Hey everyone! I hope everything is going well for you guys! I know that I am really bad at putting up post, and I apologize! But I really appreciate that you take the time to read them! So like I said I was going to tell you about Vienna. I must be honest- it is probably one of the coolest cities in the world. There is literally History and beauty on every single street corner in a way that America doesn't really have. It is funny though, because you can be standing in front of something that has so much hidden importance and not even know it. In Vienna there were beautiful Churches every couple of blocks, which was a beautiful testament to how many people used to practice the faith. It is a shame to know that it is now less practiced. As I was walking around it was hard to believe that so many Europeans have rejected God. There were continuously reminders of God throughout the city- like statues or beautiful murals. In America if someone puts a statue of Christ in the middle of a city it would get torn down in a heart beat, or at least it would make a huge argument. And yet- America is built upon Christian values and has tons of Christians. I guess non-Christian Europeans look at it as a cultural landmark, a part of their history, and look past the beauty of Christ that is meant to be revealed. It truly is a shame. But I am glad to know these things so that I can pray for these people, and I ask that you would too.
My Favorite part of Vienna was the National Treasury- it was full of possessions from the Hapsburg dynasty. Including many relics of Saints! It even had a nail that pierced the hand of Christ! The Hapsburgs who were very devout Catholics thought that the saints were very important and that the more relics one had the more protected one would be- which meant that they spent literally fortunes on relics, which when the dynasty ended left treasurers for all to see! Including me! It was really awesome! I felt so blessed to see these things that I could experience through my own senses that were leading me to Christ. We so often think that everything that has to do with God is only spiritual and nothing physical- that God and everything related to him is invisible. Which is funny, because even Christ was a material and spiritual being. And so are we! God gave us bodies for a reason! Not to limit our encounter of him but to use it for his Glory! To praise his name in and through the body! Our body is a gift to us so that we can experience God through sight, touch, smell, sound, all these things. If all true beauty is meant to point to Christ then if we did not have the material world, and werent able to experience through our material body then we could not encounter anything beautiful! Which would be a tragedy since beauty speaks of our God! That is why I loved the National Treasury so much- because I could see God in all of its beauty. I think that is a theme of this semester abroad- because literally live in the foothills of the alps I wake up every morning to something beautiful. It is such a blessing. And I know that when I go home I will have to keep with me this love and desire for beauty, and find it there too! God is always trying to talk to us, to send us a message of his love- and if we are not open, and not looking we will never see what is really there.

day 6!

