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It is too much.  Notre Dame burning seemed farcical, and that’s how a co-worker and I treated it, at first.

He heaved a huge sigh which I remarked on hearing over my headphones.  “I think it’s the end times,” he said.

“What?”

“No, I’m serious.  Notre Dame’s burning.  It might be the end times.”

Then I said maybe god was pissed at Benedict for the horrible things he said in his letter.

“But if he’s dead, how can he be pissed?”

I was confused.  “Benedict isn’t dead.”

Click.  Whir.

“Oh!  Nietzsche …”

Hearing the news coverage on the way home broke my heart.  A place I’ve never been, yet so iconic as to feel like I know it caught fire.  The flames seen from miles away.  Paris came to a standstill as citizens of the world stopped what they were doing, to bear witness to the awfulness.  People prayed, sang, knelt, and wept at the sight.

Meanwhile, the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was also on fire.  But you wouldn’t know that.  Not even Al-Jazeera has much to say about it.

So much hardship to be borne in the world. It makes giving up look like a good idea.  Do Not.  We must be strong for each other, and ourselves.