Saint of the Day – 15 October – Saint Teresa of Avila OCD (1515-1582)

Saint of the Day – 15 October – Saint Teresa of Avila OCD (1515-1582) Doctor of the Church “Doctor of Prayer” Seraphic Virgin, Reverend Mother, Prioress.

St Teresa of Jesus, honoured by the Church as the “seraphic virgin,” virgo seraphica and reformer of the Carmelite Order, ranks first among women for wisdom and learning.   She is called doctrix mystica, doctor of mystical theology; in a report to Pope Paul V the Roman Rota declared:  “Teresa has been given to the Church by God as a teacher of the spiritual life.   The mysteries of the inner mystical life which the holy Fathers propounded unsystematically and without orderly sequence, she has presented with unparalleled clarity.”   Her writings are still the classic works on mysticism and from her, all later teachers have drawn, e.g., Francis de Sales, Alphonsus Liguori.   Characteristic of her mysticism is the subjective-individualistic approach; there is little integration with the liturgy and social piety and thus, she reflects the spirit of the sixteenth and following centuries.

Teresa was born at Avila, Spain, in the year 1515.   At the age of seven she set out for Africa to die for Christ but was brought back by her uncle.   When she lost her mother at twelve, she implored Mary for her maternal protection.   In 1533 she entered the Carmelite Order; for eighteen years she suffered physical pain and spiritual dryness. Under divine inspiration and with the approval of Pope Pius IV, she began the work of reforming the Carmelite Order.   In spite of heavy opposition and constant difficulties, she founded thirty-two reformed convents.

Truly wonderful were the exterior and interior manifestations of her mystical union with God, especially during the last decade of her life.   These graces reached a climax when her heart was transfixed (transverberatio cordis), an event that is commemorated in the Carmelite Order by a special feast on 27 August.

Indeed, Teresa was said to have been observed levitating during Mass on more than one occasion.

Teresa is regarded as one of the foremost writers on mental prayer, and her position among writers on mystical theology as unique. Her writings on this theme, stem from her personal experiences, thereby manifesting considerable insight and analytical gifts. Her definitions have been used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Teresa states: “Contemplative prayer, in my opinion is nothing other than a close sharing between friends.   It means frequently taking time to be alone with Him whom we know loves us.”   Throughout her writings, Teresa returns to the image of watering one’s garden as a metaphor for mystical prayer.

She practised great devotion to the foster-father of Jesus, whose cult was greatly furthered throughout the Church through her efforts.   When dying, she often repeated the words: “Lord, I am a daughter of the Church!”   Her holy body rests upon the high altar of the Carmelite church in Ala, Spain, her heart with its mysterious wound is reserved in a precious reliquary on the Epistle side of the altar.

Below are the statues of St Teresa at the Vatican, the first on the Colonnade and the second inside St Peter’s.