~ Discussion of Ch. 40 ~ The Life of Teresa of Jesus Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila |
The Life of Holy Mother
Teresa of Jesus
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus,
of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel
Discussion of Chapter 40
Continuation of
- the same subject of great mercies God
has shown her.
From some of these
- very good doctrine may be gathered, and
- this, as she declares, was,
besides compliance with obedience,
her principal motive (in writing this book),
namely to enumerate such of these mercies
as would be instructive to souls.
This chapter brings
- the history of her Life,
written by herself, to an end.
May it be for the glory of God. Amen.
- Visions, Revelations, and Locutions.
Discussion Topics/ Questions 1). St. Teresa described visions by which she was granted spiritual wisdom and Truth. What did St. Teresa say ? [ Life: Ch. 40: #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 21] 2). St. Teresa taught that it is "more fruitful...to look upon our Lord as being in the innermost part of their soul. than as (being) external to us" Regarding this, she described the soul as a mirror. What did St. Teresa say regarding this? [ Life: Ch. 40: #8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 ] 3 ). How does St. Teresa discuss the results of deep trance? [ Life: Ch. 40: #11, 13 Ch. 37: #12 ] 4). What did St. Teresa say regarding Spiritual Direction? [ Life: Ch. 40: #12 ] 5). What encouragement does St. Teresa give regarding our changeable emotions and devoutness ? [ Life: Ch. 40: #23 ] 6). St. Teresa discussed attachment to persons. What did she say? [ Life: Ch. 40: # 24, 25 Ch 37: # 4, 5 ] 7). What did St. Teresa say about suffering? [ Life: Ch. 40: # 27 ] 8). What did St. Teresa say regarding this writing of the account of her life? [ Life: Ch. 40: # 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, Epilogue: Letter to the Confessor to whom "The Life" was addressed ] |
1). St. Teresa described visions
by which she was granted
spiritual wisdom and Truth.
What did St. Teresa say ?
[ Life: Ch. 40: #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 13, 21]
St. Teresa described:
~ God as Truth, itself
◊ St. Teresa "...carried away in spirit"
was absorbed in, and filled with,
that grandeur of God"
"In that majesty, it was given me
to understand one truth,
which is the fulness of all truth,
...it was the Truth Itself"
[ Life: Ch. 40: #1 ]
◊ "I also understood
what it is for a soul
to be walking
in the truth,
in the presence of the Truth itself
What I understood is this:
that our Lord gave me to understand
that He is Himself the very Truth"
[ Life: Ch. 40: #5 ]
◊ "The Truth of
which I am speaking, and
which I was given to see,
is Truth Itself, in Itself.
It has neither beginning nor end.
All other truths
depend on this Truth, as
all other loves depend on this love,
and
other grandeurs on this grandeur.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #7 ]
~ Truth: In Attachment to God
Not in attchment to the world
◊ "for after this vision
I look upon everything
which does not tend
to the service of God
as vanity and lies.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #2 ]
"they are few who love Me in truth
for if men loved Me,
I should not hide My secrets
from them.
Knowest thou what it is
to love Me in truth?
It is to admit
everything to be a lie
which is not pleasing unto Me.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #1 ]
"I saw nothing;
but I understood
how great a blessing it is
to make no account of anything
which does not lead us
nearer unto God"
[ Life: Ch. 40: #5 ]
"the vanity of this world"
[ Life: Ch. 40: #6 ]
"Dost Thou not remember
- that this my soul has been
an abyss of lies and
a sea of vanities, and
- all my fault?
Though Thou hadst given me
a natural hatred of lying
yet I did involve myself
in many lying ways.
...mercies and graces so great
should fall to the lot of one
who has so ill deserved them
at Thy hands"
[ Life: Ch. 40: #7 ]
"Once, when in prayer,
I had a vision,
- how all things
are seen in God and
- how all things
are comprehended in Him.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #13 ]
"After Communion our Lord said...
'When he shall have...understood
that true dominion consists
in possessing nothing,
he may then accept'
( office and honored position
in this example, she referred
to the position of Bishop)
I understood by this
that he who is to be in dignity
must be very far
from wishing or desiring it,
or at least
he must not seek it."
