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| Here it is in all its' glory. Could it be more beautiful, nestled in the mountains??? |
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| This picture is from the Advent Market. The townspeople set up their carts and sell their wares in our courtyard all throughout the Advent season. We can buy brats, and gluvine, and all sorts of glorious treats. It was magical. |
If those pics aren't enough, we also were given three-day weekends every weekend so that we could travel. We also had two 10-day trips. One was with the school to Rome and Assisi. The other one we could venture out on our own to wherever we could dream to (and afford) go. It. was. Awesome!
Anyway....lest I brag any more, that is not really what this is what this post is about. But without this experience, this post would most likely not exist.
Today is the feast of St. Theresa of Avila. And on my 10-day excursion, I was blessed to visit the city of Avila. Next to Assisi, Avila was my favorite pilgrimage city. Not because of the experience I had there per-say, but because the city itself was absolutely incredible. It was built as a fortressed city to protect if from invasions back in the day (I'm not a history buff, so excuse my lack of dates and names of the bad guys) and it is still completely in tact! I remember walking up the hill from the train station at dawn and being awe-struck by the turrets and walls surrounding the outside of the city. I had pictured crumbling walls. And these walls were far from crumbling. They look like they were built yesterday. Then I was able to go into the city (which still has cobblestone streets...which add to the ambiance of the whole thing.....it's like stepping into a medieval times novel) and celebrate Mass at the basilica of St. Theresa. Especially in the misty morning, I felt transported walking those streets. I could picture St. Theresa walking along them secretly going to visit her friend St. John of the Cross to tell him something important.
Walking these streets (and those in other cities), seeing where saints lived and died, touching the history of the Church is what really transformed my heart and brought about the depth of my conversion to Christ and His Church. It became so much more real to me and showed me how it had stood the test of time through persecution after persecution. It gave me courage to live and fight for God and the Faith. It showed me that truly, "the gates of Hell would not prevail against it."
So, today as we read the saint of the day at prayer time, I pulled out my old scrapbook from my European adventure and showed my kids the pictures of my trip to Avila. We talked about her life and the city and made her life more real to them. Then I challenged them to build their own "Avila," their own fortressed city that they could fit into. Bringing the lives of the saints to life for them. Making their faith tangible.....it is my greatest prayer that these things will imprint their hearts and their minds and take deep root so that their love for God, His Church, and the Truth will blossom and grow until they one day gain Heaven.
I leave you with a few photos of my adventures in Avila and my children's version. May God bless your day and your family.
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| A collection of pics of the walls of the city, me posing like only a college kid can, and the basilica of St. Theresa of Avila where we celebrated Mass. |
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| The kids and their "Avila" They had a blast building it and were very proud of the finished product. |
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| Beautiful and wise words from today's saint ***Update: After I posted this, it came to me just how perfect this activity was for starting a discussion comparing the fortress built around the city of Avila to the symbolic fortress we should be building around our souls to protect it from sin. So at lunch, we talked about it and then compared each brick of their creation to what it could represent as a symbolic brick to keep our souls free from sin. It ended up being a really deep and beautiful discussion. Even the 2 and 4 year old joined in. :) |
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