The Life and Teachings of St. Teresa of Avila

On March 28, 2015 the Carmelites all over the world will celebrate the 500 years birth anniversary of one of its great saints, St. Teresa of Avila, also known as St. Teresa of Jesus. St. Teresa was a prominent Christian Mystic, canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV, and named the first woman Doctor of the Church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI. Her writings stand among the most remarkable mystical literature of the Catholic Church. In preparation for this important celebration, we will be running a series of articles on the reflections on her life and teachings.

Vuestra soy, para Vos nací,
¿qué mandáis hacer de mí?

“I am yours. I was Born for You, What do You Want of Me?” is a text from a poem by Teresa of Avila. “Para vos naci” is the theme for the celebration of the 500 years birth anniversary of St. Teresa of Avila. In many ways, these words capture the essence of Teresa’s life as a Christian and Carmelite.

Even at a very young and tender age, Teresa already showed an extraordinary passion of offering her life to God. In her autobiography, Teresa relates an incident when as a child of seven she enticed her older brother Rodrigo to run away with her to the land of the moors, have their heads cut off and become martyrs. But Teresa was not meant to become a young martyr. Just outside the walls of Avila, one of the big fortress cities of Spain in the sixteenth century, Teresa and her brother Rodrigo were spotted by their Uncle who was returning to the City. They were immediately brought home to their parents.

Teresa did not mention in the book if they were scolded by their parents. What she mentions is that she is grateful to have a father like Alfonso Sanchez de Cepeda and a mother like Beatrice de Ahumada y Cuevas who were both pious and keen in raising their children to become pious Christians. Her mother taught her how to read and told her stories about the lives of saints which fascinated her. Soon after the failed attempt to become martyrs, Teresa turned her interest to playing hermit, and perhaps unlike other children of her age who built playhouses in their backyards, Teresa built a play hermitage.

Teresa experienced her first severe human suffering when her mother died at a young age of 33 to a lingering illness. Teresa was only 12 years old then. In her sorrow and desolation she prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary and asked the Mother of Jesus to be her mother too and be her protector. This intimate relationship with Blessed Virgin Mary and the Lord Jesus Christ which began since her childhood continued until the end of her life. She did not live just loving the Lord Jesus Christ and His Mother, she served them as well.

In one of her books, Teresa counsels her brothers and sisters in Carmel:

“Christ has no body now, but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ looks compassion into the world.
Yours are the feet
with which Christ walks to do good.
Yours are the hands
with which Christ blesses the world.”

In keeping with Teresa’s counsel, Carmelites try to live a contemplative and apostolic life with Jesus Christ as the center and trying to help the Lord sanctify the world.

by Cesar R. Ledesma, OCDS/Contributor