Hill Mary Lea - Peace in prayer: wisdom from Teresa of Avila

CLASSIC WISDOM COLLECTION

TODAYS QUESTIONS. TIMELESS ANSWERS.

Looking for time-tested guidance for the dilemmas of the spiritual life? Find it in the company of the wise spiritual masters of our Catholic tradition.

Comfort in Hardship: Wisdom from Thrse of Lisieux
Courage in Chaos: Wisdom from Francis de Sales
Inner Peace: Wisdom from Jean-Pierre de Caussade
Lifes Purpose: Wisdom from John Henry Newman
Path of Holiness: Wisdom from Catherine of Siena
Peace in Prayer: Wisdom from Teresa of Avila
Secrets of the Spirit: Wisdom from Luis Martinez
A Simple Life: Wisdom from Jane Frances de Chantal
Solace in Suffering: Wisdom from Thomas Kempis
Strength in Darkness: Wisdom from John of the Cross

CLASSIC WISDOM COLLECTION

Wisdom from Teresa of Avila

Compiled and with a Foreword by Mary Lea Hill, FSP

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Teresa, of Avila, Saint, 1515-1582.
[Selections. English. 2011]
Peace in prayer : wisdom from Teresa of Avila / compiled and with a foreword by Mary
Lea Hill.

p. cm. -- (Classic wisdom collection)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 89).
ISBN 0-8198-5974-5 (pbk.)
1. Prayer--Christianity. 2. Spiritual life--Catholic Church. I. Hill, Mary Lea. II. Title.
BX2179.T3E5 2011b
248.482--dc22
2011011142

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the NewRevisedStandardVersionBible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume One, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez 1976 by Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites ICS Publications 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E. Washington, DC 200021199 U.S.A. www.icspublications.org.

Excerpts from The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume Two, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez 1980 by Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites ICS Publications 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E. Washington, DC 200021199 U.S.A. www.icspublications.org.

Excerpts from The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Volume Three, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez 1980 by Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites ICS Publications 2131 Lincoln Road, N.E. Washington, DC 200021199 U.S.A. www.icspublications.org

Cover design by Rosana Usselmann

Cover photo by Mary Emmanuel Alves, FSP

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For the Carmelites at Port Tobacco, Maryland,
and my niece Teresa Morin

Although it is only lately that I have read St. Teresa of Avila, I am familiar with the common Catholic lore surrounding herthose tidbits we collect simply by reading and observing our religious milieu. I did frequently use her prayer, Let Nothing Disturb You, also known as St. Teresas Bookmark. Likewise, I was aware that she is known among Carmelites as their Madre because of the great reform she carried out. Then, of course, I have always admired the amazing sculpture by Bernini, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila, located in Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. Oh, yes, and I am familiar with the delightful tale of her chiding God when a cart in which she was riding flipped over into the mud. Its no wonder you have so few friends, Lord, she is quoted, if this is how you treat them!

But I had no enduring friendship with St. Teresa, simply a passing thought here, a striking passage there. Hers were not books I would have curled up with on the couch, although I know of someone who did just that: a young agnostic philosopher who was left alone one afternoon at her friends home. Feel free. Well be back later, they said. Being a book lover, she headed for the bookshelves. As she scanned her friends collection, her gaze landed on The Book of Her Life, the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. This young woman was Edith Stein, whose consuming desire had been to discover the truth. She sought it first through philosophy, which did not fully satisfy her, but she found it played out in a life. I read through the night, she said, and at the end I realized that this is the truth. What Edith found was personified Truth in Jesus Christ, and more, she saw Jesus in a relationship with the soul of Teresa. This powerful depiction drew Edith and her search to its culmination. She entered the Church and became a Carmelite saint.

When I did pick up St. Teresas works, I was delighted at how very real and readable they are. In her autobiography, written in obedience to her spiritual director, as well as in her innumerable letters, poetry, commentary, rules, and many spiritual works, she remains her plain-spoken, supremely practical self. She will interrupt her own flights of ecstasy to insert some poignant advice: look for the Lord within your heart and soul where the Blessed Trinity truly lives, animating, awaiting, and drawing you closer with each breath. Look for him also within the details and duties of daily life, as she says, among the pots and pans. She advises her younger brother Lorenzo to be prudent in his generosity with the family riches because he has sons who have yet to marry. She tells one person to sleep more and another to sleep a little less, to take the proper cures, to enjoy the treats, to find pleasure in the company of others, but to seek especially the company of the Lord, savoring all the sacrifices he presents as if they were the most enviable privileges.

I believe this sense of relationship with God was Teresas most deeply felt desire. She wanted her readers, whether they were relatives enjoying her correspondence or fellow Carmelites studying her great plan, to observe and then imitate her reverence and familiarity with the Lord.

Teresa introduces her autobiography by claiming that despite her upbringing and the abundance of Gods grace, she was quite wretched. By todays standards I suspect most parents would rejoice in such a wretched daughter. Teresa, however, was born in an era of far stricter standards than our own.

On March 28, 1515, the family of Alonso and Beatriz (de Ahumada) Sanchez y Cepeda welcomed a beautiful new daughter whom they named Teresa. The family delighted in this vivacious little charmer who took so seriously her religious training. At the age of seven Teresa convinced her nine-year-old brother Rodrigo to run away from Avila in search of martyrdom. Their hope, according to Teresa, was to attain the glorious things they had heard were in heaven. However, they were unceremoniously scooped up by their Uncle Francisco and returned home.