[ Life: Ch. 40: #21 ]
~ Truth of the Holy Scripture
God spoke to St. Teresa:
◊ "...all the evil in the world
comes from ignorance
of the truths of the holy writings
in their clear simplicity,
of which not one iota
shall pass away."
[ Life: Ch. 40: #1 ]
[605] Mt 5:18
"Iota unum aut unus apex
non praeteribit a lege."
Mt 5:18 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you untruly for my sake: Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law till all be fulfilled. |
"I know not how it was done,
for I saw nothing;
but I was filled...
with exceeding strength and
earnestness of purpose
to observe with all my might
everything contained
in the divine writings"
[ Life: Ch. 40: #3 ]
I had a very great desire
never to speak of anything
but of those deep truths
which far surpass
all that is spoken of here
in the world,
-- and so the living in it
began to be painful to me.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #4 ]
_____________________________
2). St. Teresa taught that it is
"more fruitful...to look upon our Lord
as being in the innermost part
of their soul.
than as (being) external to us"
Regarding this, she described
the soul as a mirror.
What did St. Teresa say regarding this?
[ Life: Ch. 40: #8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 ]
St. Teresa wrote:
~ Regarding the soul
as the place where God dwells
"This vision seems to me
very profitable to recollected persons,
to teach them
to look upon our Lord
as being
in the innermost part of their soul.
It is a method
of looking upon Him
- which penetrates us more thoroughly,
- is much more fruitful,
than that of looking upon Him
as external to us"
[ Life: Ch. 40: #10 ]
"...books on prayer...they speak of
where we are to seek God
...St. Augustin says that
neither in the streets of the city,
nor in pleasures,
nor in any place whatever
where he sought Him,
did he find Him
as he found Him within himself
This is clearly the best way;
we need not go up to heaven,
nor any further than our own selves,
for that would only
distress the spirit and
distract the soul, and
bring but little fruit.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #10 ]
~ Regarding the soul as a mirror
through which to see God
Once, when...reciting the Office,
my soul became recollected,
and seemed to me
all bright as a mirror...
and in the centre of it
I saw Christ our Lord,
as I usually see Him.
It seemed to me
that I saw Him distinctly
in every part of my soul,
as in a mirror..."
[ Life: Ch. 40: #8 ]
~ Regarding the soul as a mirror
which is dimmed and clouded by sin
"I understood by it,
that, when a soul is in mortal sin,
this mirror becomes
clouded with a thick vapour,
utterly obscured,
so that our Lord is
neither visible
nor present,
though He is always present
in the conservation of its being.
In heretics,
the mirror is, as it were,
broken in pieces, and
that is
worse than being dimmed.
But it has done me great good;
it has also made me very sorry
on account of those times
when I dimmed
the lustre of my soul
by my sins,
so that I could not see our Lord.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #9 ]
~ Similarly, the Godhead as a
"a most brilliant diamond,...or
a mirror like that
to which I compared the soul"
which reflects the state of the soul
(its actions and sins)
"Let us suppose the Godhead to be
a most brilliant diamond,
much larger than the whole world, or
a mirror
like that to which
I compared the soul
in a former vision...
and that all our actions are seen
in that diamond,
which is of such dimensions
as to include everything,
because nothing can be beyond it.
It was
- a fearful thing for me
to see...so many things together
in that brilliant diamond, and
- a most piteous thing too,
to see such foul things
as my sins
present in the pure brilliancy
of that light.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #14 ]
...whenever I remember it,
I do not know how to bear it, and
I was then so ashamed of myself
that I knew not where
to hide myself.
...to those who commit
most foul and filthy sins,
that they may remember
- their sins are not secret, and
- that God most justly
resents them,
seeing that they are wrought
in the very presence
of His Majesty, and
that we are
demeaning ourselves
so irreverently before Him!
how impossible it is
to understand
the exceeding great wickedness
of committing it
in the sight
of majesty so great, and
how abhorrent to His nature
such actions are.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #15 ]
The vision made me also reflect,
that if one such vision as this
fills the souls with such awe,
what will it be
in the day of judgment,
when His Majesty
will appear distinctly, and
when we too shall look
on the sins
we have committed!
