The Life of Holy Mother
Teresa of Jesus
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus,
of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel
CHAPTER 36
She continues
- the same subject;
- explains and tells things that have happened
to her which caused her to lose fear and
convinced her that the spirit
which spoke to her was a good one.
- The Foundation of the Monastery of St. Joseph.
- Persecution and Temptations.
- Great Interior Trial of the Saint, and
- Her Deliverance.
______________________
Topics/ Questions
to keep in mind
as we read along:
1). St. Teresa described the planning
for the new Monastery
as done in haste and secrecy.
What conditions would have
caused her to abandon
her plans?
[Life: Ch36: # 3, 4, 12]
2). What did St. Teresa say was her
"aim from the beginning"
regarding receiving Nuns
into the new monastery?
[Life: Ch36: #5]
3). What was "a great consolation"
to St. Teresa, in her
planning and work?
[Life: Ch36: #5]
4). What were the temptations and
anxieties suggested by the devil
which St. Teresa experienced
regarding the founding of the
new monastery?
[Life: Ch36: #6, 7]
5). What was St. Teresa's
"great resolution"
regarding suffering for God?
[Life: Ch36: # 8, 11, 12 ]
6). During the time of the
convocation of the assemblies,
regarding the founding
of the new monastery,
what was St. Teresa's fear?
What did she say about Faith?
[Life: Ch. 36: # 13, 15, 16 ]
7). How did the question
of an endowment
for the new monastery
evolve over time ?
[Life: Ch. 36: # 19, 20,21,25 ]
8). What did St. Teresa say
regarding following
the Carmelite rule
in the new monastery
and its special blessings ?
[Life: Ch. 36: # 24,26, 27,30,31 ]
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Chapter 36
1. Having now left that city, I
[527] [Toledo]
travelled in great joy,
resolved to suffer most willingly
whatever our Lord might be pleased
to lay upon me.
On the night of my arrival here,
[528] [ Avila ] [June 1562]
came also from Rome
the commission and
the Brief
for the erection of the monastery. [529]
I was astonished myself,
and so were those who knew
how our Lord hastened my coming,
when they saw
how necessary it was, and
in what a moment our Lord
had brought me back. [530]
I found here
the Bishop [Don Alvaro de Mendoza] and
the holy friar,[531] Peter of Alcantara,
and that nobleman, [532]
[Don Francisco de Salcedo]
the great servant of God,
in whose house the holy man
was staying;
for he was a man who was
in the habit of receiving
the servants of God in his house.
These two prevailed on the Bishop
to accept the monastery,
which was no small thing,
because it was founded in poverty;
but he was so great a lover of those
whom he saw determined
to serve our Lord,
that he was immediately drawn
to give them His protection.
It was
the approbation
of the holy old man, [533] and
[ St. Peter of Alcantara.]
the great trouble he took to make
now this one,
now that one,
help us,
that did the whole work.
If I had not come at the moment,
as I have just said,
I do not see
how it could have been done;
for the holy man was here
but a short time,
--I think not quite eight days,--
during which he was also ill;
and almost immediately afterwards
our Lord took him to Himself. [534]
It seems
as if His Majesty reserved him
till this affair was ended,
because now for some time
--I think for more than two years--
he had been very ill.
2. Everything was done
in the utmost secrecy;
and if it had not been so,
I do not see how anything
could have been done at all;
for the people of the city were against us,
as it appeared afterwards.
Our Lord ordained that
one of my brothers-in-law [535]
[ Don Juan de Ovalle]
should be ill, and
his wife away, and
himself in such straits
that my superiors gave me leave
to remain with him.
Nothing, therefore, was found out,
though some persons
had their suspicions;
--still, they did not believe.
It was very wonderful,
- for his illness lasted only
no longer than was necessary
for our affair; and
- when it was necessary
he should recover his health,
that I might be disengaged, and
he leave the house empty,
our Lord restored him;
and he was astonished at it himself. [536]
3. I had much trouble in persuading
this person and that
to allow the foundation;
I had to
nurse the sick man, and
obtain from the workmen
the hasty preparation of the house
so that it might have
the form of a monastery;
but much remained still to be done.
My friend was not here, [537]
[ Dona Guiomar de Ulloa was now
in her native place, Ciudad Toro]
for we thought it best she should be away,
in order the better to hide our purpose.
