"Let nothing trouble you, let nothing make you afraid. All things pass away. God never changes. Patience obtains everything. God alone is enough."
When I think of Saint Teresa of Avila I think of this saying. I have this as a bookmark in my Bible. She is probably most known for helping to reform her Order because she thought it was too lax. Saint Teresa is a patron saint of Spain so I am happy to learn more about her as she is one of the patrons for WYD 2011. St. Therese of Lisieux was named after her and Mother Teresa too her name from Saint Therese, but spelled her name as the original Saint Teresa. Three remarkable women who are worthy to know about their lives.
Saint Teresa was born at Avila, Castile, Spain on March 28, 1515 as Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada. She died in the arms of her secretary and close friend Blessed Anne of Saint Bartholomew on October 4, 1582. Her body is also incorrupt and her heart shows signs of Transverberation (piercing of the heart). She was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622 and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on September 27, 1970 by Pope Paul VI.
Saint Teresa is a lead writer on mental prayer and mystical theology. In all her writings about mysticism she deals with her personal experiences. Her definition was used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "Contemplative prayer [oración mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us." One of her best known works is Interior Castle. Saint Teresa reported visions of Jesus and Mary. She was a strong believer in the power of holy water and she used it to repel evil and temptations with much success.
"We shall never succeed in knowing ourselves unless we seek to know God: let us think of His greatness and then come back to our own baseness; by looking at His purity we shall see our foulness; by meditating upon His humility, we shall see how far we are from being humble."
"We need no wings to go in search of Him, but have only to look upon Him present within us."
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