I realized looking at her statue that she seriously had a rough ride, but wow, what perseverance and faith! A peasant girl ... who led the French army through various military victories ... young ... and then martyred. I'm surprised that we don't really talk much about her in the States and her heroism for the Church. 
It's good to belong to a faith that celebrates women, young women, and even the very young (I'm thinking of the courageous St. Maria Goretti). How wonderful it is to belong to a Church that celebrates the beauty of women, their faith, and their contributions to the Church, family, children, and society. Not everyone thinks this way, but I find that those who have the sharpest critique are voices outside the faith.Having visited so many churches so far and to see Catholic women honored through statues, stained-glass, and paintings to remember their contributions clearly demonstrates how the Church upholds women. Our Church has never waivered in defending the dignity of woman, found even in the unlikely, armored 19-year old, peasant girl: Saint Jeanne d'Arc.
I am excited about the future of the Church and how the Church and its members will respond as more questions arise related to sex and gender, particularly gender-based areas of violence (namely prostitution, sex trafficking, domestic abuse/sexual violence, etc.). The Church has a lot to say in a way that speaks with reason and joy if we are open to listening. I say "gender-based" because while all areas of violence happen to both women and men (girls and boys), the statistics reveal that there are areas of violence with a higher percentage of female victims/survivors than male victims/survivors. Healing is needed across the board for both female and male; this is obvious. This is also how our apostolate intends on serving. But what can be objectively stated is that gender-based abuse and violence is also a reality. To some people that seems pretty obvious, but there is still a belief that gender-based violence isn't possible. The numbers say otherwise. When I return from this trip, I will post statistics I've been gathering to demonstrate this point. But for now ... back to being a tourist and pastries! :)
So, after my reflection on Saint Jeanne d'Arc, I decided to tour L'Opera Garnier (Garnier Opera House), which is the setting for the musical, Phantom of the Opera. I kept humming the music the entire time I was there and kept seeing the scenes in my mind; it was great fun! Everything is very detail-oriented and embellished, which I loved. The ceiling of the opera house pictured here has a painting by Marc Chagall.
My favorite room was the lounge area and also the most difficult to take a photo in ... but was it worth it! I spent most of the afternoon just admiring the marble, mosaics, gold, which were lovely.
After L'Opera I walked about the Galeries Lafayette shopping area, which basically made me clam up ... it was so busy!
I eventually found myself by L'Église Madeline, which I actually passed by twice. Given its history, I'm not surprised I didn't see it (even though it's massive) because it looks more like a government building than a church. The flowers in the front give it a soft touch. They are doing massive renovating, which makes it difficult to see how beautiful the church really is behind the stern-looking façade. It's hard to see, but there's actually a sea-green and coral-colored marble with gold lines in between the columns. The altar I think is pretty impressive, as I've never seen marble carved in this way and placed at the altar.Behind the church is Fauchon, which is a pâtisserie known for their desserts: des tartes, les entremets, des eclaires, des macarons, and les petits gâteaux (little cakes).
Fauchon is definitely cutting-edge when it comes to pâtisseries, and it was only until I tasted the pastries of this line that I realized there was a difference between some of the pastries that had made up the past week and Fauchon, which was really in a category of its own. 
I purchased an eclaire that had a pudding-like mousse filling. The quality of the chocolate in the pudding was very good quality and the dark chocolate painted across the dough was probably anywhere between 60% and 75%, so delicious and good quality! There were also chocolate crisps covered with edible gold. The macarons I chose for myself were strawbery and rose; each actually tasted as either a strawberry or a rose. The rose macaron may be my favorite pâtisserie more impressive to me than the merveilleux because when I bit into the macaron I could smell the subtle fragrance of roses and it TASTED like what a red rose might taste like. The way this very tiny dessert engaged my senses was subtle and spoke to the sophisticated technique clearly used in their making of pâtisseries.
Sunday I went to la Chapelle Médaille Miraculeuse and discovered I was attending a liturgy celebrated with the African community. The music was an African language (I don't know which one); there was beautiful harmonizing, African drums, and hands in the air; and I think I must have been in the dancing section! Because the African women were all about the liturgy, and I just had to step back and appreciate how expressive this liturgical celebration was. I'm not sure I've ever experienced the liturgy this way before, but what a way to celebrate our Lord - praised be Jesus Christ!