I saw that everything depended on haste
for many reasons,
- one of which was
that I was afraid I might be ordered back
to my monastery at any moment.
- I was troubled by so many things,
that I suspected my cross
had been sent me,
though it seemed but a light one
in comparison with that
which I understood our Lord
meant me to carry.
4. When everything was settled,
our Lord was pleased
that some of us should take the habit
on St. Bartholomew's Day.
The most Holy Sacrament began to dwell
in the house at the same time. [538]
[The Mass was said by Fr. Gaspar Daza.]
With full sanction and authority,
then, our monastery
of our most glorious father St. Joseph
was founded in the year 1562. [539]
I was there myself to give the habit,
with two nuns [540] of the house
to which we belonged,
who happened then to be absent from it.
As the house which thus
became a monastery
was that of my brother-in-law
-- I said before [541]
that he had bought it,
for the purpose of concealing our plan--
I was there myself
with the permission of my superiors;
and I did nothing
without the advice of learned men,
in order that I might not break,
in a single point, my vow of obedience.
As these persons considered
what I was doing
to be most advantageous
for the whole Order, on many accounts,
they told me
--though I was
acting secretly, and
taking care my superiors
should know nothing --
that I might go on.
If they had told me
that there was the slightest imperfection
in the whole matter,
I would have given up
the founding of a thousand monasteries,
--how much more, then, this one!
I am certain of this;
for though I longed
to withdraw from everything
more and more, and
to follow my rule and vocation
in the greatest perfection
and seclusion,
yet I wished to do so only conditionally:
for if I should have learnt
that it would be
for the greater honour of our Lord
to abandon it,
I would have done so,
as I did before on one occasion, [542]
in all peace and contentment.
5. I felt as if I were in bliss,
when I saw
the most Holy Sacrament reserved,
with four poor orphans, [543]
-- for they were received
without a dowry, --
and great servants of God,
established in the house.
It was our aim from the beginning
to receive only those
who, by their example,
might be the foundation
on which we could
- build up what we had in view
-- great perfection and prayer--
- effect a work which I believed
to be for the service of our Lord, and
to the honour of the habit
of His glorious Mother.
This was my anxiety.
It was also a great consolation to me
- that I had done
that which our Lord had so often
commanded me to do, and
- that there was one church more in this city
dedicated to my glorious father St. Joseph.
Not that I thought
I had done anything myself,
for I have never thought so,
and do not think so even now;
I always looked upon it
as the work of our Lord.
My part in it was so full of imperfections,
that I look upon myself
rather as a person in fault
than as one to whom any thanks are due.
But it was a great joy to me
when I saw His Majesty make use of me,
who am so worthless, as His instrument
in so grand a work.
I was therefore in great joy,
--so much so,
that I was, as it were, beside myself,
lost in prayer.
6. When all was done
-- it might have been about
three or four hours afterwards --
Satan returned to the spiritual fight
against me, as I shall now relate.
He suggested to me
that perhaps I had been wrong
in what I had done;
perhaps I had failed in my obedience,
in having brought it about
without the commandment
of the Provincial.
I did certainly think
that the Provincial would be displeased
because I had placed the monastery
under the jurisdiction
of the Bishop [544]
without telling him of it beforehand;
though, as he would not acknowledge
the monastery himself,
and as I had not changed mine,
it seemed to me that perhaps
he would not care much
about the matter.
Satan also suggested
whether the nuns would be contented
to live in so strict a house,
whether they could always find food,
whether I had not done a silly thing,
what had I to do with it, and
when I was already in a monastery?
All our Lord had said to me,
all the opinions I had heard, and
all the prayers
which had been almost uninterrupted
for more than two years,
were completely blotted
out of my memory,
just as if they had never been.
The only thing I remembered
was my own opinion; and
every virtue, with faith itself,
was then suspended within me,
so that I was without strength
to practise any one of them, or
to defend myself against so many blows.
7. The devil also would have me
ask myself
how I could think of shutting myself up
in so strict a house,
when I was subject to so many infirmities;
how could I
bear so penitential a life, and
leave a house large and pleasant,
where I had been always so happy, and
where I had so many friends?
-- perhaps I might not like those
of the new monastery;
I had taken on myself a heavy obligation,
and might possibly end in despair.
He also suggested that perhaps
it was he himself who had contrived it,
in order to rob me of my peace and rest,
so that, being unable to pray,
I might be disquieted, and so lose my soul.
