This month is the start of the centenary
year celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Saint Teresa
of Avila. The community at the Carmelite Monastery in Kew, Melbourne held Morning Prayer on
Tuesday the 21st of October to celebrate the start of the jubilee year, with a talk afterwards given by Sr Paula
Moroney. Sr Paula’s address is here reproduced, with kind permission.
Celebrating
an anniversary, particularly a significant 500 years, makes us recall the
blessings that flow into our lives in its wake. St Teresa certainly made a mark
on history and she loved to celebrate. She captivated many hearts across the
centuries and presented prayer as a desirable and sure way to live in the joy
of God’s unfathomable love, pointing the direction and opening a gateway to a
spiritual treasury. From her own deep experience she shared the wisdom she
discovered in the depths of her heart and encouraged us to do the same. With
Teresa we discover the value of contemplative prayer in our lives for the
Church and the world; it expands the mind and heart to make men and women
bearers of light within history.
Today
St Teresa invites us to walk her Camino – not by foot and mule cart, but a
Camino in spirit, an interior journey with her, as she steps out of the pages
of history and forges a path to union with God in prayer mapped out in her
writings. We shall meet her as a joyous and loving person, a woman of prayer,
of wisdom with the ability to understand and explain her experiences, generous
and warmhearted, confident in trust, noted for her humility and truth, her
honesty and candour, perceptive and vivacious with a wit that charmed and won
others for God. These are the gifts she shares with us in her writings which
place her among the greatest of Christian mystics. Her books are brilliant
revelations of spiritual teaching, though she was a reluctant writer occupied
with the daily business of her monasteries yet always pressing on to new
horizons and further foundations.
As
she took up her quill pen to begin the Story of her Life words spilled over in
prayer: “May God be forever blessed! …
We hope to see more clearly the great things He has done for us and praise Him
for ever!” Her life focused on God, always committed in
faith, confident in love. 500 years later we celebrate with her in joyous
gratitude, warmed by the ardor of her love and friendship with God which she shared
with others so generously.
The more deeply she entered into
God’s love the more Teresa’s heart expanded in prayer and in her Carmelite
calling her love embraced the world. Love will not be idle, and prayer is not idle.
It was urging her to reach out to others and bring them into the ambit of God’s
plan by opening their lives to grace and contemplative prayer which is the
deepest source of energy and compassion for a needy world.
So
began the adventures of her Foundations – a story that brings us to the present
day. Her first venture was in inauspicious circumstances when she moved
secretly from the large Monastery of the Incarnation in Avila, to live her
Carmelite life of simplicity and poverty in a humble little house with four young
Sisters in this same town. Not only did this cause an uprising of the local
population and a heated law suit, but
Teresa had to return to the Incarnation and await the verdict until she was
permitted to return to her four orphan sisters. Her faith prevailed and her work
continued.
It
would be a challenge to set off in her company along the Camino she travelled in
16th c. Spain by hot dusty roads, in bumpy wagons to inhospitable
rooms at the end of the day but on she went to make 17 new foundations, from
Avila to Medina, Toledo to Salamanca and much further in those last 20 years of
her life, despite wretched health and with limited means. Convinced it was in
the Divine plan she sought light in prayer and hastened on.
To
be fully human is to be at home with God who dwells within us and draws us into
the mystery of love. Teresa is recognized as a teacher of mystical prayer, the
first woman to be declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970 and so in this
introduction we open our hearts and minds to walk with her in spirit along
paths of prayer and learn more of her teaching from some of the main themes of
her writings. Fresh and inspiring as
ever, these classics of spirituality are still studied for the wealth of wisdom
they contain, particularly the four major works, The Life, The Way of
Perfection, The Interior Castle and The Foundations.
Each
reveals rare treasures of the spiritual life and shows us how to find Christ in
prayer – but be warned! Before we can arrive at the goal we must build
foundations on a life of virtue. Teresa,
the realist, writes of real proven love for one another, of the detachment that
makes us free and of humility which is truth. She seems to converse,
spontaneously and intimately, her vital personality shining through the homely
digressions. How much poorer we would be without the personal account of her
spiritual journey, written in her original, inimitable prose, with
interruptions and repetitions. The freshness of her creative imagination
impresses lively images and authenticity.
Time
was a luxury for Teresa even in the 16th century, but she continued
to write hundreds of letters long into the night, instructing, enquiring,
requesting, nursing her newly-founded communities with a mother’s concern. She
was a leader who inspired others besides being the astute business woman with
an eye to quality. Usually she was discerning of character though sometimes she
was disappointed, as her letters make obvious.
