Dear friends,

As we write this just before the third Sunday in Advent, Gaudate or Rejoice Sunday, when we light the pink candle, we remember that Advent is a time of waiting and anticipation. We are waiting with Mary for the birth of Jesus, his first advent, and waiting with Isaiah and others in the Hebrew Scriptures and with Jesus’ Church after the Ascension for his second advent, which is always “at the door,” since he is in the timeless “now” of God. We greet you in this double time of waiting.

Last Advent on Dec 19, 2024, Peter celebrated 10 years as a Catholic priest, the milestone that was on his heart when he was ordained. Every day more than that is a bonus from God for which he is thankful.

The baseline of the last year has been the steady rhythm of ministry here at Our Lady of Guadalupe Priory. Peter has the daily celebration each morning, 6:30 am on weekdays and 7:30 on weekends, year round except when the Sisters are away, which is about three weeks a year. Then he hears confessions every Friday. This fits with the rhythm of his  5 times of daily prayer and scripture meditation, the Liturgy of the Hours, in which Judy joins him for Evening Prayer and then Night Prayer before bed. 

For the last two years, until June 22^nd of this year, Peter has been one of two priests helping the Austin Ordinariate community of Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church to get going. Since we were closer to where it was meeting, we were there almost every week. That has now changed because since June 29 the community has a part-time pastor who also serves the Diocese of Austin part-time. The community has kept growing and going under his leadership and expects to move into a converted commercial building on Jan 4. Being a part of a new church launch is quite fulfilling for us. 

That is good since we have both struggled with some significant illnesses over the year. Judy has had continuing respiratory issues that flared up twice when infection set in, once in the fall and once last month. She is also dealing with congestive heart issues, difficulty in walking, and balance (three or four falls within the year). Peter had triple hernia surgery in February and was struggling with tiredness and dizziness to the point that he wondered if he would make it through his final services at Sts Peter and Paul. He did go to a St Paul Center Priests’ Conference for his annual retreat in April, but left early after a suspected TIA. In June he got at least part of the answer when our GP discovered he had severe anemia. In July he started treatments with a hematologist at Texas Oncology, and several iron infusions later his hemoglobin levels are above the minimum, although the cause was never found and the hematologist is not convinced that his hemoglobin levels will stay normal. This reminds us that we are likely to go to meet Jesus before he returns. It is a good practice to remember one’s death (memento mori) so that one is always ready for that.

On a less challenging note, we have had a series of visitors. Rev Larry Eastman visited in January. Then we had two visits from leaders in the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, our former regional leaders Daryl and Lori Nagel in January and the founder and leader of the movement, John Michael Talbot and his wife Viola in September (he was doing concerts at a local parish). Peter has continued leading a BSCD cell group via Zoom and both of us do spiritual direction via Zoom for members and former members of the BSCD scattered around the country. We also had a several day visit from our daughter Elaine and her husband Greg (thanks to a business conference Greg had in Austin) in October during which Judy’s sister and her husband visited briefly. Earlier in October Peter went to the Ordinariate’s Annual Priests’ Convocation which this year was in San Antonio and included a pilgrimage to the early missions in the area. That was physically exhausting but spiritually refreshing. 

Peter did see the completion of one project, for his most recent scholarly article was published in David B Capes’ book Does It Matter Who Wrote the Bible? (Pickwick Publications, 2025)

So, we continue our basic ministries here, Peter at the Priory daily and Judy doing spiritual direction and pastoral counseling via Zoom and other media on Wednesday and Fridays, but Peter, at least, has drawn back some from outside ministry to spend more time in prayer. He believes that his age 80 is the outside limit for continuing ministry here (Judy turned 81 in Oct and Peter 78 in Nov) and likely we will transition sooner. Our son has just closed on a house in Abbotsford, BC Canada, that has a grandparents suite and that seems the most viable option especially since it positions us for relationship with and support from family as we continue to age. We will see what this next calendar year brings. 

As we noted above, Advent is a time of waiting, waiting with Mary for the first advent of Jesus, waiting with the church for his second advent, preparing our hearts and lives for the daily presence of Jesus within, and the manifest presence of Jesus when he comes into this world of violence, conflict, and confusion. That is what gives us peace even when there seems to be little peace on earth right now.

In our Lord,

Peter and Judy Davids

Contact us at: phdavids@gmail.com or jldavids@me.com or 713-314-7886 (P) 832-398-9519 (J) or 5499 E State Highway 29, Georgetown TX 78626