Plaza del Sagrado Corazon de Jesús, Bilbao

 It was closing in on the last days of our I Cantori choir tour of France and Spain, coming into Bilbao, Spain, after 6 days in France, and another 7 on the north coast of Spain, where we'd spent a night in Fuente Dé in the Picos de Europa park in Cantabria. I had taken part in a hike up to a mountain meadow--nothing like the actual scrambling to the peaks some of our group did (Andrew and Sarah); but for me a climb of 1000 feet in the space of 2 miles was a challenge, as was a 4-mile hike on any terrain.

Understandably, I guess, I was tired on that drive to Bilbao the next day, and driving into the city, I didn't react quickly enough to our guide's pointing out the monumental statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on our left. The size of the monument makes it difficult to take in from close at hand, and we were right there in the Plaza of the same name, driving the last few blocks to our hotel.

 

There was so much we wanted to see in Bilbao: the Guggenheim, the river, the old town, the novel ferry-bridge. I hadn't prepared to visit the Plaza del Sagrado Corazón as well.

Having seen only the base of the immense statue, and heard the words that drew attention to it, I have nonetheless held it in mind as much as if I'd actually seen it.

On this Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I remember this beautiful sign of the love God has poured out on us through the ages, and particularly in his Son.