Exploring Paris

After going through different arrondissements, I have finally found my café: Café du Mogador. It’s not an over-the-top, tourist trap. No one famous has been here. It’s just a normal café and brasserie located in front of L’Église Trinité (Trinity Church) in the 9ème arrondissement and the locals come here. It’s perfect because I can come here after Mass to just write and read and it’s on the same métro I need to get home. People are here to just drink coffee, have an apéritif (cocktail), eat, have a pâtisserie, sandwhich, or a meal alone or with other people. More importantly, the menu fits all types of budgets, which is why I am here! And it’s right in the center; so it’s bustling but I still have my own space. Je l’adore (I love it)!

On Tuesday, I decided one of my priorities was to buy a French Magnificat. My French is slowly improving but hearing Mass is difficult since I am new to the liturgy in French. I was told by someone at Saint Lambert’s that I could buy a French Magnificat at a Catholic bookstore called La Procure near Saint Suplice Church.

En route to the bookstore, I stopped into this beautiful shop called L’Art Liturgique (Liturgical Art). What a treat to see these intricately painted icons of the Virgin Mother and Child, saints, and the Transfiguration. This place also has the most beautiful rosaries I've ever seen ...


Turning the corner, I found La Procure. I hate going to religious bookstores because I rarely leave without buying something – even if it’s chocolate made by the Monks. I wasn’t expecting it to be so HUGE, but the bookstore was enormous. There was a children’s book section; something for students of theology/Bible studies/liturgy; a section for religious movies and music; a section on saints, the sacraments, catechism; mainstream books but still Catholic-friendly; French poetry; and dictionaries (although none of them had any of the liturgical language I was looking for, which is strange because it’s a religious bookstore with a liturgy section, but whatever…). Overall, I was impressed; so impressed, that I stayed about 4 hours just going through the books. Yes, a bookstore can sometimes be one of my Achilles heel, and I ended up leaving with more than just my French Magnificat.

My appreciation for gardens has its roots from le Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Garden), which is the first garden I experienced in Paris years ago. Depending on the garden, it’s either super busy and popular with the tourists AND parisiennes, or it’s modest and quiet. I have yet to find one that’s in between. There is a garden I frequent by my parisienne parish (yes, it’s adopted me…), Saint-Lambert de Vaugirard, called le Jardin de Saint-Lambert (St. Lambert’s Garden). This garden is particularly quiet and peaceful, which I enjoy.

Afterwards, I practiced some French by the Saint Suplice fountain and set out to find Pierre Hermé – a pâtisserie famous for their macarons (macaroons). I prayed asking for help to be guided, as I used a guidebook for the 6ème arrondissement. It’s a pretty chic area in general but particularly a good locale if you’re looking for desserts and chocolatiers (shops specifically for chocolate). The first street I turned towards, I immediately saw Minelli’s – a Spanish-line of fabulous leather shoes for women – and had this thought that I should go there. I told myself 'NO' because I was here for desserts not for shoes, so I walked in another direction. Super for discipline! Or was it?

There is definitely no shortage of pastries in Paris; but during the months of July – August, most parisiennes are on holiday. Their businesses, including pâtisseries, are closed. I had this heads up before leaving, but weaving through the 6ème arrondissement with each pâtisserie closed and not being able to find Pierre Hermé, I was becoming frustrated and annoyed. None of the places that were recommended in the book were open and what I had planned for the day was not happening, so I decided to just ditch my plans to follow the book and allow my prayer said earlier to guide the way instead of the guidebook.

I ended up seeing more than planned, passing different shops, boutiques, restaurants, and was able to taste pâtisseries from stores I had not even heard of that were delicious – indeed, this was fun! I could not find Pierre Hermé, and the Gérard Mulot location was closed. While wandering I came across Rollet-Pradier and tried my first bout of yummy macarons. My favorite was this yellow macaron with a caramel and butter ganache. The other flavors bought were mint, pistachio, and coquelicot (a type of flower, I think).

I attended Mass at Saint-Germaine-des-Près and was again impressed with how many people were present. Eventually, I wandered into another pâtisserie called Paul where I purchased a large pistachio macaron.


