As we approach the feast of Our Holy Mother, my mind goes back to Avila, the place that holds such a sense of her presence in its very stones. After the journey from Australia via Dubai and London, I remember meeting up with Sister Claire Sokol from Reno USA on Friday 15th May  at the airport in Madrid. It was lovely to meet her, and I knew I had found a friend in her.

Claire had arranged for us to be picked up by a young man, the son of one of the cooks at CiTes. He drove us to the Diocesan Seminary where we were being accommodated. The rooms were quite comfortable: showers a bit too high to reach and that kind of thing, typical of a male-oriented house, but good. For reasons of economy we were to eat at CiTes. In the seminary, there was a coffee machine downstairs which would only accept the exact cash, which was a bit of a drawback, as I never seemed to have the right change. I had my trusty travel jug with me, so I could have a cup of tea at least to start the day.

Claire and I decided we didn’t want to waste a minute. So we found a little shop nearby and got some lunch and coffee, then we wandered into the old city to see what we could see. Both CiTes and the Seminary are outside the walls. We found our way to the Cathedral and I got a message from Father Greg Homeming who was attending the Chapter, and he arranged come into town to meet us, escaping one of the less helpful sessions of the Chapter! So, he took us all around with a commentary on the architecture of the various buildings of interest.

On Saturday Claire and I were able to welcome the various Sisters as they arrived at the Seminary. We went into the city in the afternoon because we didn’t want to miss any opportunity of seeing places associated with St Teresa. We were all caught up in the excitement of the moment. We paid a visit to the Incarnation and to San Jose. In the courtyard of the Incarnation they have a depiction of the Mansions in the paving stones. The Churches are very ornate. But the small oratory that was apparently the original Church that Teresa would have known is very small and simple. I liked it very much.

I remember clearly calling Sister Angela into my room at the Seminary which overlooked the Walls. Angela’s room was on the other side of the corridor. Claire was with us too and we just stood in silence, trying to take in the fact that we were actually there!

So the days went on, each day bringing a new joy, a new experience. Most of all I realised that Teresa’s legacy is not in stones and walls and cobbled streets, but in her daughters! We carry her presence into the future, as do her sons and our Secular Order brothers and sisters.