Hello all, Happy feast day to all born, baptized and married today Happy feast day to all Seminarians, Deacons, Priests, Monks, Nuns, Reverend Brothers and Sisters of Charity Happy feast day to all named Teresa and parents of all named Teresa Happy feast day to all who love to read about the lives of the Saints, especially all who believe in the Communion of Saints and by the grace of God become the Saints of God Happy feast day to all Virgins and parents of Virgins Happy feast day to all the 35 Doctors of the Catholic Church Happy feast day to all Catholic Missionaries Today “October 15” marks the liturgical memorial of Saint Teresa of Ávila. She was born on the 28th of March 1515, in Gotarrendura (Ávila), Old Castile, Spain She is also known in religion as Saint Teresa of Jesus She was baptized as Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada She was fascinated by accounts of the lives of the saints, and ran away from home at age seven with her brother Rodrigo to find martyrdom among the Moors Her uncle spoiled their plan as he was returning to the city and spotted the two outside the city walls. Saint Teresa left her parents home secretly one morning in 1534, at the age of 19, and entered the Monastery of the Incarnation of the Carmelite nuns at Avila She joined the Carmelite Order which she went on to reform In the cloister, she suffered greatly from illness. Early in her sickness, Saint Teresa experienced periods of spiritual ecstasy through the use of the Catholic devotional book, “Abecedario spiritual”, commonly known as the third or the spiritual alphabet (published in six parts from 1537-1554). Saint Teresa was a prominent Spanish mystic and Carmelite nun She was a writer of the Counter Reformation As the Catholic distinction between mortal and venial sin became clear upon her. Saint Teresa of Ávila says she came to understand the awful terror of sin and the inherent nature of original sin. She also became conscious of her own natural impotence in confronting sin, and the necessity of absolute subjection to God. Saint Teresa of Ávila quotes……. I saw an angel close by me, on my left side, in bodily form. This I am not accustomed to see, unless very rarely. Though I have visions of angels frequently, yet I see them only by an intellectual vision, such as I have spoken of before. It was our Lords will that in this vision I should see the angel in this wise. …………. Around 1556, various friends suggested that Saint Teresa’s newfound knowledge was diabolical, and not divine. Saint Teresa of Ávila began to inflict various tortures and mortifications on herself. But Rev. Father Francis Borgia, to whom she made her confession, reassured her of the divine inspiration of her thoughts. On Saint Peters Day in 1559, Saint Teresa became firmly convinced that Christ was present to her in bodily form, though invisible. These visions of Jesus Christ lasted almost uninterrupted for more than two years. In another vision, a seraph drove the fiery point of a golden lance repeatedly through her heart, causing an ineffable spiritual-bodily pain. The first, or hearts devotion, is that of devout contemplation or concentration, the withdrawal of the soul from without and specially the devout observance of the passion of Christ and penitence. The second is the devotion of peace, in which at least the human will is lost in that of God by virtue of a charismatic, supernatural state given of God, while the other faculties, such as memory, reason, and imagination, are not yet secure from worldly distraction. While a partial distraction is due to outer performances such as repetition of prayers and writing down spiritual things, yet the prevailing state is one of quietude. The devotion of union is not only a supernatural but an essentially ecstatic state. Here there is also an absorption of the reason in God, and only the memory and imagination are left to ramble. This state is characterized by a blissful peace, a sweet slumber of at least the higher soul faculties, a conscious rapture in the love of God. The fourth is the devotion of ecstasy or rapture, a passive state, in which the consciousness of being in the body disappears (2 Corinthians 12:2-3). Sense activity ceases; memory and imagination are also absorbed in God or intoxicated. Body and spirit are in the throes of a sweet, happy pain, alternating between a fearful fiery glow, a complete impotence and unconsciousness, and a spell of strangulation, intermitted sometimes by such an ecstatic flight that the body is literally lifted into space. This after half an hour is followed by a reactionary relaxation of a few hours in a swoon-like weakness, attended by a negation of all the faculties in the union with God. From this the subject awakens in tears; it is the climax of mystical experience, productive of the trance In March 1563, when Saint Teresa moved to the new cloister, she received the papal sanction to her prime principle of absolute poverty and renunciation of property, which she proceeded to formulate into a Constitution Saint Teresa of Ávila along with Saint John of the Cross, was a founder of the Discalced Carmelites She became the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church in 1970 and is one of only three women to be awarded that honor, along with Saint Catherine of Siena, made so in 1970 