Thoughts of this kind he put before me;
and they were so many,
that I could think of nothing else;
and with them came such distress, obscurity,
and darkness of soul
as I can never describe.
When I found myself in this state,
I went and placed myself
before the most Holy Sacrament,
though I could not pray to Him;
so great was my anguish,
that I was like one in the agony of death.
I could not make the matter known
to any one,
because no confessor had as yet
been appointed.
8. O my God, how wretched is this life!
No joy is lasting;
everything is liable to change.
Only a moment ago,
I do not think I would have exchanged
my joy with any man upon earth;
and the very grounds of that joy
so tormented me now,
that I knew not what to do with myself.
Oh, if we did but consider carefully
the events of our life,
every one of us would learn
from experience
how little we ought to make either
of its pleasures or
of its pains!
Certainly this was, I believe,
one of the most distressing moments
I ever passed in all my life;
my spirit seemed to forecast
the great sufferings in store for me,
though they never were
so heavy as this was,
if it had continued.
But our Lord would not
let His poor servant suffer,
for in all my troubles
He never failed to succour me;
so it was now.
He gave me a little light,
so that I
might see it was the work of the devil, and
might understand the truth,
-- namely, that it was nothing else
but an attempt on his part
to frighten me with his lies.
So I began to call to mind
my great resolutions
to serve our Lord, and
my desire to suffer for His sake; and
I thought
that if I carried them out,
I must not seek to be at rest;
that if I had my trials,
they would be meritorious; and
that if I had troubles, and endured them
in order to please God,
it would serve me for purgatory.
What was I, then, afraid of?
If I longed for tribulations,
I had them now;
and my gain lay in the greatest opposition.
(in persevering through greatest trials)
Why, then, did I fail in courage
to serve One to whom I owed so much?
9. After
making these and other reflections, and
doing great violence to myself,
I promised before the most Holy Sacrament
to do all in my power
to obtain permission to enter this house,
and, if I could do it
with a good conscience,
to make a vow of enclosure.
When I had done this, the devil
fled in a moment, and
left me calm and peaceful,
and I have continued so ever since;
and the enclosure, penances,
and other rules of this house
are to me, in their observance,
so singularly sweet and light,
the joy I have is so exceedingly great,
that I am now and then thinking
what on earth I could have chosen
which should be more delightful.
I know not
whether this may not be the cause
of my being in better health
than I was ever before, or
whether it be
that our Lord,
because it is needful and reasonable
that I should do as all the others do,
gives me this comfort of keeping
the whole rule,
though with some difficulty.
However, all who know my infirmities,
are astonished at my strength.
Blessed be He who giveth it all,
and in whose strength I am strong!
10. Such a contest left me
greatly fatigued, and
laughing at Satan;
for I saw clearly it was he.
As I have never known
what it is to be discontented
because I am a nun
- no, not for an instant --
during more than twenty-eightyears
of religion,
I believe that our Lord suffered me
to be thus tempted,
that I might understand
how great a mercy
He had shown me herein, and
from what torment
He had delivered me, and
that if I saw any one in like trouble
I might not be alarmed at it,
but have pity on her,
and be able to console her.
11. Then, when this was over,
I wished to rest myself a little
after our dinner;
for during the whole of that night
I had scarcely rested at all, and
for some nights previously
I had had much trouble and anxiety,
while every day was full of toil;
for the news of what we had done
had reached my monastery, and
was spread through the city.
There arose a great outcry,
for the reasons
I mentioned before, [545] and
there was some apparent ground for it.
The prioress [546] sent for me
to come to her immediately.
When I received the order,
I went at once,
leaving the nuns in great distress.
I saw clearly enough
that there were troubles before me;
but as the work was really done,
I did not care much for that.
I prayed and implored our Lord
to help me,
and my father St. Joseph
to bring me back to his house.
I offered up to him all I was to suffer,
rejoicing greatly
that I had the opportunity
of suffering for his honour and
of doing him service.
I went persuaded
that I should be put in prison at once
but this would have been a great comfort,
because I should have nobody to speak to,
and might have some rest and solitude,
of which I was in great need;
for so much intercourse with people
had worn me out.
12. When I came and told the prioress
what I had done,
she was softened a little.
They all sent for the Provincial, and
the matter was reserved for him.
When he came,
I was summoned to judgment,
rejoicing greatly at seeing that
I had something to suffer for our Lord.
