Theresa of avila biography

The removal was done without the approval of the Duke of Alba de Tormes and he brought the body back in , with Pope Sixtus V ordering that it remain in Alba de Tormes on pain of excommunication. A grander tomb on the original site was raised in and the body was moved to a new chapel in On August 28, , it was made the canonical recognition of Teresa's body.

The postulator general of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, Father Marco Chiesa, announced that those present at the scene were able to see that "it is in the same condition as when it was last opened in In , forty years after her death, she was canonized by Pope Gregory XV. The Cortes exalted her to patroness of Spain in The University of Salamanca had granted her the title Doctor ecclesiae Latin for "Doctor of the Church" with a diploma in her lifetime, [ dubious — discuss ] but that title is distinct from the papal honour of Doctor of the Church , which is always conferred posthumously.

The latter was finally bestowed upon her by Pope Paul VI on 27 September , [ 3 ] along with Catherine of Siena , [ 24 ] making them the first women to be awarded the distinction. Teresa is revered as the Doctor of Prayer. In , her coffin was plated in silver. In , at the request of Philip IV of Spain , the Castilian parliament [ f ] elected Teresa "without lacking one vote" as copatron saint of Castile.

For these reasons [the king's and Cortes's elections] and for the great devotion which they have for Teresa, they elected her for patron and advocate of these kingdoms in the last Cortes of the aforementioned kingdoms And because Teresa's promoters said Spain faced newer challenges, especially the threat of Protestantism and societal decline at home, thus needing a more contemporary patron who understood those issues and could guide the Spanish nation.

The Spanish nuns who established Carmel in France brought a devotion to the Infant Jesus with them, and it became widespread in France. It has been thought that Teresa carried a portable statue of the Child Jesus wherever she went; the idea circulated by the early s. Teresa called this a "living book" and in it set out to teach her nuns how to progress through prayer and Christian meditation.

She discusses the rationale for being a Carmelite, and the rest deals with the purpose of and approaches to spiritual life. The title was inspired by the devotional book The Imitation of Christ which had become a favourite expression of Teresa much before she wrote this work, as it appeared at several places in her autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus.

Like her other books, The Way of Perfection was written on the advice of her counsellors to describe her experiences in prayer during the period when the Reformation was spreading through Europe. Herein she describes ways of attaining spiritual perfection through prayer and its four stages, as in meditation , quiet , repose of soul and finally perfect union with God , which she equates with rapture.

The work was inspired by her vision of the soul as a diamond in the shape of a castle containing seven mansions, which she interpreted as the journey of faith through seven stages, ending with union with God. The nearer one got to the centre, the stronger was the light; outside the palace limits everything was foul, dark and infested with toads, vipers and other venomous creatures.

Teresa's mystical experiences have inspired several authors in modern times, but not necessarily from Teresa's Christian theological perspective. The prayer Nada te turbe Let nothing disturb you is attributed to Teresa, having been found within her breviary: [ web 13 ]. Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing make you afraid. All things are passing.

God alone never changes. Patience gains all things. If you have God you will want for nothing. God alone suffices. The ultimate preoccupation of Teresa's mystical thought, as consistently reflected in her writings, is the ascent of the soul to God. Aumann notes that, "the grades of prayer described in The Life do not correspond to the division of prayer commonly given in the manuals of spiritual life", due to the fact that "St.

Theresa of avila biography

Teresa did not write a systematic theology of prayer". She is intensely personal, her system going exactly as far as her experiences, but not a step further. Teresa describes in the Interior Castle that the treasure of heaven lies buried within our hearts, and that there is an interior part of the heart which is the centre of the soul. In her autobiography she describes four stages, [ 46 ] in which she uses the image of watering one's garden as a metaphor for mystical prayer: [ h ].

The Interior Castle is divided into seven mansions also called dwelling places , each level describing a step to get closer to God. In her work, Teresa already assumed entrance into the first mansions by prayer and meditation. The purgative stage, involving active prayer and asceticism : [ web 14 ]. The illuminative stage, the beginning of mystical or contemplative or supernatural prayer: [ web 14 ].

