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!!!