[ Life: Ch. 40: #16 ]
_______________________
3 ). How does St. Teresa discuss
the results of deep trance?
[ Life: Ch. 40: #11, 13
Ch. 37: #12 ]
St. Teresa described
some aspects of trance
in this way:
"I should like to point out
one result of a deep trance..."
~ During the trance:
- "during which the soul was in union,
- ...all its powers were wholly absorbed
(faculties: understanding,
imagination, memory )
- ...it lasts, but a moment (in duration)
[ Life: Ch. 40: #11 ]
~ After the trance:
- the soul continues still to be recollected,
- unable to recover itself
- the memory and
the understanding...
are in a frenzy, extremely disordered.
- This... happens occasionally,
particularly in the beginnings.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #11 ]
"When the time is over
during which the soul was in union,
wherein all its powers
were wholly absorbed,
-- it lasts...but a moment
the soul continues still
to be recollected,
unable to recover itself
even in outward things;
for the two powers
the memory and
the understanding
are, as it were, in a
frenzy,
extremely disordered.
This...happens occasionally,
particularly in the beginnings."
[ Life: Ch. 40: #11 ]
"In some of these visions
there must be
something imaginary, only,
as the powers of the soul
are then in a trance,
they are not able afterwards
to retain the forms,
as our Lord showed them
to it then, and
as He would have it rejoice
in them.
[ Life: Ch. 40: #13 ]
~ Her counsel for one who experiences
these continued effects after a trance:
- Why it happens:
The human condition is enfeebled
by so great a spiritual experience.
The soul sees its own powerlessness
and its dependence on God.
"I am thinking
whether it does not result from this:
that our natural weakness
cannot endure the vehemence
of the spirit,
which is so great, and
that the imagination is enfeebled.
I know it to be so with some".
[ Life: Ch. 40: #11 ]
Our Lord, it may be,
takes away from the soul
the power of praying,
that it may
- betake itself
to something else, and
- learn by experience
how little it can do
in its own strength.
[ Life: Ch. 37: #12 ]
- Her Recommendations:
If they are not able to pray,
don't force self to pray.
Instead do what one is able to do.
"I think it best for these
to force themselves to
give up prayer at that time, and
resume it afterwards,
when they may recover
what they have lost, and
not do everything at once,
for in that case
much harm might come of it.
I know this
by experience,
as well as
the necessity of considering
what our health can bear."
[ Life: Ch. 40: #11 ]
"I believe
that now the best course is to be
- absolutely resigned,
- confessing
that we can do nothing, and so
- apply ourselves...
to something else
which is meritorious".
[ Life: Ch. 37: #12 ]
___________________________
4). What did St. Teresa say
regarding Spiritual Direction?
[ Life: Ch. 40: #12 ]
Regarding Spiritual Direction, St. Teresa said:
~ The importance of Experience
~ The importance of the guidance
of a Spiritual Director
"Experience is necessary throughout,
so also is a spiritual director;
for when the soul
has reached this point,
there are many matters
which must be referred to the director.
If, after seeking such a one,
the soul cannot find him,
our Lord will not fail that soul,
seeing that He has not failed me,
who am what I am:
They are not many, I believe,
who know by experience
so many things,
and without experience
- it is useless to treat a soul at all, for
- nothing will come of it,
save only trouble and distress.
But our Lord will take this
also into account,
and for that reason
it is always best
to refer the matter to the director.
that it is of great importance,
particularly to women,
that
- they should go to their confessor,
and
- that he should be
a man of experience herein.
There are many more women
than men
to whom our Lord
gives these graces;
I have heard the holy friar,
Peter of Alcantara, say so,
and, indeed, I know it myself.
He used to say
that women made greater progress
in this way
than men did"
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 12 ]
__________________________
5). What encouragement does
St. Teresa give regarding
our changeable
emotions and devoutness ?
