I love hiking. I especially love hiking here in Austria...I mean where else can one find such beauty? We started the pilgrimage to Mariazell at 6:15am yesterday in our lobby. The busses were ready to go and we made our way to the Naturpark, which was about 20 minutes from the Kartause. From there we hiked around 6-8 hours to mountain town of Mariazell. The way was painted with mountains, rivers, and blue skies. It was a masterpiece that only the Lord could design. At every waterfall I marveled at the Lord's creation. I may have mentioned this before, but I feel that I experience the Lord in a very special way in nature. I think it is the power and beauty that I see when I am out in the Lord's creation. It gives one a sense of humility at the vastness and strength of the mountains.
At one point of the hike, I found myself alone, because I managed to pass everyone in the group. It was there that I happened to go off the course to Mariazell. For the next hour and half I was separated from the rest of the students. I knew that I was wrong when I found myself at the end of the trail and not in Mariazell. I called Katie and she informed me that I had made an error. I quickly turned around and made my way back to the trail. What an analogy for the faith! We are set before path that leads us to Christ and eternal life, and we follow that path, for a while at least. Then, we divert off the path and find that we are in sin. But God never gives up on us. He, in His mercy allows to know that we are wrong. Furthermore, He gives us the chance to turn around and come back to Him. What an amazing God we have. His love and his mercy is unfathomable.
Anyways... When I finally got to Mariazell, I felt like I was getting a taste of heaven. It was this beautiful mountain town nestled right in the middle of the beauty of this place. I had three big scoops of Tiramisu gelato at the local gelataria, and then played for Mass. The day was perfect...
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