I did not think I had offended
against His Majesty, or
against my Order,
in anything I had done;
on the contrary,
I was striving with all my might
to exalt my Order,
for which I would willingly have died,
--for my whole desire was
that its rule might be observed
in all perfection.
I thought of Christ receiving sentence, and
I saw how this of mine
would be less than nothing.
I confessed my fault,
as if I had been very much to blame;
and so I seemed to every one
who did not know all the reasons.
After the Provincial
had rebuked me sharply
-- though
not with the severity
which my fault deserved,
nor according to the
made to him --
I would not defend myself,
for I was determined to bear it all;
on the contrary,
I prayed him to
forgive and punish, and
be no longer angry with me.
13. I saw well enough
that they condemned me on some charges
of which I was innocent,
for they said I had founded the monastery
- that I might be thought much of, and
- to make myself a name, and
- for other reasons of that kind.
But on other points I understood clearly
that they were speaking the truth,
as when they said
that I was
more wicked
than the other nuns.
They asked,
how could I,
who had not kept the rule in that house,
think of keeping it
in another of stricter observance?
They said I was
giving scandal in the city, and
setting up novelties.
All this
neither troubled
nor distressed me
in the least,
though I did seem to feel it,
lest I should appear to make light
of what they were saying.
14. At last the Provincial commanded me
to explain my conduct before the nuns,
and I had to do it.
As I was perfectly calm,
and our Lord helped me,
I explained everything in such a way that
neither the Provincial
nor those who were present
found any reason to condemn me.
Afterwards I spoke more plainly
to the Provincial alone;
he was very much satisfied,
and promised,
if the new monastery prospered, and
(if) the city became quiet,
to give me leave to live in it.
Now the outcry in the city was very great,
as I am going to tell.
Two or three days after this,
the governor,
certain members of the council
of the city and
of the Chapter,
came together, and
resolved
that the new monastery should not
be allowed to exist,
that it was a visible wrong to the state,
that the most Holy Sacrament
should be removed, and
that they would not suffer us
to go on with our work.
15. They assembled all the Orders
-- that is, two learned men
from each --
to give their opinion.
Some were silent,
others condemned;
in the end, they resolved
that the monastery should be broken up.
Only one [547] [Fr. Domingo Banes]
-- he was of the Order of St. Dominic,
and objected,
not to the monastery itself,
but to the foundation of it
in poverty --
said
that there was no reason
why it should be thus dissolved,
that the matter ought to be
well considered,
that there was time enough,
that it was the affair of the bishop,
with other things of that kind.
This was of great service to us,
for they were angry enough
to proceed to its destruction at once,
and it was fortunate they did not.
In short, the monastery must exist;
our Lord was pleased to have it,
and all of them could do nothing
against His will.
They gave their reasons, and
showed their zeal for good, and
thus, without offending God,
made me suffer
together with all those
who were in favour of the monastery;
there were not many,
but they suffered much persecution.
The inhabitants were so excited,
that they talked of nothing else;
every one condemned me,
and hurried
to the Provincial and
to my monastery.
16. I was no more distressed
by what they said of me
than if they had said nothing;
but I was afraid the monastery
would be destroyed:
that was painful;
so also was it to see those persons
who helped me
lose their credit and
suffer so much annoyance.
But as to what was said of myself
I was rather glad, and
if I had had any faith
I should not have been troubled at all.
But a slight failing in one virtue
is enough to put all the others to sleep.
I was therefore extremely distressed
during the two days
on which those assemblies
of which I have spoken were held.
In the extremity of my trouble,
our Lord said to me:
"Knowest thou not that I am the Almighty?
What art thou afraid of?"
He made me feel assured
that the monastery would not be broken up,
and I was exceedingly comforted.
The informations taken were sent up
to the king's council, and
an order came back for a report
on the whole matter.
17. Here was the beginning
of a grand lawsuit:
the city sent delegates to the court, and
some must be sent also
to defend the monastery:
but I had no money,
nor did I know what to do.
Our Lord provided for us
for the Father Provincial never ordered me
not to meddle in the matter.
He is so great a lover of all that is good,
that, though he did not help us,
he would not be against our work.
Neither did he authorise me
to enter the house
till he saw how it would end.
Those servants of God
who were in it
were left alone, and
did more by their prayers
than I did with all my negotiations,
though the affair needed
the utmost attention.
