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October 15
St. Teresa
of Avila
(1515-1582)
Teresa lived in an age of exploration as well as political,
social and religious upheaval. It was the 16th century, a time of turmoil and
reform. She was born before the Protestant Reformation and died almost 20
years after the closing of the Council of Trent.
The gift of God to Teresa in and through which she became holy
and left her mark on the Church and the world is threefold: She was a woman;
she was a contemplative; she was an active reformer.
As a woman, Teresa stood on her own two feet, even in the man's
world of her time. She was "her own woman," entering the Carmelites
despite strong opposition from her father. She is a person wrapped not so much
in silence as in mystery. Beautiful, talented, outgoing, adaptable,
affectionate, courageous, enthusiastic, she was totally human. Like Jesus, she
was a mystery of paradoxes: wise, yet practical; intelligent, yet much in tune
with her experience; a mystic, yet an energetic reformer. A
holy woman, a womanly woman.
Teresa was a woman "for God," a woman of prayer,
discipline and compassion. Her heart belonged to God. Her ongoing conversion
was an arduous lifelong struggle, involving ongoing purification and
suffering. She was misunderstood, misjudged, opposed in her efforts at reform.
Yet she struggled on, courageous and faithful; she struggled with her own
mediocrity, her illness, her opposition. And in the midst of all this she clung
to God in life and in prayer. Her writings on prayer and contemplation are
drawn from her experience: powerful, practical and graceful. A
woman of prayer; a woman for God.
Teresa was a woman "for others." Though a
contemplative, she spent much of her time and energy seeking to reform herself and the Carmelites, to lead them back to the full
observance of the primitive Rule. She founded over a half-dozen new
monasteries. She traveled, wrote, fought—always to
renew, to reform. In her self, in her prayer, in her life, in her efforts to
reform, in all the people she touched, she was a woman for others, a woman who
inspired and gave life.
Her writings, especially the Way of Perfection and The
Interior Castle, have helped generations of believers.
In 1970, the Church gave her the title she had long held in the
popular mind: doctor of the Church. She and St. Catherine of Siena were the
first women so honored.
Comment:
Ours is a time of turmoil, a time of reform and a time of liberation. Modern women
have in Teresa a challenging example. Promoters of renewal, promoters of
prayer, all have in Teresa a woman to reckon with, one whom they can admire and
imitate.
Quote:
Teresa knew well the continued presence and value of suffering (physical
illness, opposition to reform, difficulties in prayer), but she grew to be able
to embrace suffering, even desire it: "Lord, either to suffer or to
die." Toward the end of her life she exclaimed: "Oh, my Lord! How
true it is that whoever works for you is paid in troubles! And
what a precious price to those who love you if we understand its value."
Patron Saint of:
Headaches
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