Come Holy Spirit!

Thirty-two years ago today, May 18 (It was actually Ascension Thursday),  I was Confirmed in Holy Innocents' Church in Brooklyn.  On this Pentecost eve, I am very mindful of those who will be confirmed at Incarnation tonight during the Pentecost Vigil and throughout the Church Universal this weekend.  What a gift; the presence of God within us.

Statue and stained glass window of St. Vincent de Paul in Dax Cathedral.

As I visit the place from which  Saint Vincent de Paul gets his name, I am fully aware of the power of the Spirit in an individual life as well as in the life of the world.  Dax and Saint Paul les Dax are twin cities in the Aquitaine on either side of the Ardour River.  Vincent was a young student here when he accepted God's call.

It was first founded by the Romans to secure the trading route on the river.  Today Dax is a university and sports city with a popular rugby club and even a bull fighting arena!  It also is a favorite spa location as people from France, Europe and the Middle East come in droves to it's many spa Hotels.  (I stayed at a budget hotel on the other side of the river!)

Statue of a bull and fighter in front of the "Arena" of Dax. 

It was a great opportunity and I had some rare good weather to stroll along the river walkways.  Perhaps it was a foreshadowing of the Spirit to come!



Happy Birthday, Church!   Happy Pentecost!