The Cognitive Dissonance Presented by Modern-Day France

I was telling Ian about a recent miracle where Saint Xenia of Petersburg appeared to a Frenchman in a hospital who had been mocking the prayer life of the Orthodox patient in the bed next to his, and ultimately brought the Frenchman around to full conversion. It's a story worth sharing, but to preface it, I explained to Ian that France is not a country where God is taken very seriously by many people. Ian was quite baffled by the idea of a country where the predominant religion is "Nothing," but all the more so in the case of France, in light of the dreamy romanticism of the perceived national character:

"France does have a reputation for a place filled with love and where many people go - a reputation for the love between a man and a woman."

(March 5, 2012)