Unitive stage: [ web 14 ]. The first four grades of Teresa's classifications of prayer belong to the ascetical stage of spiritual life. These are vocal prayer, meditational or mental prayer, affective prayer, and acquired or natural recollection. According to Augustin Poulain and Robert Thouless, Teresa described four degrees or stages of mystical union, namely the prayer of quiet , full or semi-ecstatic union, ecstatic union or ecstasy, and transforming or deifying union, or spiritual marriage properly of the soul with God.

Thomas Merton disagrees on a fine-cut distinction between acquired contemplation and the prayer of quiet, noticing the Carmelite tendency of systematization, whereas Teresa herself was just describing her personal experiences. Aumann synthesizes Teresa's writings into nine grades of prayer: [ 50 ] [ 54 ] [ web 15 ]. Mental prayer is a form of prayer "performed without aid of any particular formula.

For Teresa of Avila, in natural or acquired contemplation, also called the prayer of simplicity [ i ] there is one dominant thought or sentiment which recurs constantly and easily although with little or no development amid many other thoughts, beneficial or otherwise. The prayer of simplicity often has a tendency to simplify itself even in respect to its object, leading one to think chiefly of God and of his presence, but in a confused manner.

In the words of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori , acquired contemplation "consists in seeing at a simple glance the truths which could previously be discovered only through prolonged discourse": reasoning is largely replaced by intuition and affections and resolutions, though not absent, are only slightly varied and expressed in a few words.

Similarly, Saint Ignatius of Loyola , in his day retreat or Spiritual Exercises beginning in the "second week" with its focus on the life of Jesus, describes less reflection and more simple contemplation on the events of Jesus' life. Definitions similar to that of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori are given by Adolphe Tanquerey "a simple gaze on God and divine things proceeding from love and tending thereto" and Saint Francis de Sales "a loving, simple and permanent attentiveness of the mind to divine things".

Natural or acquired contemplation has been compared to the attitude of a mother watching over the cradle of her child: she thinks lovingly of the child without reflection and amid interruptions. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:. What is contemplative prayer? It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him.

In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself. According to Hardon, infused contemplation is "A supernatural gift by which a person's mind and will become totally centered on God. Under this influence the intellect receives special insights into things of the spirit, and the affections are extraordinarily animated with divine love.

Infused contemplation assumes the free co-operation of the human will. In Teresa's mysticism, infused contemplation is described as a "divinely originated, general, non-conceptual, loving awareness of God". It is a wordless awareness and love that we of ourselves cannot initiate or prolong. The beginnings of this contemplation are brief and frequently interrupted by distractions.

The reality is so unimposing that one who lacks instruction can fail to appreciate what exactly is taking place. Initial infused prayer is so ordinary and unspectacular in the early stages that many fail to recognize it for what it is. Yet with generous people, that is, with those who try to live the whole Gospel wholeheartedly and who engage in an earnest prayer life, it is common.

According to Thomas Dubay , infused contemplation is the normal, ordinary development of discursive prayer mental prayer, meditative prayer , which it gradually replaces. Other writers view contemplative prayer in its infused supernatural form as far from common. John Baptist Scaramelli , reacting in the 17th century against quietism , taught that asceticism and mysticism are two distinct paths to perfection, the former being the normal, ordinary end of the Christian life, and the latter something extraordinary and very rare.

For Teresa of Avila, the Prayer of Quiet is a state in which the soul experiences an extraordinary peace and rest, accompanied by delight or pleasure in contemplating God as present. According to Poulain, "Mystical union will be called [ The transforming union differs from the other three specifically and not merely in intensity. According to Poulain, "It consists in the habitual consciousness of a mysterious grace which all shall possess in heaven: the anticipation of the Divine nature.

The soul is conscious of the Divine assistance in its superior supernatural operations, those of the intellect and the will. Spiritual marriage differs from spiritual espousals inasmuch as the first of these states is permanent and the second only transitory. Theresa is usually shown in the habit of the Discalced Carmelites, and writing in a book with a quill pen.

