of The Order of Our Lady of Carmel
Sharing the riches of St Teresa
"When we were
deprived of many books written in Spanish,
and forbidden to read them, -
I felt it deeply,
for some of these books were a great comfort to me,
and I could not read them in Latin, -
Our Lord said to me,
'Be not troubled; I will give thee a living book.'
...and our Lord dealt so lovingly with me,
in teaching me in so many ways,
that I had little or no need whatever of books.
His Majesty has been to me a veritable Book,
in which I saw all truth. "
...[Life- Ch. 26 #6]
St. Teresa wrote "The Book of Her Life" (The Life)
at the request of her Confessors.
Later, St Teresa wrote:
- The Way of Perfection,
- The Interior Castle,
- The Foundations, and
- The Meditations on the Song of Songs, etc.
Her books
- provided guidance for her spiritual daughters,
the Carmelite nuns, and
- provided a detailed account of her spiritual progress.
Here, we will review "The Life" only,
which she wrote
when she was not
as far advanced in prayer
as when writing her later books.
But, we beginners, can learn
from her earlier perspectives
and, perhaps, she remembers more
in these pages of "The Life"
what it was like to be a beginner.
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1). What blessings did St. Teresa have,
as a young girl,
which would have helped her live a good life,
"if she had not been so wicked ?"
...[ Life: Ch 1: #1, 2, 3, 6]
- "Our Lord... helped me with His grace".
...[Life: Ch1: #1]
- ...good desires with which Our Lord inspired me
...[Life: Ch1: #3]
- She had the blessings
of virtuous and loving parents and family:
Her family was very virtuous and so,
they cultivated in her, a great devotion to God
and did not hinder her in serving God in any way.
She "had a father and mother,
who were devout and feared God…
"I had a father and mother,
who were devout and feared God.
Our Lord also helped me with His grace.
All this would have been enough to make me good,
if I had not been so wicked".
that I never saw my father and mother
respect anything but goodness.
They were very good themselves"
"My father
was a man of great charity towards the poor
and compassion for the sick,
and also for the servants.
He was a man of great truthfulness;
nobody ever heard him swear or speak ill of any one;
his life was most pure."
Her father provided good books.
"These books,
with my mother's carefulness
- to make us say our prayers, and
- to bring us up devout to our Lady
and to certain Saints,
began to make me think seriously
when I was, I believe, six or seven years old".
...[Life: Ch1: #1]
My mother
also was a woman of great goodness...
She was singularly pure in all her ways...
She was very calm, and had great sense."
...[ Life: Ch 1: #2]
"My mother had a great devotion... to the rosary
(and other prayers)...
and had made us also in this like herself."
...[ Life: Ch 1: #6]
Teresa's sisters and brothers
"by the mercy of God,
resembled their parents in goodness except myself"
and "never in any way hindered me
in the service of God."
...[ Life: Ch 1: #3]
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2). In this chapter, St Teresa introduces
the subject of the development of her faults,
despite the many blessings she received.
What does she say regarding this?
...[ Life: Ch 1: #1, 3, 6, 7, 8 ]
- "I had a father and mother,
who were devout and feared God.
Our Lord also helped me with His grace.
All this would have been enough to make me good,
if I had not been so wicked".
...[Life: Ch 1: #1]
- "And, before I began to offend God...
I am filled with sorrow
whenever I think of the good desires
with which our Lord inspired me,
and what a wretched use I made of them"
...[ Life: Ch 1: #3]
- "Even now, I have a feeling of devotion
when I consider how God gave me
in my early youth
what I lost by my own fault."
... [ Life: Ch 1: #6]
- "It distresses me now,
when I think of, and reflect on,
that which kept me from being earnest
in the good desires with which I began."
...[ Life: Ch 1: #7]
- "it seems (the Lord was) determined to save me,
and to bestow upon me so many graces...
why has it not been... for Thy greater honour--
that this habitation,
wherein Thou hast continually to dwell,
should not have contracted so much defilement?
- "It distresses me...
because I know the fault is all my own,
seeing that Thou hast left nothing undone
to make me,
even from my youth,
wholly Thine".
- "I cannot ...complain of my parents,
for I saw nothing in them
but all good, and carefulness for my welfare"
- "...growing up,
I began to discover the natural gifts
which our Lord had given me
when I should have given Him thanks for them,
I made use of every one of them...
to offend Him".
... [ Life: Ch 1: #8]
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3). How does St. Teresa talk about
her devotion to Our Lady
after her mother died ?
... [ Life: Ch 1: #7]
- "...my mother died...
When I began to understand my loss,
I went in my affliction
to an image of Our Lady,
and with many tears implored her
to be my mother.
I did this in my simplicity,
and I believe that it was of service to me;
for I have by experience
found the royal Virgin help me
whenever I recommended myself to her;
"and at last she has brought me back to herself."
...[ Life: Ch 1: #7]
_______________________________
4). What does St. Teresa report about her motives,
when as a child,
she wanted to become a martyr?
...[ Life: Ch 1: #4]
- St. Teresa stated that her intention was
"not out of any love of Him
of which I was conscious,
but that I might most quickly attain
to the fruition of those great joys
of which I read
that they were reserved in Heaven; "
"When I read of martyrdom
undergone by the Saints for the love of God,
it struck me
that the vision of God
was very cheaply purchased;
and I had a great desire to die a martyr's death,
...[ Life: Ch 1: #4]
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