Dear friends and family,

This past year has marked our fifth year living in Mission House at Our Lady of Guadalupe Priory and Peter’s serving as chaplain for the Sisters. This is the longest we have lived in one house. It also marked the end of Judy’s 80^th year, Peter’s 77^th year, and the 10^th year of Peter’s priesthood.

Of course, as is typical of this age of waiting for the second advent of our Lord, this has been a year of bidding farewell to friends and former students who have already preceded us into the presence of our Lord. We have had our health struggles, Judy with her right knee and also her lungs, which have made travel difficult, and Peter with night driving and finally solving the problem of dizziness (bright lights, especially ones that blink, affect him, so he wears FL-41 lenses in such situations), but it looks as if we have a ways to go on our earthly journey yet, although we have no certainty of how much longer that journey will be.

Peter has continued his chaplain ministry for the Dominican Sisters, as well as his assisting with the new Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church, a vibrant Ordinariate community-in-formation in west Austin. He ended his ministry at the Austin Byzantine Catholic Community in May, at least for a while, because it kept him out too late at night. He has helped with other parishes in our area and remains for now as chaplain for the local Knights of Columbus council. Judy continues her spiritual direction calls, zooms, and meetings on Wednesdays and Fridays. We also lead the small Austin area cell group for the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, Domestic. 

Our year was marked with three special events. First, instead of Peter’s making his usual silent retreat he was able to arrange to take Judy with him in April to a conference style retreat in the Austin area by the St Paul Center for Biblical Theology. This obliviated the need to find someone for Judy to stay with/ stay with Judy. That was our first visit to the lake area west of Austin. And we got to see the solar eclipse.

In July we flew to Calgary where much of our family was gathering for our eldest daughter’s birthday. We had not seen some of the grandchildren in years. This coincided with the Sisters being away from the Priory so Peter had the time off. The exciting part was airline issues on the return trip, including Judy’s being literally raced in a wheelchair between gates in Denver. But we made it, and Peter was able to celebrate masses that Sunday back in the Austin area.

In October again much of our family gathered in Georgetown for Judy’s 80^th birthday. As in the case of Elaine’s birthday, it was a surprise. (And Peter had not been able to say “no” to the Calgary trip because he would have had to give away the surprise October gathering.) This included not just our immediate family, but also Judy’s sister and husband and a cousin and his wife and also two of Judy’s church girlfriends from her childhood/teen years. (See the picture above)

And now we are in the middle of Advent, focusing on the birth of our Lord two millennia ago, his coming to each of us in our present lives (seen with our spiritual eyes), and his climactic coming at the time of his choosing when all is ready to gather his people and transform the creation. Thus, even though we live in a time of great struggle and turmoil (both Judy and Peter have former students who are Ukrainian and suffering from the conflict there either as refugees or as a pastor serving a congregation in the midst of missiles flying nearby) with 2025 looking like it will be more rather than less tumultuous, we live in hope, for we live in a love relationship with the One who will ultimately finish history and know it will be good, it will be very good, all manner of things will be good.

May God’s blessing rest upon you this Advent, this Christmas, and in the coming year.

In our Lord

Peter and Judy Davids

Please note that our address is:

5499 E State Highway 29; Georgetown TX 78626 (some friends still have an older address for us)

Our phones are +1 713-314-7886 (Peter) and +1 832-398-9519 (Judy); Our emails are phdavids@gmail.com and jldavids@me.com