Sacré Coeur Camping

On my last night in Paris, I slept in a great big church.

Every night, people stay in the Sacré Coeur and take part in night prayer. You have the choice of staying in a "box" (a dormitory) for as little as €4, or in a private room for €16. Each person signs up to a time-slot of one hour or more, in which they will go down to the cathedral's nave and spend time talking to God. A rather random Google search led me to discover that this was a thing, and it sounded like an adventure. So, my little blue suitcase and I trundled up the steep cobbled streets of Monmatre. I was unsure whether to feel daunted or welcomed by the towering basilica, but a friendly lady on the registration desk helped me to decide.

The dorm had a view which was higher, more spectacular and exclusive than that of many hotels. After putting my bags by my bed, I went downstairs and explored. A nun led singing at Mass. Her bright face radiated with God's joy, and she flung it out across the room - though I was one in a distant crowd, it was as though she was singing and smiling directly at me. It made me think of the way God looks at me, and the way I believe He looks at you too. You are a tiny speck of population, and yet He looks straight towards you, knowing you and loving you. Will you look back at Him?

I went back to my dorm for a while to read. The temptation to put my head on the pillow was great, but that was not what I was there to do. At about midnight, I went back down to the basilica's nave for my hour slot of prayer. Writing helps me to concentrate on and communicate with God. Here are a couple of things I wrote:

Night Prayer 1

Before the ending of the day,

Please Father give me words to say,

To scribble down, be formed by you,

And do what your love will have me do.

Those who cannot sleep or rest,

May you comfort them, make safe their nest,

That they might slumber and gently dream,

Of acceptance despite how things may seem.

Amen

Night Prayer 2

The night has fallen, stumbled, tripped,