A religious reformer, writer, mystic, Doctor of the Church, founder of seventeen monasteries and, perhaps most importantly of all, a charming and wholesome human being. Who can I be referring to? The sixteen century Carmelite called Teresa of Avila. Here is a little taste of her life and spirituality.
Teresa of Avila was a woman who was down to earth and full of practical common sense. She was a mystic who had her feet firmly planted on the ground. When one of her more pious Carmelite sisters criticised her for enjoying a well-cooked bird, she immediately replied, “Sister, there is a time for penance and a time for partridge.” Teresa believed that the Lord can be found among the pots and pans. Her spirituality was not detached from everyday things and everyday living. It was an integral part of everyday things and everyday living. Her God was a God who was personally involved in the business of her life. She believed that the God, who revealed himself in and through the humanity of Jesus, was revealing himself in and through her humanity too.
Teresa had a great sense of humour. For her religion should make us cheerful. She once exclaimed, “May the Lord protect us from sour-faced saints!” As she travelled throughout Spain founding new Carmelite monasteries Teresa had to put up with plenty of inconvenience and hardship. On one occasion when all of this was obviously getting her down she complained to the Lord, “If this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them!” Towards the end of her life Teresa agreed to have her portrait painted by a Carmelite brother by the name of John. When she saw the finished product she turned to Brother John and said, “God forgive you Brother John for you have made me fat and bleary-eyed!” It is refreshing to meet a saint who did not take herself too seriously.
Without doubt Teresa of Avila’s most important contribution to the Christian tradition has to do with prayer. She is the great teacher in the art of prayer. Teresa is clear and adamant: If we want a relationship with the Lord then we must spend time in personal prayer and do this regularly. Her teaching on prayer is perhaps best summed up in these words, “In my opinion, prayer is an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with the one whom we know loves us.” For Teresa, prayer is about the experience of friendship, a friendship that satisfies the longing in our hearts for unconditional love. Teresa knew the Lord as an intimate friend and she wants us to experience his intimacy too.