I passed a woman who was asking for money right outside Paul. For the first time as I passed this woman, the ‘why’ of baking incorporated into the project came to mind and would not leave me. One of the reasons to bake is to do something that can help support the project almost as a perpetual fundraiser AND that it be something that brings joy to souls. Sweets make the soul happy and baking can be relaxing - something that may be helpful given the issues the project will be addressing. When desserts are good, people stop and enjoy the goodness of the dessert for the time they are encountering its subtleness, creaminess, ganach-iness (I just made up this word!). And even though this is momentary happiness (and obviously, not the highest form of happiness), I'm not sure it's so wise to disconnect this deliciousness from God. I may not be baking at this point in Paris because I can’t find a place to volunteer; but I realized bringing joy to another was not something that had to wait for the project to have perfect circumstances or for the project to be in full operation. How lovely would that be to share joy, even if momentary, with those we do not know? This was actually harder in practice as I would find later ... :)

Turns out I finally did find Pierre Hermé … closed ... but 3 hours later. It was directly located across the Minelli’s I had seen on the first street I chose not to go to (as mentioned earlier). God knows us so well, and I laughed as I realized He chose to use my favorite line of shoes to get my attention! My prayers had been answered quite immediately from when I had started the search for pâtisseries, mainly Pierre Hermé, and the answer was in front of me. I just chose the answer I wanted instead of listening and trusting. He was so good though to make the best out of my wandering even though there was an easier way.

After the Mass, a choir was practicing for a concert that night and the thought to stay came to mind. So with my trusty student discount, I concluded the night with a concert at Saint-Germain-des-Près with the Chœur du King’s College de Londres (King’s College London Choir). Here’s a sampling of the concert, which was primarily sung in latin:

Wednesday I had a very productive meeting with a lovely woman from le Centre Culturel pour la Femme (the Cultural Center for Women). Our meeting was tremendously helpful, as she asked me to describe more of the project. The project and its aims are understood in Paris as une association caritative (charity association), which basically means there is no profit in the work that is done. As I described the project, the woman I spoke with had a tremendous heart for victims and families of abuse. Her breadth of knowledge was also evident concerning the issues surrounding la violence matrimonial/conjugale (matrimonial violence). It was so good to speak with someone who understood some of the challenges and complexities behind domestic abuse (called in France either la violence matrimonial/conjugale or la violence domestique). Before I left, she provided a whole range of ideas involving groups in Paris that address healthy relationships. Providence was so good to have provided such an informative conversation.

After our meeting, I found a pâtisserie where I ate a pastry called the Paris-Brest. The best part of this pastry was its surprising lightness, even the peanut-buttery crème was smooth and light.


I also stopped into a nearby church called Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Grenelle for some reflection from the meeting and then found a boulangerie with a line -- always a good thing! Afterwards, I went to le Quartier Latin (the Latin Quarter, 5ème) and visited La Sorbonne because I wanted to be with other students and because I knew there would be restaurants with a student-friendly budget. I had considered studying and writing along le Panthéon if I could not find a nice café to frequent.


I enjoyed wandering le Quartier Latin finding bookstores, cinemas, inexpensive restaurants, and brasseries. The evening completed itself as I walked past a sign where there was Eucharistic Adoration. I thought this was enough and then found out there was also Mass, but God had more joy in store! A community known as les Sœurs de L’Adoration réparatrice (Sisters of the Adoration restorative … I don’t know how to correctly place the words here) has Eucharistic Adoration and Mass for their community and the public. In addition to this, the Sisters pray the Liturgy of the Hours and pray with the public – making the hymnals and the Liturgy of the Hours available to those who want to participate. The Sisters pray one part of the psalmody and then it exchanges with the other participants and the recitation goes back and forth. This is what With Mercy and Justice will be incorporating – that is, praying and teaching others how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. It was so encouraging and inspiring to see how many people were participating and the rhythm of the prayer shared between the Sisters and the public. Being present here helped me to think of ideas of how to incorporate this into the project in terms of how the Sisters took parts of the Hours, the hymn that was chosen, how the Eucharist was present … it was more than I could have asked for. And all this for ditching my plans and the guide!

When I arrived home, I ate a pâtisserie called la Provençale. Of all the desserts I have had so far, this seems to be the most complicated, as it had 5 layers. The dessert had a thin layer of chocolate, topped with another layer that had crisps, nuts, and a ganache, topped with a floury layer, topped with an apricot-flavored layer, topped with a white mousse, and dusted with a white chocolate powder. It was amazing.

Thursday I walked along the Seine river and had lunch overlooking the river.



I spent the whole day at le Musée D’Orsay (Orsay Museum) enjoying the Impressionist paintings. This is my favorite museum in Paris. It’s hard to believe you could spend the entire day at a museum; but if you’ve visited le Musée D’Orsay, it’s not so difficult to understand why. For the evening, I met up with a family friend’s … brother. It was all good; and he was very warm, kind, and knowledgeable. We talked about politics, religion, family, traveling, the project, and food over a wonderful meal at a Moroccan restaurant (404 Restaurant Familial, 69 rue des Gravilliers, 3ème) with pâtisseries orientelles afterwards.