[ Life: Ch. 40: #23 ]
St. Teresa said:
"Our Lord said to me once,
consoling me,
that I was
not to distress myself,
-- this He said most lovingly, --
because in this life
we could not continue in the same state.
At one time
I should be fervent,
at another
not (fervent);
now disquieted,
and again
at peace,
and
tempted;
but I must
hope in Him, and
fear not.
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 23 ]
_________________________
6). St. Teresa discussed
attachment to persons.
What did she say?
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 24, 25
Ch 37: # 4, 5 ]
~ Regarding those
whom she liked or liked her:
"I had one very grievous fault,
which was the source of much evil;
namely, whenever I found anybody
well disposed towards myself, and
I liked him,
I used to have such an affection
for him as compelled me always
- to remember and
- to think of him and...
of his good qualities.
though I had no intention
of offending God:
All this was so hurtful,
that it brought my soul
to the very verge of destruction.
[ Life: Ch.37: # 4 ]
- Its Resolution:
"But ever since I saw
the great beauty of our Lord,
I never saw any one
who in comparison with Him
-- seemed even endurable, or
-- that could occupy my thoughts.
For if I but turn mine eyes inwardly
for a moment to the contemplation
of the image
which I have within me,
I find myself so free,
that from that instant
everything I see is loathsome
in comparison with
the excellences and graces
of which I had a vision in our Lord.
Neither is there any sweetness,
nor any kind of pleasure,
which I can make any account of,
compared with...
but one word
from His divine mouth.
[ Life: Ch.37: # 5 ]
~ Regarding those holy and learned persons
who were her Confessors or
Spiritual Directors
"I was...thinking whether it was
a want of detachment in me
- to take pleasure in the company of those
who had the care of my soul, and
- to have an affection for them, and
- to comfort myself with those
whom I see to be
very great servants of God
- How it was Resolved:
"Our Lord said to me:
'It is not a virtue in a sick man
to abstain from
thanking and
loving
the physician who seems
to restore him to health
when he is in danger of death.
'What should I have done
without these persons?
The conversation of good people
was never hurtful;
my words should always be
weighed, and holy;
and I was not
to cease my relations with them,
for they would do me good
rather than harm.'
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 24 ]
This was a great comfort to me,
because, now and then,
I wished to abstain from converse
with all people;
for it seemed to me
that I was attached to them.
~ Regarding the weak
or those who needed her help
(St. Teresa did not specify here what
the counsel was that she received
regarding the weak or needful.
But by her other writing, we know
she would not abstain from
comforting or assisting them
in accordance with her rule. )
"Always, in all things,
did our Lord console me,
even to the showing me
how I was to treat
those who were weak, and
some other people also.
Never did He cease
to take care of me.
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 25 ]
__________________________
7). What did St. Teresa say about suffering?
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 27 ]
St. Teresa talked about the value of suffering:
"our Lord...comforted me greatly,
and told me
I must do this for His love,
and bear it;
my life was necessary now.
And so, I believe,
I have never known real pain
since I resolved
to serve my Lord and my Consoler
with all my strength;
for though he would leave me
to suffer a little,
yet He would console me in such a way
that I am doing nothing
when I long for troubles.
And it seems to me
there is nothing worth living for
but this, and
suffering is
what I most heartily pray to God for.
I say to Him sometimes,
with my whole heart:
"O Lord, either to die or to suffer!
I ask of Thee nothing else for myself."
It is a comfort to me
to hear the clock strike,
because I seem
to have come a little nearer
to the vision of God,
in that another hour of my life
has passed away.
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 27 ]
________________________
8). What did St. Teresa say regarding
this writing of the account of her life?
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 28, 29, 30, 32, 33,
Epilogue: Letter to the Confessor
to whom "The Life" was addressed ]
St. Teresa said:
~ Regarding the intention and reason
for the writing:
- In obedience to the request
of her Confessor to write regarding
her experience in prayer
and the state of her soul
- For the honor and glory of God
- To strive for accuracy and sincerity
"May our Lord grant
I have not fallen into any errors
in the matter,
for I had
the intention and
the desire
to be accurate and obedient,
and also
that through me
He might have glory,
in some measure,
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 33 ]
yet I have put down
all that has happened to me
with all the simplicity
and sincerity possible.
