A huge burial site lies...
Illustration
A huge burial site lies beneath the city of Paris in what was once an ancient stone quarry. Stones that make up most of Paris' famous buildings came from there. Stacks of skulls, femurs and tibias form the walls of this vast underground city where some six million are buried, including the remains from people in the 1400s. Official tours of these remains stretch one mile, and behind these walls are bins and rooms full of piles of more bones.
It would seem to be a strange place to visit, much less celebrate. Yet, each year some 200,000 visitors tour these catacombs. And, each year, in the first week of December, some 200 students from the nearby mining college, the Ecole des Mines, throw a massive party to honor Saint Barbe, the patron saint of engineers and miners. In 1897, there was even a secret concert attended by numerous members of Parisian high society.
Faith is not a blind attempt to do away with a reality like death. It is not some strained effort to avert the inevitable. Faith seizes a reality. It clings to a truth that is not otherwise apparent, but is nevertheless very real. It clings to the promise of God in Christ Jesus that there is a life after death, that his suffering, death and resurrection have finally abolished death and instead offer eternal life.
--Guettler
It would seem to be a strange place to visit, much less celebrate. Yet, each year some 200,000 visitors tour these catacombs. And, each year, in the first week of December, some 200 students from the nearby mining college, the Ecole des Mines, throw a massive party to honor Saint Barbe, the patron saint of engineers and miners. In 1897, there was even a secret concert attended by numerous members of Parisian high society.
Faith is not a blind attempt to do away with a reality like death. It is not some strained effort to avert the inevitable. Faith seizes a reality. It clings to a truth that is not otherwise apparent, but is nevertheless very real. It clings to the promise of God in Christ Jesus that there is a life after death, that his suffering, death and resurrection have finally abolished death and instead offer eternal life.
--Guettler