Now and then
everything seemed to fail;
particularly one day,
before the Provincial came,
when the prioress ordered me
to meddle no more with it, and
to give it up altogether.
I betook myself to God, and said,
"O Lord, this house is not mine;
it was founded for Thee;
and now that there is no one
to take up the cause,
do Thou protect it."
I now felt myself in peace,
and as free from anxiety
as if the whole world were on my side
in the matter;
and at once I looked upon it as safe. [548]
18. A very great servant of God, and
a lover of all perfection,
a priest [549] [Fr. Gonzalo de Aranda ]
who had helped me always,
went to the court on this business, and
took great pains.
That holy nobleman [550]
[ Don Francisco de Salcedo ]
of whom I have often spoken
laboured much on our behalf, and
helped us in every way.
He had much trouble and persecution
to endure,
and I always found a father in him,
and do so still.
All those who helped us,
our Lord filled with such fervour
as made them consider our affair
as their own,
as if their own life and reputation
were at stake; and
yet it was nothing to them,
except in so far as it regarded
the service of our Lord.
His Majesty visibly helped the priest
I have spoken of before,
[551] [ Fr. Gaspar Daza ]
who was also one of those
who gave us great help
when the Bishop sent him
as his representative
to one of the great meetings.
There he stood alone against all;
at last he pacified them
by means of certain propositions,
which obtained us a little respite.
But that was not enough;
for they were ready to spend their lives,
if they could but destroy the monastery.
This servant of God was
he who
gave the habit and
reserved the most Holy Sacrament, and
he was the object of much persecution.
This attack lasted about six months:
to relate in detail the heavy trials
we passed through
would be too tedious.
19. I wondered at
what Satan did
against a few poor women, and also
how all people thought
that merely twelve women,
with a prioress,
could be so hurtful to the city,
-- for they were not to be more, --
I say this to those
who opposed us, --
and living such austere lives;
for if any harm or error came of it,
it would all fall upon them.
Harm to the city
there could not be in any way; and
yet the people thought
there was so much in it,
that they opposed us
with a good conscience.
At last they resolved they
would tolerate us
if we were endowed, and
in consideration of that
would suffer us to remain.
I was so distressed at the trouble
of all those who were on our side
-- more than at my own --
that I thought it would not be amiss,
till the people were pacified,
to accept an endowment,
but afterwards to resign it.
At other times, too,
wicked and imperfect as I am,
I thought that perhaps
our Lord wished it to be so,
seeing that, without accepting it,
we could not succeed;
and so I consented to the compromise.
20. The night before the settlement
was to be made,
I was in prayer,
-- the discussion of the terms of it
had already begun, --
when our Lord said to me
that I must do nothing of the kind;
for if we began with an endowment,
they would never allow us to resign it.
He said some other things also.
The same night,
the holy friar, Peter of Alcantara,
appeared to me.
He was then dead. [552]
But he had written to me
before his death
-- for he knew
the great opposition and persecution
we had to bear --
that he was glad the foundation
was so much spoken against;
it was a sign
- that our Lord
would be exceedingly honoured
in the monastery,
seeing that Satan
was so earnest against it; and
- that I was by no means to consent
to an endowment.
He urged this upon me twice or thrice
in that letter, and
said that if I persisted in this
everything would succeed
according to my wish.
21. At this time I had
already seen
him twice since his death, and
the great glory he was in, and
so I was not afraid, --
on the contrary,
I was very glad;
for he always appeared as a glorified body
in great happiness, and
the vision made me very happy too.
I remember that he told me,
the first time I saw him,
among other things,
when speaking of the greatness of his joy,
that the penance he had done
was a blessed thing for him,
in that it had obtained so great a reward.
But, as I think I have spoken of this before,
[553] I will now say no more than
that he showed himself severe
on this occasion:
he merely
said that I was on no account
to accept an endowment, and
asked why it was I did not take his advice.
He then disappeared.
I remained in astonishment,
and the next day
told the nobleman
--for I went to him in all my trouble,
as to one who did more than others
for us in the matter, --
what had taken place, and
charged him not to consent
to the endowment,
but to let the lawsuit go on.
He was more firm on this point
than I was, and
was therefore greatly pleased;
he told me afterwards
how much he disliked the compromise.