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 33 ]
But, still, I can say with truth
that I felt it
more difficult
to speak of the graces
which I have received
from our Lord
than to speak of my offences
against His Majesty.
You, my father,
commanded me to write
at length;
[ Life: Epilogue
Letter to the Confessor
to whom "The Life"
was addressed ]
- An additional intention was that
that others may be assisted by her experiences.
that others may be assisted by her experiences.
~ Regarding any intention
toward publication / dissemination
"It pleased our Lord
that the graces He wrought in me
should be published abroad,
as He told me some years ago
they should be.
But my comfort herein is
that it is not my fault
that they are become known,
for I was extremely cautious
never to speak of them
but to my confessors, or to persons
who I knew had heard of them
from them.
I was silent, however,
not out of humility,
but because...
it gave me great pain
to speak of them
even to my confessor
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 28 ]
~ Regarding possible benefits of
its distribution to others
◊ Help for the advancement of souls:
- "I see that our Lord willed
by this means
to provide help for many souls,
- She was mindful how much
Our Lord suffered for all souls.
She also, if God willed, would suffer
criticism for her writings, if by them,
even one soul could advance toward God.
- I see clearly and keep in mind
how much (God) would suffer,
if only for the gaining of one (soul)"
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 29 ]
- I think much more
of one soul's advancement,
even if it were but slight,
than of all
that people may say of me;
and since I am settled here
it has pleased our Lord
that all my desires tend to this.
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 30 ]
◊ For the greater honor of God
my trouble
has been great in writing;
but it will be a blessed trouble
if I have succeeded
in saying anything
that will cause
one single act
of praise to our Lord.
If that were the case,
I should look upon myself
as sufficiently rewarded,
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 32 ]
◊ Assistance to her Confessor
for whom she wrote this account
in obedience
"do you, my father, pray to God
that He would
take me to Himself, or
enable me to serve Him.
May it please His Majesty
that what I have written
may be of some use to you,
my father!
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 32 ]
for your reverence will see
by what I have written
how profitable it is
to give oneself,
as your reverence has
begun to do,
wholly unto Him
who gives Himself to us
so utterly without measure.
[ Life: Epilogue
Letter to the Confessor
to whom "The Life"
was addressed ]
~ Regarding possible disadvantages
of its publication:
(She had already asked that the book be destroyed
if her Confessor and/or the Consultants
found her writings to be in error.)
(She had already asked that the book be destroyed
if her Confessor and/or the Consultants
found her writings to be in error.)
- Misinterpretation
It was a great pain to me, and
I have borne much on that account
even to this day,
because every man explains them
in his own sense.
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 28 ]
~ Regarding any criticism of herself:
"though many speak against me,
but out of a zeal for goodness, and
though some are afraid
to speak to me, and even
to hear my confession, and
though others have much to say
about me,
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 29 ]
(because her experiences
may help others, she said:)
I do not care about (criticism) at all.
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 29 ]
I... care very little
what people say or know about me.
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 30 ]
I think
much more
of one soul's advancement,
even if it were but slight,
than of all
that people may say of me;
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 30 ]
~ Regarding critique of the book:
- If the Confessor thought
the book was bad:
"I would rather it were not burnt
before those three saw it,
whom you, my father, know of,
because they
are, and
have been, my confessors;
for if it be bad,
it is right
they should lose the good opinion
they have of me;
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 32 ]
"...to write at length;
that is what I have done,
on condition that you will do
what you promised,
namely, destroy everything in it
that has the appearance
of being wrong.
[ Life: Epilogue
Letter to the Confessor
to whom "The Life"
was addressed ]
- If the Confessor
and other past or present Confessors
thought the book was good:
"and if it be good,
they are good and learned men,
and I know they will
recognise its source, and
give praise to Him
who hath spoken through me.
[ Life: Ch. 40: # 32 ]
~ End of Discussion of Chapter 40 ~ The was the Last Chapter of this Book |
