Our Austrian Christmas Season

Tomorrow is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the start of a New Year!  2020!  And our 10th semester in Gaming!

It's crazy to think that our kids really are more Austrian than American - despite the fact they're American citizens!  Ellie was 2 when we moved here, Francis was 3 months, and Isaac and Clare were born here -- Clare's actually never been to America!  Brian and I love watching them grow up here.  

This year we got to watch Francis star as Tiny Tim in the LCI's A Christmas Carol.  We got to ski with Ellie down real mountain hills not far from our house, and start Francis on the bunny hill.  And while making a trip to the US Embassy in Vienna to renew some of our passports, we got to stop by Schönbrunn Palace to visit the New Year’s Market and play at the Kids Museum.   

If I ever questioned just how Austrian they are - there is no doubt the answer is nearly 100% when I ask Francis what kind of Happy Meal he wants and he says "just get me the schnitzel"! 

Happy New Year, Everyone!  And (in the voice of Francis as Tiny Tim) God Bless Us, Everyone!

Pilgrimage to St. Teresa of Avila & St. John of the Cross

Our family flew to Spain and rented a car to visit the tombs of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross!  We carried with us many prayers intentions.

During our drive from Madrid the sky was filled with full rainbows!



Our first stop was to the small town of Alba de Tormes where we prayed at the tomb of St. Teresa.





We then drove about an hour to Avila and went to the Monastery of La Encarnacion - where St. Teresa lived almost continuously from 1535 to 1574.



Brian wrote this reflection:

"We just got back yesterday from our trip to Madrid and Avila. Both Courtney and I were amazed and honored by how many people chose to share their prayer intentions. We prayed for each person and their intention by name at the tombs of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. To be honest, Courtney and I know little about either of these saints. I’ve never read or studied John of the Cross’ “Dark Night of the Soul,” but after traveling frequently and sharing hotel rooms with little kids, I feel like I understand the concept.

One story that I heard recently is from the life of St. Teresa of Avila. She lived as a religious sister for most of her life, sacrificing everything for love of Jesus. Yet even she went through prolonged periods of her life when prayer didn’t come easily and God’s presence in her life wasn’t easily felt. Within the Carmelite order, her name was “Sister Teresa of the Child Jesus.” In her particular convent, family members of the nuns were allowed to visit regularly. One day, she saw a little boy standing on the stairs at the end of the hall. She didn’t think much of it, assuming he was simply a family member of one of the religious sisters. The little boy asked her name, so she said, “I am Teresa of the Child Jesus.” She asked the boy his name, and he replied, “I am Jesus of Teresa.”

As we visited the convent where St. Teresa spent about 30 years of her life as a religious sister, we saw the stairwell where she had this encounter with Jesus. I was profoundly moved by the fact that Jesus would introduce himself in relation to St. Teresa of Avila. That’s how committed to her He was. She wasn’t just someone in the crowd, or even one of many people who believed in God. She mattered to God so much that He’d include her name in His own.

In the Old Testament, God promised through the prophet Isaiah that He would visit His people and that He would be called “Emmanuel” which means God is with us. 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem, we saw just how far God would go to rescue us. He even names Himself in relation to us.

Maybe you’re a bit like St. Teresa and you’ve invested much of your life in following Jesus. Or maybe you wonder if God even knows you exist. The good news for all of us, near or far, is that He does know your name, and He’s made it His own. That’s how committed to you He is."



The convent also houses the museum of St. Teresa and contains a drawing of Christ on the Cross by St. John of the Cross.



The log that St. Teresa would sometimes use as her pillow








We stayed the night in Avila - a beautiful town enclosed by intact medieval city walls









The next morning we traveled to the tomb of St. John of the Cross located at the San Juan de la Cruz Convent in the town of Segovia.





St. John's tomb is above the altar



The painting of Jesus that spoke to St. John





We then made an unplanned trip into the town of Segovia to have a medieval lunch and visit the castle!







(Having fun with the pig leg!)

















We also visited the beautiful Segovia Cathedral









It was a blessing to be able to visit both of the tombs of these Holy Doctors of the Church.
St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us!
St. John of the Cross, pray for us!