22. After this, another personage
-- a great servant of God, and
with good intentions --
came forward,
who, now that the matter
was in good train,
advised us to put it
in the hands of learned men.
This brought on trouble enough;
for some of those who helped me
agreed to do so;
and this plot of Satan
was one of the most difficult of all
to unravel.
Our Lord was my helper throughout.
Writing thus briefly,
it is impossible for me to explain
what took place during the two years
that passed between
the beginning and
the completion of the monastery:
the last six months and
the first six months
were the most painful.
23. When at last the city
was somewhat calm,
the licentiate father, the Dominican friar
[554] [Fr Pedro Ibanez]
who helped us,
exerted himself most skilfully
on our behalf.
Though not here at the time,
our Lord brought him here
at a most convenient moment
for our service,
and it seems that His Majesty brought him
for that purpose only.
He told me afterwards
that he had no reasons for coming, and
that he heard of our affair as if by chance.
He remained here
as long as we wanted him,
and on going away he prevailed,
by some means, on the Father Provincial
to permit me
to enter this house, and
to take with me some of the nuns [555]
-- such a permission
seemed impossible
in so short a time --
for the performance
of the Divine Office
and the training of those
who were in this house:
the day of our coming was
a most joyful day for me. [556]
24. While praying in the church,
before I went into the house,
and being as it were in a trance,
I saw Christ;
who, as it seemed to me,
received me with great affection,
placed a crown on my head, and
thanked me for what I had done
for His Mother.
On another occasion,
when all of us remained in the choir
in prayer after Compline,
I saw our Lady
in exceeding glory,
in a white mantle,
with which she seemed to cover us all.
I understood by that
the high degree of glory
to which our Lord would raise
the religious of this house.
25. When we had begun to sing the Office,
- the people began to have
a great devotion to the monastery;
- more nuns were received, and
- our Lord began to stir up those
who had been our greatest persecutors to
become great benefactors, and
give alms to us.
In this way they came to approve
of what they had condemned; and
so, by degrees, they
withdrew from the lawsuit, and
would say that they now felt it
to be a work of God,
since His Majesty had been pleased
to carry it on in the face
of so much opposition.
And now there is not one who thinks
that it would have been right
not to have founded the monastery:
so they make a point
of furnishing us with alms;
for
without any asking on our part,
without begging of any one,
our Lord moves them to succour us; and
so we always have
what is necessary for us,
and I trust in our Lord
it will always be so. [557]
As the sisters are few in number,
if they do their duty
as our Lord at present by His grace
enables them to do,
I am confident
that they will always have it, and
that they need
not be a burden
nor troublesome to anybody;
for our Lord will care for them,
as He has hitherto done.
26. It is the greatest consolation to me
to find myself among
those who are so detached.
Their occupation is to learn
how they may advance
in the service of God.
Solitude is their delight;
and the thought of being visited
by any one,
even of their nearest kindred,
is a trial,
unless it helps them to kindle
more and more
their love of the Bridegroom.
Accordingly, none come to this house
who do not aim at this;
otherwise they
neither give
nor receive any pleasure
from their visits.
Their conversation is of God only;
and so he
whose conversation is different
does not understand them, and
they do not understand him.
27. We keep the rule
of our Lady of Carmel,
not the rule of the Mitigation,
but as it was
settled by Fr. Hugo
Cardinal of Santa Sabina, and
given in the year 1248,
in the fifth year of the pontificate
of Innocent IV., Pope.
All the trouble we had to go through,
as it seems to me,
will have been endured to good purpose.
28. And now,
though the rule be somewhat severe,
-- for we
◊ never eat flesh
except in cases of necessity,
◊ fast eight months in the year, and
◊ practise some other austerities besides
according to the primitive rule, [558] --
yet the sisters think it light on many points,
and so they have other observances,
which we have thought necessary
for the more perfect keeping of it.
And I trust in our Lord
that what we have begun
will prosper more and more,
according to the promise of His Majesty.
See Foot Note [558] "Jejunium singulis diebus, exceptis Dominicis, observetis a Festo Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis usque ad diem Dominicae Resurrectionis, nisi infirmitas vel debilitas corporis, aut alia justa causa, jejunium solvi suadeat; quia necessitas non habet legem. Ab esu carnium abstineatis, nisi pro infirmitatis aut debilitatis remedio sint sumantur." That is the tenth section of the rule. |
Blogger's poor translation: Observing daily fasting, except Sundays, from the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross to the day of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday) excluding those who are sick or weakened of body or for any just cause the fast is broken; because necessity does not have law. Abstain from all meats, excluding those sick or weakened, which are taken as a remedy. |
29. The other house,
which the holy woman
of whom I spoke before [559]
[ Maria of Jesus ]
laboured to establish,
has been also blessed of our Lord, and
is founded in Alcala:
it did not escape serious opposition,
nor fail to endure many trials.