Sometimes there is a dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. This article was originally based on the text in the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item.

Roman Catholic saint — For other people with a similar name, see List of saints named Teresa. Theology and philosophy. People by era or century. Desert Fathers. Contemporary papal views. Aspects of meditation Orationis Formas , Literature and media. Biography [ edit ]. Early life [ edit ]. Religious life [ edit ]. Ascetic and mystical practice [ edit ].

Transverberation [ edit ]. Monastic reformer [ edit ]. Extended travels [ edit ]. Opposition to reforms [ edit ]. Last days [ edit ]. After death [ edit ]. Holy relics [ edit ]. This section needs additional citations for verification. As a result, for many years Teresa lost the confidence to practise her prayers, and her spiritual life was almost put on hold.

However, when Teresa was 41, she met a priest who convinced her to go back to her prayers and implore God to come back. Initially, she had some difficulty sitting through prayers. However, in the course of time, she became absorbed in deep contemplation in which she felt an ever-growing sense of oneness with God. At times she felt overwhelmed with divine love.

The experiences were so transforming, she at times felt the illumining grace of God would wash her soul away. She was so filled with divine contemplation it is said at times her body would spontaneously levitate. When she felt it happening she would ask other nuns to sit on her to prevent her floating away. Teresa was not a just a quiet, placid saint.

She had an endearing, natural quality; her life energy attracted and inspired many who were close. They admired her for both her outer charm and inner serenity. But at the same time, her religious ecstasies also caused jealousy and suspicion. Unfortunately, she was born into the period of the Spanish Inquisition, during this time any deviation from the orthodox religious experience came under strict observation and scrutiny.

On one occasion Teresa complained to God about her mistreatment from so many different people. However, on the one hand, she felt these experiences to be more real than ordinary events. At the age of 43, St Teresa decided she wanted to found a new order recommitting to the values of poverty and simplicity. She wanted to move away from her present convent which made a life of prayer more difficult.

Initially, her aims were greeted with widespread opposition from within the town of Avila. However, with the support of some priests, the opposition waned, and she was allowed to set up her first convent. St Teresa proved to be an influential leader and founder. After many troubles and much opposition St. Joseph at Avila 24 Aug. Four years later she received the visit of the General of the Carmelites , John-Baptist Rubeo Rossi , who not only approved of what she had done but granted leave for the foundation of other convents of friars as well as nuns.

In the "Book of Foundations" she tells the story of these convents , nearly all of which were established in spite of violent opposition but with manifest assistance from above. Everywhere she found souls generous enough to embrace the austerities of the primitive rule of Carmel. Having made the acquaintance of Antonio de Heredia, prior of Medina, and St.

John of the Cross , she established her reform among the friars 28 Nov. A new epoch began with the entrance into religion of Jerome Gratian , inasmuch as this remarkable man was almost immediately entrusted by the nuncio with the authority of visitor Apostolic of the Carmelite friars and nuns of the old observance in Andalusia , and as such considered himself entitled to overrule the various restrictions insisted upon by the general and the general chapter.

On the death of the nuncio and the arrival of his successor a fearful storm burst over St. Teresa and her work, lasting four years and threatening to annihilate the nascent reform. The incidents of this persecution are best described in her letters. The storm at length passed, and the province of Discalced Carmelites , with the support of Philip II, was approved and canonically established on 22 June, Teresa, old and broken in health, made further foundations at Villanuava de la Jara and Palencia , Soria , Granada through her assistant the Venerable Anne of Jesus , and at Burgos She left this latter place at the end of July, and, stopping at Palencia , Valladolid , and Medina del Campo, reached Alba de Torres in September, suffering intensely.

Soon she took to her bed and passed away on 4 Oct. After some years her body was transferred to Avila , but later on reconveyed to Alba, where it is still preserved incorrupt. Francis and St. Twitter Facebook-f Instagram Pinterest Youtube. Contact Us. Phone: Address: 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH Recent Articles. Mighty St. Clare Read more.

Identity in God Read more.