Oct 08th - Denis

I do not often dwell on things other than the saint, and I am almost embarrassed to say it but it is the physical legacy of Denis which has so fascinated me over the years.
Denis is the patron of France, similar to Joseph in Italy and Patrick in Boston, I mean Ireland.
Denis in a way defines France.
It is most evident in the Gothic cathedral built to honor his bones (surpassed, in my mind, in daring only by Beauvais, of which only the choir, transept, and West Works exist).  Denis is the definition of Gothic, the first, and therefore quintessentially French.
Devotion to Denis and companions dates from the third century and that is about all we know except that he was from Italy, became bishop in Paris, and was martyred, at which time the bodies were honored with shrines. From then on it is the series of buildings which lead to the present day edifice.
So it is the small things that we do in the Kingdom which can lead to big things in the Kingdom of Christ until we are at rest in the heavenly Kingdom. Worship still takes place in these millennia old sites and someone we know so little about still ripples in the daily Faith lives of us all. We may not all be remembered by name but well, if we do good then we will be remembered by the most important person.

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The victor will thus be dressed in white, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and of his angels. Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

-- Revelation 3:5