I know that all duties of religion
are observed in it,
according to our primitive rule.
Our Lord grant that all may be
to the praise and glory
of Himself and
of the glorious Virgin Mary,
whose habit we wear.
Amen.
30. I think you must be wearied, my father,
by the tedious history of this monastery;
and yet it is most concise,
if you compare it with our labours,
and the wonders which our Lord
has wrought here.
There are many who can bear witness
to this on oath.
I therefore beg of your reverence,
for the love of God,
should you think fit to destroy
the rest of this my writing,
to preserve that part of it
which relates to this monastery, and
give it, when I am dead, to the
who may then be living in it.
It will encourage them greatly,
who shall come here both
to serve God and
to labour,
that what has been thus begun
may not fall to decay,
but ever grow and thrive,
when they see
how much our Lord has done
through one so mean and vile as I.
As our Lord has been
so particularly gracious to us
in the foundation of this house
it seems to me
that she will do very wrong, and
that she will be heavily chastised of God,
who shall be the first to relax
the perfect observance of the rule,
which our Lord has here
begun and countenanced,
so that it may be kept
with so much sweetness:
it is most evident
that the observance of it is easy, and
that it can be kept with ease,
by the arrangement made for those
who long to be alone
with their Bridegroom, Christ,
in order to live for ever in Him.
31. This is to be the perpetual aim
of those who are here,
- to be alone with Him alone.
They are not to be
more in number than thirteen:
I know this number to be the best,
for I have had many opinions about it;
and I have seen in my own experience,
that to
preserve our spirit,
living on alms,
without asking of anyone,
a larger number would be inexpedient.
May they always believe one who
with much labour, and
by the prayers of many people,
accomplished that which must be
for the best!
That this is most expedient for us
will be seen
from
the joy and cheerfulness, and
the few troubles,
we have all had in the years
we have lived in this house,
as well as
from
the better health than usual
of us all.
If any one thinks the rule hard,
let her lay the fault
on her want of the true spirit, and
not on the rule of the house,
seeing that delicate persons,
and those not saints,
--because they have
the true spirit, --
can bear it all with so much sweetness.
Let others go to another monastery,
where they may save their souls
in the way of their own spirit.
___________________________
[527] Toledo.
[528] Avila.
In the beginning of June, 1562.
[529] See [400]ch. xxxiv. § 2.
The Brief was dated Feb. 7, 1562,
the third year of Pius IV.
(De la Fuente).
[530] The Brief was addressed
to Dona Aldonza de Guzman, and
to Dona Guiomar de Ulloa, her daughter.
[531] Don Alvaro de Mendoza
(De la Fuente).
[532] Don Francisco de Salcedo.
[533] St. Peter of Alcantara.
"Truly this is the house of St. Joseph,"
were the Saint's words when he saw
the rising monastery;
"for I see it is the little hospice
of Bethlehem"
(De la Fuente).
[534] In less than three months, perhaps;
for St. Peter died in the sixty-third year
of his age, Oct. 18, 1562,
and in less than eight weeks
after the foundation of the monastery
of St. Joseph.
[535] Don Juan de Ovalle.
[536] When he saw that the Saint
had made all her arrangements,
he knew the meaning of his illness,
and said to her,
"It is not necessary
I should be ill any longer"
(Ribera, i. c. 8).
[537] Dona Guiomar de Ulloa was now
in her native place, Ciudad Toro.
[538] The Mass was said by Gaspar Daza.
See infra, [401] § 18;
Reforma, i. c. xlvi. § 3.
[539] The bell which the Saint had provided
for the convent weighed less than three pounds,
and remained in the monastery for a hundred years,
till it was sent, by order of the General,
to the monastery of Pastrana,
where the general chapters were held.
There the friars assembled at the sound of the bell,
which rang for the first Mass of the Carmelite Reform
Reforma, i. c. xlvi. § 1).
