On the life, writings and spirituality of St. Teresa of Avila, virgin and doctor
St. Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582 A.D.: together with St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa was declared a doctor of the Church in 1970 A.D.; she was noted to have developed her doctrine of prayer from her own personal story without the help of any theological education.
Biographical sketch
St. Teresa of Avila, also known as Teresa of Jesus [her Carmelite name], was born on March 28, 1515 A.D., in Avila, a city of Old Castile, Spain. She was the third of nine children of her parents Don Alonzo Sanchez de Cepeda and Doña Beatrice Davila y Ahumada. Both parents of St. Teresa were people of position in Avila.
At age seven, St. Teresa was intrigued by the lives of the saints. Together with her younger brother Roderigo, they decided to be martyrs and left home to go to Morocco - thinking that their martyrdom at the hands of the Moors will make them saints. An uncle then found them and returned them to their frightened mother. Failing to become "martyrs", St. Teresa and Roderigo again decided to be hermits. They built little cells from stones right in their own garden.
St. Teresa was 14 years old when her mother died. This triggered a change in her. She became more interested in the fashions that young women of her social class were interested in. Noticing this change in her, St. Teresa was sent by her father to a convent school.
It was after attending the school in an Augustinian convent that St. Teresa felt drawn towards religious life. She became a Carmelite nun in 1536 A.D. It was as a Carmelite nun that St. Teresa slowly understood her calling. First, the convent she entered was much into the socialization of the town. In fact, the parlor of the convent was the social centre of the town. In the beginning, St. Teresa was part of this socialization that she gave up much of her prayer and meditation. She then realized that something was amiss in all that was happening.
St. Teresa of Avila came to believe that her Carmelite order needed reforms. So, despite the resistance of many ecclesiastics, she then founded the St. Joseph Convent in Avila in 1561 A.D. Others soon followed in many parts of Spain. These convents that St. Teresa founded were for nuns who wished to live cloistered lives - committed to strict discipline and almost perpetual silence. St. Teresa of Avila and her nuns came to be known as Discalced Carmelites - a name taken from the fact that they wore sandals instead of shoes [meant to be a sign of austerity and poverty]. Soon, with St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila also founded similar monasteries for men: one at Durelo in 1568 A.D., and a second one at Pastrana in 1569 A.D.
In her reform efforts of the Carmelite Order, St. Teresa of Avila travelled all over Spain and wrote many letters and books. Her book, The Way of Perfection, was written to guide her nuns. Foundations, another of St. Teresa's works, was written also for her nuns [meant for their encouragement]. And the book Interior Castle, explains St. Teresa's teaching of the contemplative life for lay people.
Though St. Teresa of Avila was very much a contemplative, she also led a highly active life. She was popular, charming, and witty, but in a humble and very courteous manner - that even her enemies respected her. However, St. Teresa's health was poor most of her life - more so during the last two years. She died in 1582 A.D. while visiting the convent at Alva de Tormey.
In 1622 A.D., St. Teresa of Avila was canonized by Pope Gregory XV. She was then declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970 A.D. by Pope Paul VI.
St. Teresa of Avila was truly a daughter of the church and a child of her times. Her greatness lies not only in her teaching and doctrine of prayer, but on the truth that she struggled victoriously to make her mission of reforming Carmel amidst a dominantly male and Spanish ecclesiastical structure.
Teaching and spirituality
St. Teresa of Avila's teaching on prayer is contained in three major works:
- The Book of Her Life (chap 11-22)
- The Way of Perfection
- The Interior Castle
The summary of her teaching on prayer is well expressed in a well-known definition found in The Book of Her Life:
"Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing but an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us" (Life 8,5)
In "The Way of Perfection" St. Teresa says, "Remember how Saint Augustine tells us about seeking God in many places and eventually finding Him within himself ...All one need to do is go into solitude and look at Him within oneself" (The Way of Perfection 28,2)
St. Teresa of Avila agrees with St. Augustine that God dwells within the soul. She goes on to teach that this dwelling is one of beauty and splendor and likened to a castle. In her work, Interior Castle, she describes this soul to be "made entirely out of a diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms." (The Interior Castle 1,1)
St. Teresa of Avila is very much convinced that every person has the capacity to realize this presence of God in himself. Her very life, the meaning of her reform and activities, and all her major works, are a testimony of the truth of this teaching.
Excerpts from writings
When they forbade the reading of many books in the vernacular, I felt that prohibition very much because reading some of them was an enjoyment for me, and I could no longer do so since only the Latin editions were allowed. The Lord said to me: 'Don't be sad, for I shall give you a living book'. I was unable to understand why this was said to me, since I had not yet experienced any visions. Afterwards, within only a few days, I understood very clearly, because I received so much to think about and such recollection in the presence of what I saw, and the Lord showed so much love for me by teaching me in many ways, that I had very little or almost no need for books. His Majesty had become the true book in which I saw the truths (Life 26,5).
Let it never be said of them, as it is said of some other Orders, that they do nothing but praise their beginnings. It is we who are the beginners now; but let them continually strive to be beginners too, in the sense of growing better and better all the time (Foundations, 29).
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