St. Teresa of Avila, a saint whose life and writings have influenced Christians around the world...
Reflections on the readings for the Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus (October 15, 2022): EPH 1:15-23; PS 8:2-3,4-5,6-7; LK 12:8-12
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She said, “Always think of yourself as everyone’s servant; look for Christ our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for all.”
In 1515, St. Teresa of Jesus was born in Avila, Spain. She was of Spanish-Jewish heritage; the daughter of a rich merchant. After her mother’s death when Teresa was twelve she was sent to an Augustinian convent to be educated. She decided to be a nun and entered the local Carmelite convent, but one known for its laxity and relative ease of life. Around age 39, she underwent a deep conversion. Teresa had a number of mystical experiences that drew her ever closer to Christ. At the same time, she became more and more dissatisfied with the undemanding life at her convent. She began a program of reform emphasizing poverty, prayer, and penance. She influenced St. John of the Cross, a young Carmelite priest who undertook similar efforts. Because the convents for women and then monasteries for men that she reformed or started were known for their extreme simplicity of life, they were called Discalced, or shoeless, Carmelites. However, these changes were met with mistrust and opposition by many superiors and other influential people. Charges were brought against her by the Inquisition. The intervention of the king of Spain stopped these attacks. And in 1580, the pope approved a division of the orders so that the Carmelites of the Primitive Rule that St. Teresa had established were able to govern themselves. She founded seventeen of these convents before her death in 1582.
The words of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians from today’s liturgy might well have encouraged St. Teresa in her efforts for the spiritual welfare of those who embraced her reforms in order to draw closer to Christ: “Hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, I do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:15-17). St. Teresa of Avila was canonized in 1622 and made a Doctor of the Church in 1970.