Friday was spent looking for more pâtisseries; and the first one on the mission was Ladurée (16 rue de Royale, 8ème), known for their macarons.



They had macarons, but the presentation of their pâtisseries was so beautiful. Who knew you could make fruit look so beautiful?

I continued to walk through the streets and snapped photos of desserts when I ran into a woman with a bag from Pierre Hermé! What a relief! She told me where I could find the shop.

After ordering a handful, I enjoyed them at a fountain in le Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden).


It was nice to be with other parisiennes and tourists enjoying the gardens. The gardens in Paris are like a national past time for the French. You can enjoy the fountains and they have these chairs that are already ready for you to sun bathe! Either by the fountain or in the shade, people are just laying out, eyes closed, and hanging out. If it was one person, I might think they were homeless; but the number of people doing it makes it pretty evident it's a cultural thing.


Afterwards, I explored la Place de la Concorde and its fountains and obelisk. For Mass, I ended up quickly having to shift gears from a 630pm, Polish/French chapel to hoping to find any church that would celebrate Mass in French instead of Polish but at 7pm given the time crunch. I knew there was L’Église Madeline (Madeline Church) in the area but had absolutely no idea if there was a 7pm Mass available here. While on the train, I noticed there was a stop called Trinité d’Estienne d’Orves and remembered from my meeting at the Centre Culturel pour la Femme the recommendation to visit a church called L’Église Trinité. But was this even the correct stop? And if so, would they have a 7pm Mass? In meditation earlier that day in the Polish/French chapel, the words ‘Trinité,’ came very clearly to my attention. I thought … I’ll just go and either make Mass or not ... hopefully finding a church. And God was good – not only was there a church, but they had a 7pm Mass, and it was the church I was hoping to go to and find more information about their apostolate.

I realized that this L’Église Trinité was the same church that had been recommended to me before I left for this trip, and the only reason I realized this was because when I entered the church I didn’t know what to do with myself I was in awe at how beautiful the church was – the altar, an ambo with an entrance AND an exit (!), stained glass, ceiling, and mini-chapels along each side of the church. I have never seen a second level where people can walk and look down towards the congregation.


I had my first bout of doubtful thoughts earlier this day, which is why I found myself praying earlier at the Polish/French chapel. The prayer was helpful in restoring my faith that I was supposed to be in Paris and that things would take place as God knew they would. I just had to believe. I was becoming discouraged though because the past couple days I had been gathering information about pâtisseries that did not appear in my favor to actually learn from a pâtisserie, many of the shops I went to were closed, and I couldn’t find freaking Pierre Hermé. The laws here are also such that there is much preparation needed (which I hadn't prepared for) even to volunteer at any business if you are not a French citizen, without a work visa, or without a student visa for interning.

Suffice to say, I was frustrated and discouraged; but God was good and there was peace in my prayer, so I knew God would take care of it. And I just realized this writing, but the time when I left that Polish/French chapel, I ran into that woman who was carrying a Pierre Hermé bag who helped me get to the shop I couldn't find.


Even thought this seems so little, how good was He to have had that woman and me cross paths, so she could help me find the shop. He works even in the little things.

As I was leaving Trinité from Mass, I realized this was one of the churches I was to connect with. It’s one thing to talk about plans; but when God presents you with those plans in a very concrete way and confirms Himself in some way, you have a choice to make. I think this has a lot to do with our own personal vocations whatever they are. Are we going to say 'yes' or are we going to pretend we didn’t hear and just run in the other direction out of fear? I tend to be in the latter mode. Leaving I was struck with this fear and very discouraging thoughts, when I saw a chapel with the pictures of John-Paul II and Blessed Mother Teresa (two of the many inspirations for the project). So I decided to pray.


My spirit was lifted, and I was filled with hope. Those questions that came to mind were all real. But looking at their pictures what I saw was something that transcended the doubts and questions that were festering in my head. I saw a man in John-Paul II and a woman in Blessed Mother Teresa. In other words, in addition to the undeniably, extraordinary ways in which they lived, they were also completely human. We share in the same humanity, and what gave me hope was that in their humanness, they had the courage to say ‘Yes’ and to allow Christ to decide how he would transform them to be more like him, to love as he loves.

When I saw the picture of John-Paul II and Blessed Mother Teresa, I love them for their goodness and remember all that they have inspired in me and the actions of others. But the author of all of their great work is God; and when I think of them, God’s glory is so abundantly evident. They trusted in His will without knowing exactly what His will was. The hope received from prayer did not give me answers, it just gave me trust and that was sufficient.