St. Teresa of Avila

“Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.” St. Teresa of Avila

I have this connection to St. Teresa of Avila through a friendship with the Carmelite Nuns near my home. I visit them at times when they are free to accept visitors. I had driven a young postulant out there to meet them before she entered and now she is a sister. It seems that St. Teresa still walks the halls of that convent because the nuns call her their mother. But this is a story that began long ago. Once the Carmelites left the Holy Land and spread into Europe, many bishops wanted them in their dioceses. The period of time was heavily influenced by the Crusades, the Reformation, and the Black Death.

“We need no wings to go in search of him but have only to look upon him present within us.” St. Theresa of Avila

St. Teresa was from a pious family and likely had an ancestor who was a ‘converso.’ Her father was not so keen on having her enter religious life.  Initially, neither did she want to enter the convent.  However, God can work with even the slightest intentions. She sincerely felt that God was calling her.  She suffered pushback initially. Her beginning visits to the convent were a surprise since the nuns were very numerous and had a lot of contact with the outside world. The Reformation and Black Death affected the religious communities of the time.  After about twenty years in the monastery of the Incarnation in Avila, St. Teresa began a new form of Carmelite life.  With a few sisters in a small house, she set up a daily schedule which centred on prayer. She sought a deeper spiritual life. The Discalced Carmelites follow St. Teresa’s call to simplicity. Nothing can distract them with their love for Christ.

“Christ has no body now but mine. He prays in me, works in me, looks through my eyes, speaks through my words, works through my hands, walks with my feet and loves with me here.”  St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa’s Discalced Carmel began to spread even though she did not want it to spread. This is God doing the work through her. St. Teresa had visions of speaking with Christ and she even levitated. She documented what was happening to her in her spiritual life. She was somewhat embarrassed with what was happening to her, it seems. She wrote her experiences down and people were drawn to her even though she did not want this attention. She was a woman of the 1500’s and many were surprised that she even had these experiences. Many were skeptical that maybe she had diabolical tendencies. In the mind of many at the time, it couldn’t happen to her, yet she stayed firm in her faith.

“Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.”

There is great evidence of what she left behind and she became a doctor of the Church. She had a spiritual director and a confessor, and she obeyed with simplicity. Remarkably, her writing was profound, human, warm and witty. Her major works are: “The Way of Perfection, Interior Castle, and the Foundations.” I see the evidence of her work in the convent I visit. It was not just a collection of convents but a spirituality that still lives today. It takes time to enter into the spiritual life and persevere especially for someone like her who lived in a very tumultuous time. She lived with a certainty that God really does love us. Her faith was intense, and her faith carries on in convents all over the world. These sisters love Christ, live with Him and for Him. They have an intimacy with Christ. She wanted her nuns to work but, above all, she wanted them to pray. How often do we get discouraged when we pray, but St. Teresa tells us to persevere in prayer.  All things pass. She is a doctor in the Church because she left such great works for us to read. She wanted all to be friends with God. She was struck by her love of Christ, and she wrote about it. St. John of the Cross and St. Peter of Alcantara were part of this great spirituality and offer us much to ponder.

“We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.”  St. Teresa of Avila 

Writer’s note: I would like to acknowledge the Revolution of Tenderness and the Festival of Friendship for their help with this work. This article is also available in a podcast.