Like so many people, I sat transfixed yesterday watching the horrible fire which consumed so much of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. A terrible tragedy, and a particularly-ironic one in that it happened during, and perhaps as a result of, a badly-needed restoration. Restoration can be that way, can't it. That's what Jesus was doing, after all. He came to restore what had been lost. Yet, at least in the short run, that restoration caused tragedy. We see that tragedy unfolding today in the reading from John's Gospel (Jn 13: 21- 33, 36- 38) where Judas begins his active betrayal of Jesus. Betrayal by one who was a good friend, with whom one shared meals and a life for three years, is a deeply personal tragedy. That's why Jesus is "deeply troubled" when He tells the apostles that one of them will betray Him. And yet we know that what arises from that tragedy is the Resurrection. In fact, you can't have the Resurrection without the Crucifixion. So maybe in some sense this great tragedy in France was necessary for true restoration. Maybe for all in France to be brought together-- in fact, for the Church to be brought together-- we needed some horrible event like this, something to focus our attention on what matters, not on the trivial, and often silly, tweats and posts and communications that do not edify but simply provoke division. Rebuilding a Cathedral, and a Church, is something that can unite us all because it requires the talents and resources of everyone. It can't be done if we focus on the negative, the places where we disagree, the reasons why it can't be done. And it will be done. That is the great lesson of our faith.