Image of Eiffel Tower from Lovelyplanet.com

Friday night I was watching the coverage of the terrorist attacks in Paris, France.  Trying to get make some sort of sense out of what was happening.  But seriously, how do you make sense out of terrorist attacks?  So senseless and so heartbreaking…

I was feeling so helpless watching all this.  Then a story emerged about the soccer match between Germany and France and how as the stadium was being evacuated, the fans began singing the French national anthem – “La Marseillaise” – (click here for the video.)

It’s interesting…I heard that song and immediately began singing along.  All the words and the melody came back to me immediately.  I was in 3rd grade attending a private school called Cupeyville Elementary in Puerto Rico.  As a 3rd grader, I was learning Spanish as a first language, English as a second and French as a third.  One of the things we learned in French class – the French national anthem.

So…Friday night after the news coverage…I found the anthem on YouTube and decided to sing along – in solidarity with the French and offering prayers for healing.

Vive la France!