ask for a mortal weapon you measly bee he shouted in a thunder voice. Melissa did not cower, for she was brave and regal in her own right. She stood firm and said to the king of heaven ‘you said I could ask for anything I wanted’
In his typical way of avoiding responsibility, Zeus said that he had claimed they can ask anything, but he did not have to grant it. Seeing as she had such balls, Melissa was granted a hive of bees to make the honey for her. She would be queen to them all. Her kind and herself were granted a fatal weapon. But it would be them that the weapon was fatal. A giant sting presented itself to Melissa the honey bee and whenever she or her drones stung any other creature it was they that would die.
The parable of Melissa befits the cathedral losing its spire. The sting has gone from our lady. She has been restored to a provider. She is born again.
By Helen McNulty 2019