and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (also known as Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus), made so in 1997 Saint Teresa of Ávila quotes….. A man can bear all things provided he possesses Christ Jesus dwelling within him as his friend and affectionate guide. Christ gives us help and strength, never deserts us and is true and sincere in his friendship. It is clear to me that if we wish to please God and to receive graces in abundance from him, it is Gods will that these graces should come to us through the hands of Christ in his most holy humanity, that humanity in which his Majesty has proclaimed that he is well pleased. During the last three years of her life, Saint Teresa founded convents at Villanueva de la Jara in northern Andalusia (1580), Palencia (1580), Soria (1581), Burgos, and at Granada (1582). Saint Teresa of Ávila died October 4, 1582 (aged 67), in Alba de Tormes, Salamanca, Spain She was beatified in 24 April 1614 by Pope Paul V (who was the 233rd Servant of God , since the Pontificate of Saint Peter the apostle). She was canonized in 12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV (who was the 234th Vicar of Christ, since the Pontificate of Saint Peter the apostle). She is the Patron Saint of those infected by bodily ills and people suffering from headaches She is also the Patron Saint of people who have lost their parent (s) She is the Patron Saint of lacemakers and laceworkers She is also the Patron Saint of Pozega, Croatia She is the Patron Saint of people in need of grace and people in religious orders She is also the Patron Saint of people ridiculed for their piety She is the Patron Saint of sick people and sickness Saint Teresa of Ávila was said to have been observed levitating during Mass on more than one occasion: -To levitate means (to ascend /rise or suspend in mid-air without any consciousness or support) Other saints who experienced reported levitations were : Saint Martin the Porres, Saint Francis Xavier , Saint Joseph of Cupertino , Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint John Bosco , Saint Charbel, Saint Philip Neri, Saint Ignatius Loyola, .. amongst others.. Saint Teresa of Ávila is one of the foremost writers on mental prayer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are a few quotes from her works one may reflect upon: Almost everything lies in finding oneself unworthy of so great a good and in being occupied with giving thanks. Discursive reflection is so very arduous for such persons that if the master insists that they spend a lot of time in prayer without the help of reading, I say that it will be impossible for them to continue for long.... Reading is very helpful for recollection and serves as a necessary substitute- even though little may be read- for anyone who is unable to practice mental prayer. The Book of Her Life 4:8 When the soul reaches the stage at which it pays little attention to praise, it pays much less to disapproval; on the contrary, it rejoices in this and finds it a very sweet music. Blame does not intimidate the soul but strengthens it...It feels that those who persecute it do not offend God; rather that His Majesty permits persecution for the benefit of the soul. And since it clearly experiences the benefits of persecution, it acquires a special and very tender love for its persecutors. It seems to it that they are greater friends and more advantageous than those who speak well of it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saint Teresa’s definition was used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Mental prayer [oración mental] is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let us pray (Oremus): God our Father, by your Spirit you raised up Saint Teresa of Jesus to show your Church the way to perfection. May her inspired teaching awaken in us a longing for true holiness. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Let us pray that by the works, spiritual direction, spiritual maturity and intercession of Saint Teresa of Ávila, we may in this group find the spiritual motivation to win our souls for God. Amen Summary of the life history and works of Saint Teresa of Ávila can be viewed by clicking the image of the Saint in our group’s photo section Saint of the day would be communicated to you as promptly and consistently as humanly possible, by Gods grace. May we all in this group and beyond this group, Christians and non Christians alike, Catholics and non Catholics alike, be saved from the fires of hell and lifted up into heaven after our stay here on this exile. Amen May our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of Saint Teresa of Ávila and other Saints before and after her and through Gods Divine Mercy strengthen our souls, open out the way for us all, and above all, intoxicate us with HIS love. Amen May Christ make us into blazing fires to enkindle the earth with the heavenly fire HE brought us. Amen Jesus we love you, all we have is yours, yours we are and yours we want to be, please do with us whatever you will. Amen Jesus, Mary we love you, please save our souls. Amen God bless you and grant your hearts desire. Amen Saint Teresa of Ávila, pray for us. Amen
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 23:51:03 +0000
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