I chose to write about Teresa of Avila, a.k.a. Teresa of Jesus. Here's my paper.
Saint Teresa of
Avilla is symbolized by a heart, an arrow and a book. She is the
patron Saint of headache sufferers and Spanish Catholic writers.
Teresa of Jesus was Born 1515 and died in 1582.
Beatified by Paul V
in 1614 and canonized by Gregory XV in 1622, she was voted patroness
of Spain, but the vote was not confirmed1.
Teresa of Avilla
had many trials. Her parents were too strict1. She got
confused sometimes, and continuously feared she would do something
wrong. I can relate. She had experiences with God she had questions
about, and I often find myself there too. She got a got boy crazy
when she was young, as did I. She struggled to keep her mind on
prayer, as I do off and on, yet her prayer life became deep when she
stayed committed to it. She felt that people often thought better of
her than they should. She suffered with poor spiritual council
sometimes2, and was several times disappointed with places
that were supposed to help her become closer to God2. I
can understand all that. She saw an unhealthy and unhappy marriage
and was scared to get married1. I can understand that
well. In her order, she lived in poverty, had many challenges1,
and spent a tremendous amount of time alone2. I am not in
an order, but that draws me to her especially. She started many
convents, almost like an apostle of convents.
Teresa of Jesus
knew her place in relation to devils, and how to fight them2.
When she decided to join an order, she was so determined that hell
itself couldn't have stopped her, even though she was kind of torn up
about it in some ways. She did not exercise her gifts for writing
with confidence, it was submission to God or her leaders that made
her go through with it2. I am very glad that she did so!
I read “The
Interior Castle” in 2006, and it helped me tremendously. It is one
of the things that drew me to the Catholic church. I infer from her
writing, in both her autobiography
that I am reading now and The
Interior Castle, that she
had very low self-esteem. God seemed to meet her needs where she was
weakened and likely to sin by showing her how much He loved her and
how valuable she was to him. That seems to be how God handles me
sometimes too. Oddly, I feel a bit less alone when I read her words,
and it stirs up a flame in my heart for God. I have a blog and do a
lot of serious writing; I hope my words may help at least a few
people half as well as hers have done, for me and many others.
Bowing in presence of God felt strongly during music at Christan Festival. Song where God is our spouse, like The Interior Castle talked about. Song was, "Come to Me." by Dark Valentine.
References
1. Catholic.org.
“Saints and Angels – Teresa of Avilla.” Retrieved from
2. E. Allison Peer.
The Autobiography of Teresa of Avilla. Image
Books, Garden City, NY. 1960.
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