Pilgrimage to the Lands of Dominic - 1985
By: Barbara Cooper

Pentecost Sunday

I knew I'd be in France for this feast, but didn't know I'd be celebrating it with such gusto! The liturgy is solemn, especially moving when the organ sounded the great Alleluia and the Gospels were carried from the altar to the lecturn. They use a lot of incense! Much of the light in the church comes from candles, which took a fairly long time to light. The walls are made of hollow brick filled with stained glass. The light is diffused and soft.

The readings struck me as "sending forth" - receiving the gifts of the Spirit for the world. Every Dominican should spend a Pentecost in Toulouse! Was this not our "Pentecost" as a family? The message I keep hearing is to be open to life, to embrace life, to BE as fully as I can, in the "now".