I entered the Department of Religious Studies in Vancouver in the Fall of 1974. Michel was a year or two advanced and the first person to befriend me and "show me the robes." He is a unique individual with generosity of Geist or empathy, and deep analytical skills, wide interests, lucid thinking. His books and many students are evidence of this. It has been a deep joy to be his friend through the years. He has always helped me with intellectual projects and been attentive to personal issues, and all this without a touch of pedantry or arrogance. In addition to his deep learning in Religious Studies and related topics, he has a gift for empathic listening, and a singular capacity to think on his feet and lecture with amazing lucidity.