On October 15, the Catholic Church celebrates the memory of St. Teresa of Avila, the first woman to be proclaimed a Doctor of the Church.
Newsroom (October 16, 2021, 10:45 PM, Gaudium Press) Saint Teresa was born in the Spanish city of Avila on March 28, 1515. Feeling God’s call to religious life, at the age of 20 she entered the Carmelite monastery of the Incarnation.
She was responsible for the Carmelite reform, which aimed to reestablish the first religious ardor. Her idea was to found a smaller and less relaxed community. St. Teresa established the strictest enclosure, almost perpetual silence, and true poverty.
Her writings reflect her deep spirit of prayer, the way she practiced it, and its fruits. Her best-known works are the ‘Way of Perfection’, addressed to her religious; the book of ‘Foundations’, with the objective of animating and edifying them; and the ‘Interior Castle’, written for the instruction of all Christians.
On October 4, 1582, St. Teresa of Avila gave her soul to God. Her last words were: “I am a daughter of the Church.” The Saint was canonized in 1622 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on September 27, 1970, by Pope Paul VI.
Phrases of Saint Teresa of Avila
01 – “Do you think that God does not speak, because His voice is not heard? When it is the heart that prays, He answers.”
02 – “Nothing should disturb you, nothing should frighten you, everything is passing, God does not change, patience achieves everything; he who has God lacks nothing: God alone is enough.”
03 – “As I see it, prayer is nothing other than dealing intimately with the One we know loves us, and often talking to Him alone.”
04 – “The Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our works. He looks more at the love with which they are done.”
05 – “In times of sadness and restlessness, do not abandon either the good works of prayer or the penance to which you are accustomed. Rather, intensify them. And you will see with what readiness the Lord will sustain you.”
06 – “If we do not listen to the Lord when He calls us, it may happen that we will not be able to find Him when we want Him.”
07 – “You speak very well to other people, why should you lack words to speak to God?”
08 – “Don’t be fooled by anyone who shows you a path other than that of prayer.”
09 – “A proof that God is with us is not the fact that we do not fall, but that we get up after each fall.”
10. “True humility resides in our willingness to be content with whatever the Lord wants of us.”
Prayer to Saint Teresa of Avila
O St. Teresa of Jesus, you are the teacher of genuine prayer and teach us to pray by conversing with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. O Saint Teresa, help us to pray with Faith and Trust, never doubting the divine goodness. Help us to pray with entire conformity of our will with the will of God, with insistent perseverance until we obtain what we need. Amen. (EPC)
Compiled by Sarah Gangl