St Teresa, whose name was Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada, was born in Avila, Spain, in 1515.
Her parents were devoutly Catholic which set a strong foundation for the development of St Teresa’s spirituality. Her family was large – Teresa had 3 sisters and 9 brothers. She found great comfort in her youth in spiritual readings, in particular, she was struck by the stories of martyrs for the faith.
Teresa was a pupil of Augustinian nuns in Avila; as an adolescent she read the classics of Franciscan spirituality introducing her to contemplation and prayer.
At age 20, Teresa entered the Carmelite monastery of the Incarnation in Avila. The spiritual focus of the Carmelite Order is contemplation – encompassing prayer, community and service. Teresa developed a deep spirituality through her devotion to the Order and its mission. In one of her many writings, she shares the following to describe her deep spirituality;
‘A feeling of the presence of God would come over me unexpectedly so that I could in no wise doubt either that He was with me or that I was wholly absorbed in Him.’
St. Teresa wrote several works that are observed by scholars to be remarkable as ‘mystical literature of the Catholic Church’.
Through her experiences in the Carmelite Order, she became disenchanted with the practices of the Order, particularly the lax manner in which the Order observed cloister – a practice designed to strengthen spirituality and the practice of prayer. She developed a desire to return the Order to more conservative practices and held an ideal to reform the Order. She succeeded in this regard when in 1562 she founded the first reformed Carmelite monastery in Avila, with the blessing of church hierarchy and heads of the Carmelite Order. She dedicated her efforts to continue to found more reformed Carmel monasteries, several of which were built in Spain. In 1580, through her strong efforts, she received approval from Rome which authorized reformed Carmels as a separate and autonomous province.
St. Teresa died in October 1582 while actively working on expansion and the building of new Carmel monasteries.
St. Teresa was beatified by Pope Paul V in 1614 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. She was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970; she and St. Catherine of Siena were the first women to be honored with this title.
Quotes attributed to St. Teresa of Avila:
“More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered prayers”
“The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too.”
By: Ken Henriksen
Faith Formation Commission
If St. Teresa of Avila interests you, watch for photos and reflections from the group of parishioners that will be visiting Avila this summer as part of a pilgrimage.
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