St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila – October 15th

As a little girl in her parents’ rich home in Spain, Teresa and her brother Rodrigo loved to read the lives of the saints and martyrs. It seemed to them that the martyrs got to Heaven an easy way, so the two of them set out secretly to go to the land of the Moors. As they walked along, they prayed that they might die for Christ. But they had not gotten far when they met an uncle, who at once took them back to their worrying mother! Next the two little ones decided to be hermits in their garden, but they never could get enough stones together to build their huts!

St. Teresa herself wrote down these amusing stories of her childhood. The fact is that when she grew to be a teenager, however, she read so many novels and foolish romances that she lost much of her love for prayer, and she began to think more of dressing up to look pretty. But after she recovered from a bad illness, Teresa read a book about the great St. Jerome, and then and there, she made up her mind to become a Bride of Christ.

As a nun, St. Teresa often found it hard to pray and besides that, she was quite sick for some time. In those days many visitors used to come to the convent to talk with the nuns; and this practice, too, made it difficult for the Sisters to keep closely united to God. Teresa, like many others nuns, wasted much time this way. But one day, in front of a picture of Jesus, she felt great sorrow that she did not love God more. She started then to live for Him alone, no matter what sacrifice had to be made. In return for her love, Our Lord gave St. Teresa the privilege of hearing Him talk to her. She learned to pray in a marvelous way, too, and she wrote down in obedience all that she had experienced.

St. Teresa of Avila is very famous for having opened new Carmelite convents in which no worldly conversations with visitors disturbed their prayer. Her nuns made many sacrifices for Jesus and worked and prayed with great love. She herself gave them the example, not only by the way she prayed, but by the way she worked in spinning, cleaning, and sweeping the house.

Always St. Teresa placed all her hopes in God. Once in opening a new Convent, she had just a few coins to her name. “Teresa and this money are nothing,” she said. “But God, Teresa and this money are enough.” With a man-like courage, a heart full of love of God, and a wonderful sense of humor, this marvelous nun performed a great service for Christ’s Church.

From the life of this Saint, as well as of many other saints, we can see how the reading of books can change a person. From now on I resolve to choose good books as gifts for my family and friends.