Afterwards, I walked through a market and decided to buy vegetables. I haven't really been eating anything but pâtisseries and baguettes and have had this huge craving for anything meat, fruit, and vegetables.
On my way to finding a park, I had a pleasant exchange that fragranted my whole day -- quite literally! I gave some of the peaches I had just bought to a woman and she gave me lavender. I've never received these flowers before, but they were so aromatic my bag was filled with their fragrance the whole day (and then my flat once I got home).
After spending some time in the park, I decided to try to go to le Musée Rodin (Rodin Museum); but by the time I arrived, I was so hungry I just ended up looking for a restaurant. As I was looking and getting frustrated because everything was closed, I ran into the SAME woman who had told me where the Pierre Hermé shop was. Just seeing her reminded me of macaroons (since she had helped me find them ...) and then I was happy again. A couple blocks later I enjoyed an Affligem Bière Blonde. Das ist gut, ja?
I set out to find le Jardin du Luxembourg, but I kept getting lost despite being in le Quartier Latin/La Sorbonne, literally in the same area. Walking around le Panthéon, I came across an even better 'jardin,' or L'Église Etienne du Mont. When I walked in, the church had some type of suspended marble work above the altar from which the Holy Crucifix was placed. The organ system behind the congregation was massive. And as I walked around the back of the church, the stained glass was very detailed.
In the picture provided below, the light on the right hand side is a reflection from the light coming from windows hitting the white marble ... and that is all :)
The last place I visited to wrap up the day of walking (le Jardin du Luxembourg was closed by the time I got there) ... and yes, I feel a little guilty that I went here but I did ... was McDo's. I had a craving and needed free internet ...
And for dessert I had a pâtisserie called la Truffe Noire (the dark truffle). I don't exactly know they did it, but it was a layered with fudge, brownie, and truffle. The amazing part of this dessert was that it was not so sweet and not rich; it was very delicious and topped with a truffle dusted in chocolate powder. Now I know why the entire pâtisserie is called la Truffe Noire. This was their best pastry.
Afterwards, I walked through a market and decided to buy vegetables. I haven't really been eating anything but pâtisseries and baguettes and have had this huge craving for anything meat, fruit, and vegetables.
On my way to finding a park, I had a pleasant exchange that fragranted my whole day -- quite literally! I gave some of the peaches I had just bought to a woman and she gave me lavender. I've never received these flowers before, but they were so aromatic my bag was filled with their fragrance the whole day (and then my flat once I got home).
After spending some time in the park, I decided to try to go to le Musée Rodin (Rodin Museum); but by the time I arrived, I was so hungry I just ended up looking for a restaurant. As I was looking and getting frustrated because everything was closed, I ran into the SAME woman who had told me where the Pierre Hermé shop was. Just seeing her reminded me of macaroons (since she had helped me find them ...) and then I was happy again. A couple blocks later I enjoyed an Affligem Bière Blonde. Das ist gut, ja?
I set out to find le Jardin du Luxembourg, but I kept getting lost despite being in le Quartier Latin/La Sorbonne, literally in the same area. Walking around le Panthéon, I came across an even better 'jardin,' or L'Église Etienne du Mont. When I walked in, the church had some type of suspended marble work above the altar from which the Holy Crucifix was placed. The organ system behind the congregation was massive. And as I walked around the back of the church, the stained glass was very detailed.In the picture provided below, the light on the right hand side is a reflection from the light coming from windows hitting the white marble ... and that is all :)
The last place I visited to wrap up the day of walking (le Jardin du Luxembourg was closed by the time I got there) ... and yes, I feel a little guilty that I went here but I did ... was McDo's. I had a craving and needed free internet ...
And for dessert I had a pâtisserie called la Truffe Noire (the dark truffle). I don't exactly know they did it, but it was a layered with fudge, brownie, and truffle. The amazing part of this dessert was that it was not so sweet and not rich; it was very delicious and topped with a truffle dusted in chocolate powder. Now I know why the entire pâtisserie is called la Truffe Noire. This was their best pastry.
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