So this post is hopefully going to be small. I was in the computer lab writing my next post and my computer turned off- so I lost most of my post. As I was walking upstairs I then was almost trampled by men in short shorts and towels running around. Before I could even react they were shouting at me asking me if I was going to join them- to their voyage to the creek- to jump in. I obviously said no, but maybe with a little bit more warning would have. So now I am hoping that they will do it again- and maybe I will join them next time. This, of all things in Austria is a Gaming tradition. I guess that means that no one has died from catching hypothermia after jumping into the literally freezing cold water. I sure hope that part of the tradition keeps.
Anyway- before I saw these men crazed for adventure I was planning on writing about my weekend and the fact that this is officially the 1 week anniversary of me leaving the United States. I am only here for 16 weeks- which means that I am already 1/16 done- that is a little scary to think about! But I will enjoy it while I can! The past couple of days have been really good, we started classes on Thursday and I really enjoy all of them. I am taking German, Christian Marriage, Theology of the Church, Philosophy of the Human Person, and Christian Moral Principals. I am beyond excited to be able to take these classes in a place that was meant for study for hundreds of years. However, the balance of study, travel, prayer, fun, and sleep is not exactly coming easy to me yet, but I hope that God will show me the way, day by day. This weekend was our first small excursion. We went to Vienna, a place of hundreds of years of history. There is literally history around every corner, it would take years to do everything there is to do there, and we there for only one day. It was hard to be tempted with all these opportunities of encountering something beautiful, historic, meaningful, or just fun and knowing that I could only truly experience a few things. I think this will be a hard lesson to learn as I continue on my travels to various cities in Italy, France, Ireland, Switzerland, and so many others. I mean not only must I choose the country, but the city, and then what I want to see in the city! My heart just wants to do it all! To see it all! To choose it all! It’s funny because this is often my problem with decisions! I was scared to join Rosa Mystica because that meant I couldn’t join any of the other households I liked. I will by two of the same shirt because I like both colors, and it takes me years to decide what to eat because everything looks so good! So I have stopped looking at menus! Ha! So maybe God has brought me to this place to be able to choose well. I guess I can only hope in his providential care and his gift of prudence! I will later hopefully make another post telling what I did end up choosing to do in Vienna… but I can hear my studies calling my name!
But I forgot! I wanted to add something! I just found out that my Aunt and Uncle are pregnant again! They are the parents of my beautiful Goddaughter Zilphia Rose and I am so excited that God chose to give them such a wonderful gift! I ask for prayers though for a safe and smooth pregnancy because when Donna was carrying Zilphia they had many hardships! I would really appreciate it!
Also, I have brought with me to Austria an intentions booklet that I am brining on my pilgrimages. I would really love to pray for you guys and anything you need prayers for- so if you could give them to me it would be great!! You can just send them to me over facebook or e-mail them to me at koneill001@student.franciscan.edu. Thanks so much! May God Bless you!

Day 3.. even though I'm posting it day 4!

Hello from Austria! I hope that all is well back in America and that God is blessing you abundantly this day! I am doing very well over here! It is a little cold, and unfortunately the 700 year old monastery that we are living in wasn’t really built for extreme comfort in this cold weather! But its beauty makes up for it! It is only the third day and already God is teaching me so much! So far we mostly have been just adjusting to living here, having orientation, unpacking, checking out the Kartause (where I live) and wandering a little through the small town of Gaming. We also had the opportunity to go to Holy Mass celebrated by our bishop, Klaus Kung, in the beautiful cathedral in St. Polten. Then we were blessed to go Melk and visit the amazing monastery there! In both the cathedral and the monastery I was overwhelmed by the beauty that God desired us to see! And it was truly a blessing to experience it with 160 of my classmates who were as touched by this gift as I was. The peace that God was pouring down upon our hearts was so great that I could hardly do anything but sit in awe of his wonder. For a moment I did experience a little bit of fear though! I feared that I would get used to seeing such beauty! But how could a loving daughter ever stop appreciating the little treasures that her Father gives her! Then, as I was thinking about this beauty of the church in the monastery I began to think about the value of its beauty, and God reminded me why he gives me these treasures! He reminded me that to him my soul is far more beautiful than the church I was in awe of, or any other church like it. Besides, he, the God of the UNIVERSE, chooses to dwell in MY VERY SOUL, and the only reason why huge and beautiful churches even exist is so that God can rest in the hearts and bodies of his beloved children. I can only hope that my soul will be as magnificently decorated as this church. St. Therese, while eagerly awaiting the day she could become a sister, decided to decorate her ‘wedding dress’ with jewels. So that when the time came to be the bride of Christ her soul would be perfect and filled with beautiful gems for her love. In the same way I desire for my soul to be adorned as this church was, full of beautiful and extravagant details to please my Lord. I know however, that in just like building this church, it takes many years to build, starting only by building a strong foundation, and working diligently until every detail is perfect. But once the job is finished all the work will be well worth it! And I pray that people who see my soul will see the beauty of God, just as I saw while in the church. I am so thankful that God continually reminds me of my worth as his daughter because I can so easily forget. Along with this he also reminds me that the souls of my brothers and sisters are this valuable to him as well and I realize how much I fail in treating others as the precious treasure that they are! We are so loved! I love it! Thanks be to God!!!