I parked my cow at Tim's; Dazzled by Notre Dame's restore; Singing songs of Advent.
3 Things this week and a thought-provoking quote
Schools were closed all week in our region and while we didn’t get the four feet some of our friends did a little north of us, we were buried in snow.
Welcome to the weekend! The exuberant outpour from the heavens inspired me to write my Christmas poem, which I can gratefully share that I’ve now penned. I never know when the inspiration will fall or when I’ll get to writing the verse that’s become somewhat of an annual tradition. Turns out this was the week. (I look forward to sharing it with you soon).
Thanks for spending some of your weekend with Things I Wrote Down. Here are three things and a quote from a Pope.
1. I parked my cow at Tim's
I couldn’t get enough of this social post this week, and made sure to share it with all my American friends. It made me miss my hometown.
A guy rode his bull to the Tim Horton’s in Sylvan Lake and parked it to go get a coffee or donut. The Instagram account @RedDeerVibin shared it with the world. And I’m thankful.
2. Dazzled by the Notre Dame restore
I wasn’t invited to the ceremonies to mark the reopening of Notre Dame, the cathedral in Paris that burned in 2019. Remember those images?
The photos of the 5-year-long restoration released online are startlingly beautiful.
I went in high school and remember a dank, gloomy cathedral. Dark walls and shadow. The gothic cathedral now seems replete with light. One day I hope to go again.
In particular, the Crown of Thorns reliquary is astonishing. I’d love to see it some day. Designed by French artist Sylvain Dubuisson, it features a central deep blue half-sphere surrounded by twelve concentric circles of glass cross motifs. Made from cedar wood, a nod to the cross of Christ, adorned with bronze thorns, this piece is a pivotal element in the cathedral.
Aside: I’m interested in this story for a number of reasons, besides the religious and historical significance. I’m working on a new series that takes place in the near future in which Paris no longer exists. (It’s the greater narrative around the short series of posts I shared here).
One of the main characters is a journalist who became known for a Substack in which he did investigative reports in the faith space, reporting on predator priests, the arson of parishes across Canada, and other matters many newsrooms won’t touch in the real world. In his backstory, before the nuclear blast that takes out Paris, he attended this weekend’s reopening of Notre Dame.
Do you awake in the night stressed about finding the perfect stocking stuffer? Look no further! Buy one (of my books) on Amazon.
3. Singing Songs of Advent
Thanks to everyone who has shared kind notes about my latest Advent series and for reading! The plan, which is being used in churches across North America and is available on YouVersion is resonating with audiences.
I write the content in the summers, and this year I found myself fascinated by the history behind the songs we sing at Christmas.
It was fun to learn some of the stories behind the music we love at Advent. This week I made a case for a song that should be a Christmas carol (It is Well with My Soul).
If you’re looking for great content to read together as a family or in your own devotional life, check it out.
A quote from Pope John Paul II
Perhaps it was all the time I spent looking up images of Notre Dame’s restoration and details about the security apparatus surrounding the ceremonies as world leaders gathered. Or maybe it was the way my Christmas poem pressed against me and stirred me to write.
This week I’m sharing a quote from the late Pope from his Letter to Artists in 1999. The whole letter is wonderful. And this passage about artistic intuition packs punch for me. I hope you enjoy it.
Every genuine artistic intuition goes beyond what the senses perceive and, reaching beneath reality's surface, strives to interpret its hidden mystery. The intuition itself springs from the depths of the human soul, where the desire to give meaning to one's own life is joined by the fleeting vision of beauty and of the mysterious unity of things.
All artists experience the unbridgeable gap which lies between the work of their hands, however successful it may be, and the dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardour of the creative moment: what they manage to express in their painting, their sculpting, their creating is no more than a glimmer of the splendour which flared for a moment before the eyes of their spirit.