5 Important Lessons From St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

 

5 Important lessons from St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

INTRODUCTION 

Happy Feast day to all attached to the name and devotion of St. Teresa, especially the Discalced Carmelite nuns and friars. The period of the birth of St. Terese in 1515, was when Columbus opened up to European colonization. Interestingly, it was within this period, Luther started the Protestant Reformation. From this background of turmoil she shed the light of Christ and interior peaceOut of all of this change came Teresa pointing the way from outer turmoil to inner peace and way of perfection.

HER LIFE

In her failed attempt to be martyred (just like St. Francis of Assisi) thus fulfulling her eagerness to be with Christ forever, St. Teresa built a hermitage with her brother where they lived and prayed. Later on, she became a Carmelite nun. She was called on to reform her order with St. John of the Cross; Order of  Discalced Carmelite. She hated delusion and to the last obeyed her confessor. She died on October 4, 1582. She was canonized in 1622 and in 1970 she was declared doctor of the church. She is the patron saint of Headache sufferers. Her symbol is a heart, an arrow, and a book.

HER WORKS

Autobiography 

The Way of Perfection (1583), 

The Interior Castle (1588),

 Spiritual Relations, Exclamations of the Soul to God (1588), 

and Conceptions on the Love of God. 

Of her poems, 31 are extant; of her letters, 458 are extant.

5 POINTS TO LEARN

1. Deep hunger for heaven 

2. Obedience to our confessor 

3. The art of prayer 

4.  Continual conversion 

5. Contagious love for  Christ and St. Joseph

CONCLUSION 

St. Teresa of Avila had a desire for Jesus, a longing which she lived out. She did not just live it out, she showed us the way in her writings, teachings and spirituality. She shares with us insights on Christian journey to a perfect union with God. We learn from her to develop and nourish a deep hunger for heaven, to follow the counsels of our spiritual directors and confessors even when we feel we know better, to practice continual prayer and prayer even at our dryness, when we don't feel consolations and finally have a contagious love for Christ and devotion to St.  Joseph. St. Teresa of Jesus...pray for us!

(c) Gerald Nwogueze, OFM Cap. 

ifeanyi.nwogueze@gmail.com 

REFERENCE 

 

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "St. Teresa of Ávila". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Sep. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Teresa-of-Avila. Accessed 15 October 2022.

Father Roger Landry https://www.ncregister.com/blog/5-important-lessons-from-st-teresa-of-avila?amp

Saint Teresa of Avila - Catholic Saints App.