Happy Feast of St. Teresa!
All the nuns at the Carmel of St. Teresa of Jesus wish you a very blessed solemnity of St. Teresa of Jesus today! Since it is Sunday the Church does not celebrate it, but Carmelites retain it on their liturgical calendar as one of the prominent feasts of our Order (along with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. John of the Cross).
Today we pray the last day of our Novena to St. Teresa, and close it with this last reflection on her life and legacy. We have been praying for all the intentions given us for the Novena. May St. Teresa obtain from “His Majesty” many graces for us all.
The Testimony of St. Teresa
Although she had just two years of formal education, Teresa’s writings are a treasure of spiritual riches and have been considered as classics for almost four hundred years. On September 27, 1970, the Church recognized her immense contribution by proclaiming her Doctor, the first woman, along with St. Catherine of Siena, to be so honored.
Teresa’s three major works are: The Book of Her Life, The Way of Perfection, and The Interior Castle. Besides these, her other writings include Book of the Foundations, eight minor works, thirty poems, and more than four hundred letters.
The Book of Her Life
The Book of Her Life is the first and longest of her writings. It is Teresa’s spiritual autobiography and tells of the graces she received. It was written for a small group of close friends, and is an attempt to analyze her own religious experiences. By telling her own story, Teresa hoped to show God’s merciful plan for every person. The two main themes of the book concern Teresa’s own life with God and the realization that every Christian is called to a life of closeness with God. Teresa’s Life is a very original work, because it was the first time anyone had analyzed life experiences and then drawn principles of spirituality from them. Teresa had the great insight to see the connection between her own life experience and spiritual doctrines. She writes with honesty and spontaneity of God’s presence in the human person, of his deep involvement in human life. She describes how the human spirit is fully enriched only by coming as close as possible to God.
The Way of Perfection
The Way of Perfection is Teresa’s chief ascetical work, a primer of prayer for beginners. It is a summary of her experience as a religious, and is written in the style of a long letter. It was meant to be a spiritual guide for a group of Carmelite nuns in the convent of St. Joseph in Avila. Written and re-written over a period of sixteen years, it was meant to help persons prepare for the contemplative life. Teresa speaks of the spiritual life as a journey. There are several ways to travel, but the way of prayer is the best. Prayer alone is the key that opens a person to a life of communion with God.
The Interior Castle
The Interior Castle is Teresa’s definitive masterpiece and the synthesis of all her teachings. It is a teaching work, actually written in about two months for the nuns and some theologians. The book is divided into seven “mansions” or “dwelling places” and subdivided into chapters in each “mansion”. This most mature work of Teresa has two main themes. First, spiritual life involves an evolution from the freedom from sin to a state of union with God. Second, there are levels or degrees of prayer which progressively enrich our relationship with God and open up new possibilities of closeness to him.
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