[540] They were Dona Ines and
DonaAna de Tapia, cousins of the Saint.
There were present also
Don Gonzalo de Aranda,
Don Francisco Salcedo,
Julian of Avila, priest;
Dona Juana de Ahumada, the Saint's sister;
with her husband, Juan de Ovalle.
The Saint herself retained her own habit,
making no change,
because she had not the permission
of her superiors
(Reforma, i. c. xlvi. § 2).
[541] [402]Ch. xxxiii. § 13.
[542] [403]Ch. xxxiii. § 3.
[543] The first of these was
Antonia de Henao,
a penitent of St. Peter of Alcantara,
and who wished to enter a religious house
far away from Avila, her home.
St. Peter kept her for St. Teresa.
She was called from this day forth,
Antonia of the Holy Ghost.
The second was Maria de la Paz,
brought up by Dona Guiomar de Ulloa.
Her name was Maria of the Cross.
The third was Ursola de los Santos.
She retained her family name as
Ursola of the Saints.
It was Gaspar Daza
who brought her to the Saint.
The fourth was Maria de Avila,
sister of Julian the priest,
and she was called Mary of St. Joseph.
It was at this house, too,
that the Saint herself exchanged her ordinary
designation of Dona Teresa de Ahumada
for Teresa of Jesus
(Reforma, i. c. xlvi. § 2).
[544] See Foundations, ch. ii. § 1,
and ch. xxxi, § 1.
[545] [404]Ch. xxxiii. §§ 1, 2.
[546] Of the Incarnation.
[547] F. Domingo Banes,
the great commentator on St. Thomas.
On the margin of the MS., Banes has
with his own hand written:
"This was at the end of August, 1562.
I was present, and gave this opinion.
I am writing this in May"
(the day of the month is not legible)
"1575, and the mother has now founded nine monasteries
en gran religion"
(De la Fuente).
At this time Banes did not know, and
had never seen, the Saint;
he undertook her defence simply because he saw
that her intentions were good, and
the means she made use of for founding
the monastery lawful,
seeing that she had received the
commandment to do so from the Pope.
Banes testifies thus in the depositions made in Salamanca
in 1591 in the Saint's process.
See vol. ii. p. 376 of Don Vicente's edition.
[548] See [405]Ch. xxxix. § 25.
[549] Gonzalo de Aranda
(De la Fuente).
[550] Don Francisco de Salcedo (ibid.).
[551] [406]Ch. xxiii. § 6; Gaspar Daza (ibid.).
[552] He died Oct. 18, 1562.
[553] [407]Ch. xxvii. § 21.
[554] "El Padre Presentado, Dominico.
Presentado en algunas Religiones es
cierto titulo de grado que es respeto
del Maestro como Licenciado"
(Cobarruvias, in voce Presente).
The father was Fra Pedro Ibanez.
See [408]ch. xxxviii. § 15.
[555] From the monastery of the Incarnation.
These were Ana of St. John,
Ana of All the Angels,
Maria Isabel, and
Isabel of St. Paul.
St. Teresa was a simple nun, living under obedience
to the prioress of St. Joseph,
Ana of St. John, and intended so to remain.
But the nuns applied to the Bishop of
Avila and to the Provincial of the Order, who,
listening to the complaints of the sisters,
compelled the Saint to be their prioress.
See Reforma, i. c. xlix. § 4.
[556] Mid-Lent of 1563.
[557] See [409]Way of Perfection, ch. ii.
[558] "Jejunium singulis diebus, exceptis Dominicis,
observetis a Festo
Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis usque
ad diem Dominicae Resurrectionis,
nisi infirmitas vel debilitas corporis,
aut alia justa causa, jejunium solvi suadeat;
quia necessitas non habet legem.
Ab esu carnium abstineatis,
nisi pro infirmitatis aut debilitatis remedio sint sumantur."
That is the tenth section of the rule.
[559] See [410]ch. xxxv. § 1.
Maria of Jesus had founded her house
in Alcala de Henares;
but the austerities practised in it,
and the absence of the religious mitigations
which long experience had introduced,
were too much for the fervent nuns there assembled.
Maria of Jesus begged Dona Leonor de
Mascarenas to persuade St. Teresa
to come to Alcala.
The Saint went to the monastery, and
was received there with joy,
and even entreated to take the house
under her own government
(Reforma, ii. c. x. §§ 3, 4).
End of Chapter 36 |
