St. Teresa of Avila

Two things fascinate us about Teresa of Avila: her human personality and her experience of God.

Most of what we know about her comes from her personal testimony, especially in the book of her Life and the Interior Castle. The rest comes from her contemporaries who, under the impact of her human and spiritual charism and impressed by her greatness of soul, wrote about her.

Her life unfolded during the zenith of Spain’s history, its siglo de oro (Avila, 1515 – Alba de Tormes, 1582). Daughter of her century, of her country, and of the Church of her times, this extraordinary woman yet surpassed her milieu with the freedom of those who are led by the Spirit of God.

For Teresa of Jesus, Christ was the unique love. This is the secret of Teresian Prayer and of her original commitment to the service of the Church.

Four centuries later, Teresa remains close to us through her vibrant, spontaneous and exuberant personality, opposed to all narrow constraints which could disturb the action of God and limit love's growth.

Multitudes of men and women throughout the ages have found in her writings a source of light and of life. 

 

Oh, who will cry out for You, to tell everyone how faithful You are to Your friends!”    (Life, 25:17)