*the next run of blog updates will be flashbacks given in no particular order on what has been going on in the past two months of blog sabbatical!
(excerpt from my June sponsor letter)
As soon as Easter was well-celebrated and at a close, we set to work finishing the chapel and preparing for the first visit of Fr. Thierry, the founder of Heart’s Home. For five days in May we had the pleasure of hosting Fr. Thierry, introducing him to our friends, showing him around Vienna, giving him a taste of the art and culture of the city through the aid of several museums and a orchestra concert, and, of course, time to pray together and talk as a community about these first five months of life here in Vienna.
Pictures from Fr. Thierry's first night in Vienna....an evening walk to see the artwork of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, an Austrian artist who is one of Fr. Thierry's favorites and is currently preparing a study of Hundertwasser and the Book of Revelation.
monika was trying to get a serious picture of us.
we weren't in a serious mood.
I especially want to highlight several monumental occasions from Fr. Thierry’s visit. On May 10th , Fr. Thierry, Fr. Jacques, Fr. Krawczyk (the parish priest), and Fr. Josef (a priest from the Communion & Liberation community with whom we have become good friends) together celebrated our inaugural mass in Karmeliterkirche—I guess you can say this baby was baptized! It was a beautiful occasion and as I looked back from the first pew I was completely overwhelmed at how many people I saw, the love that was represented in their presence, the miracles of friendship God has already forged for and through us in Vienna. One of our friends counted during the mass—there was somewhere around 80 people there, and all of them so dear and so important in the young life of Heart’s Home in Vienna. After the mass we had a gathering with food and drink and time together, the highlight of which was a talk by Fr. Thierry in which he told the story of Heart’s Home--from the very beginning in Argentina and Brazil, to this new beginning in Vienna. So many of our friends commented afterwards on how touched they were by the presentation, and how delighted they were to better understand the history of Heart’s Home, why we are in Vienna and the story of the greater family to which we belong. My heart was bursting with thanksgiving as I stood in the back of the packed church hall, listening to Fr. Thierry, and looking around at the faces of our friends from all different countries, all different walks of life, all here together even though most of them didn’t know each other, united because of the friendships we share and their desire to support us at our official opening. What struck me even more was the fact that beyond the already overwhelming number of miracles of friendship present before my eyes, there were still so more in my heart—all our sponsors and friends (YOU!) who were not able to be there with us, but were surely united to us in spirit. The large room was suddenly too small to fit all the people who are a part of the family of this home.
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| getting ready for the mass in the sacristy |
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| Fr. Jacques and Fr. Thierry |
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| Opening mass at Karmeliterkirche (This is what our church looks like!) |
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| Fr. Thierry giving his talk, with translation from one of the Little Sisters of the Lamb (the community that lives in the other side of our apartment) |
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| Klaudia (Poland), Jeremie (France), Philipine (France) |
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| Hana and Matthias! |
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| Wei Wei and Alina |
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Philipine is an artist in Vienna--she paints and draws for her daily bread, as well as for the happiness of her friends. She surprised us with a drawing of St. Joseph for our chapel!!
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On Thursday of that same week, we had the honor of a visit from Cardinal Schönborn in our apartment. It was a short fifteen minutes, but our life is all about the little things which in their littleness are actually the greatest and most profound. To receive the Cardinal’s blessing for our community, our lives, our mission, our house—was an unbelievable reality and a milestone that only prompted us to continue on more enthusiastically in grace and love.
The day Fr. Thierry left, we had a community meeting to talk about what exactly that enthusiastic continuation would consist of, what we have already experienced and become involved in here, and how we are feeling called by God to best serve the people in Vienna where the poverty and need does not cry out for help, but rather hides itself in shame, complacency, and/or superficial satisfaction. There was one moment alone that struck me during our conversation and which I find to be the true question of our lives and our service in Vienna, something I find even hard to answer, thus compelling me everyday to open my eyes, ears, and heart wider as I wonder around this city. Laying all practical discussions and planning aside, Fr. Thierry simply laid this statement and question before us: "Shortly before His death, Jesus climbed the Mount of Olives and looking over Jerusalem, He wept. When you look out on Vienna, and when you think about this city, what moves you to weeping?" Christ was moved to passionately cry out and weep at the city before Him because He knew that they did not know Him, that they would reject Him and His teaching, and the salvation He would die to give them. They had no desire for Him and thus passionate sorrow wrenched His Sacred Heart. A moving image. A challenging question. I have so much more to learn, so much further to be guided in order to begin to answer the question...
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