Teresa of Avila
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Today is the feast of St. Teresa of Avila, along with St. John of the Cross, she is one of the most important Doctors or Teachers of the spiritual life.
Teresa was born in Spain in 1515 and died in 1582. My daughter Teresa and I were blessed to be in Avila on this day in 2015 for the 500th birthday party of Teresa.
When she was seven, she talked her cousin into running away from home to be martyred by Muslims. Her uncle caught them at the edge of town and brought them back.
Her mother died when she was 14, so she took Mary as her mom.
At 20 she entered the Carmelite monastery of the Incarnation in Avila. At 22 she experienced and illness that paralyzed her for three years. Through the intercession of St. Joseph, she was able to walk again. This miracle resulted in her great devotion to him.
The biggest problem she faced was that there was no time in the monastery for silence and prayer and no one to teach her how to go deeper in prayer. The Bible was in Latin, which she could not read and all the books on prayer had been banned during her time. However, Jesus encouraged her not to be sad for He would become for her a living book teaching her how to have an intimate relationship with him through prayer. Jesus taught her many spiritual truths so that she had no need for books. Then she wrote her own books on prayer. Once again, Jesus shows us that the path to holiness is not about our own efforts or intellectual abilities. St. Teresa was made a Doctor of the Church not because of her brilliant mind but because of her brilliant reliance upon and her relationship with her spiritual teacher, Jesus.
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Let me give you the main ideas from Teresa on the spiritual life.
First, God made every person for the most intimate relationship Him which is called infused or contemplative prayer which is an experience of God which in some ways the beginning of Heaven on earth. The most important thing to reach this type of transforming union with God is daily meditation. Teresa explains that mental prayer or meditation is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.
Teresa taught a simple method of meditation
It is like having coffee with a friend. Set a specific time and place conducive to a leisurely intimate conversation. Then speak to Jesus from the heart, listen, understand, love and just enjoy the time together. We can break it down to 3 R’s – Read, Reflect and a Resolution:
Read something from the Bible or from the Tradition, some good writing from a Saint or a spiritual author. As soon as something profound strikes you – stop reading.
Reflect or Think about what struck you
· Try to understand what you read; Apply it to your life
· Form firm convictions about this truth you are reflecting on
· Talk over all of this with Jesus in your mind and heart
Resolution
· Choose something practical and concrete to remember or to do today based on your meditation
The Rosary is meant to be a meditation, not a rote saying of words while the mind wanders. Therefore, we need to follow this path during our Rosary
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Teresa gives three conditions for growth in prayer. The first is to Seek to do the will of God from moment to moment throughout the day
“The whole aim of any person who is beginning prayer—and don’t forget this, because it is very important—should be that he work and prepare himself with determination and every effort to bring his will into conformity with God’s will… it is the person who lives in more perfect conformity who will receive more from the Lord and be more advanced on this road [of prayer]”.
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The next condition for growth in prayer is total surrender.
The rich young man in the Gospels captured the imagination of Teresa. Here was someone who really had their life together, kept all the commandments, wanted to inherit eternal life, but there was a major problem, he was prevented from deep friendship with Christ because of his disordered attachments, he was attached to his wealth, which he could not let go of to receive the infinite treasure of Christ – so and he went away sad.
To reach Contemplation, Infused prayer, this experience of union with God which is like Heaven on Earth, an unavoidable condition is required: total surrender to God. We must say to God: "Let Your will be done in me in every way.” (Life 11, 12).
We are afraid to say to God, “I am all yours – do whatever you want with me and all I hold dear.” We hold back from giving ourselves to God because we think our happiness, safety and security lies in our health, relationships, wealth, ect. And because we do not give ourselves unreservedly to God, we prevent God from giving himself to us. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.
What are you afraid of losing if you let go completely to God?
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The last condition for growth is Determination
Teresa insists again and again. She writes:
Have great confidence, for it is necessary not to hold back one's desires, but to believe in God that if we try we shall little by little, even though it may not be soon, reach the state the saints did with His help. For if they had never determined to desire and seek this state little by little in practice they would never have mounted so high. His Majesty wants this determination, and He is a friend of courageous souls if they walk in humility and without trusting in self. (Life 13, 1-3).
Courageous souls make more progress in a short time than do cowardly souls over many years.
Courage is the willingness to sacrifice lesser things for the sake of greater. Ultimately the Rich young man was a coward because he sacrificed the greatest thing – Jesus – for the much lesser – his wealth and comfort.
Every moment we spend with Jesus in prayer, we sacrifice what is lesser for what is the greatest.
I marvel at how important it is to be courageous in striving for great things along this path.
(Life 11, 11).
Let us end with the resolution to never miss even one day in friendship with Jesus in meditation. A resolution to never be a cowardly soul.