In
the ‘Book of her Life’, an early spiritual autobiography intended for her
confessors, Teresa describes her mystical experiences with clarity and
frequently addresses the Divine Majesty as if in colloquy. It is reassuring for
us when she explains: “Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate sharing
between friends; it means taking time to be alone with him who we know loves
us.” (Life 8:5) This invitation is for
all and no one is excluded. Grace is God’s gift of Himself, His presence in our
lives. “God’s gift of All gives meaning to the Nothing that we are.”
(Ascent 11:v) The motivating force of
her life was pure and constant fidelity to her Divine Lord and this friendship
animated all her relationships so that she could give others ‘the look of love
they so much desire.’ Strangers became friends, for all received genuine care
and consideration.
She
was absorbed in Christ, the intimate companion Teresa found as she lived the
Gospels. She liked to place herself in scenes where she could be close to Him, like
that other great lover, Magdalen, and this was often her habit after Communion.
She wanted to be faithful to the end and
to greet him, the living and Risen One, after the Resurrection in the joy of
Easter dawn.
She
had an affection for the Samaritan woman and would imagine herself at the well
asking for that living water to satisfy her thirst for love so that she would
have more to give to others. (L.30:18)
The image of water fascinated her: we can think of the flowing fountains
and aqueducts in Moorish palaces, cooling waters which refreshed the arid
landscape of Spain.
In
one of her most famous allegories she describes the stages of prayer as four
ways of watering a garden. In this case the garden is the soul and it is the
Lord who is cultivating a beautiful creation, where seeds of virtues are
planted and tended for His pleasure. There are four different ways to water
this garden. Water can be drawn up from a well laboriously or it may be brought
by means of a water wheel and irrigation channel with less effort. It may flow
from a river or stream more plentifully or, best of all, the rain falls and
soaks the ground without any labor of ours and the garden flourishes.
In
the early stages of the spiritual life one must apply oneself to become
recollected. We tire easily but with ‘determined determination’ must persevere until
the season when the gardener is ready for new growth. Where the streams flow
there is great reward until eventually the rain falls abundantly and freely.
The Prayer of Quiet leads to the Prayer of Union. It is sheer grace we cannot
earn but which brings forth fruit and flowers to the delight of all. (Life Ch 11-22)
She
loved to pray the Our Father, given to us by Our Lord Himself. In the Way of
Perfection she advises on how to proceed gently, remaining in the Lord’s company,
praying slowly over the words and pondering them as we are moved. Thus vocal
prayer leads to contemplation. (WP Ch 27-37) She herself had extraordinary experiences
which are not given to everyone and there was an intensity about her spirit, a
quality often found in those who must go ahead and lead others.
Towards
the end of her life after 15 intensive years of travelling and setting up
foundations, she found herself back in Toledo in 1577. Time was running out and
Fr Gracian requested her to write more about the ways God leads souls since the
earlier Book of her Life was not accessible while it was under examination by
the inquisition, wary of holy women who might stray from straight paths. Remember
it was the period of the Council of Trent and Spain under Philip 11 took up the
task of reinforcing the Church and unifying the Catholic kingdom. (The Book was
nevertheless declared to be free of errors) The fact that she was a woman, not an educated
theologian, caused suspicion, but Teresa had learned from life’s experiences
and her observations are so acute that she saw beyond narrow walls to authentic
and lasting values.
So
came about her masterpiece, the “Interior Castle”, written in great haste
between journeys, interrupted for several months. Of all her works it is the
most coherent and organized. Teresa encourages us to explore the richness of
our own interior depths which she compares to a magnificent diamond or crystal
of many facets, reflecting light and inexhaustible wonders. The soul is like a
castle of many rooms which fascinate and draw us inwards, where we are free to
wander at will. The further we go the more we discover. The Spanish word, ‘moranas’, is more comfortable than
mansion, which suggests grandeur and pretentious wealth. It seems that St
Teresa had in mind the 14th chapter of St John’s Gospel: “There are
many rooms in my Father’s house” and “All who love me will keep my word and my
Father will love them and we shall come to them and make our home (our
dwelling) with them.” (Jn 14: 2, 24) As we read further we recognize ourselves and
patterns of behavior which help or hinder progress for Teresa was a realist with
a practical genius, for all her mystical gifts. For us, God, the Supreme Being
and most profound mystery, has a name. We know him in Jesus, his Incarnate
Word, the Beloved who shows us the Father’s love and gives us His Spirit. In fact God lives within us unbounded by space
and time; as St Paul taught: “In him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)
When
we come to the Third Dwelling there is more security and in the Fourth the Lord
takes over more of the work as we are drawn to be more still and silent.
Gradually a transformation is taking place and the soul enters into more
delicate awareness of its relationship and encounter with the other. “We can
suffer any disquiet,” she says, “if we find peace within” (IC iv, 1,12)
She
is always full of surprises:-
One
of Teresa’s most brilliant illustrations appears in the Fifth Dwelling. She thinks of the silkworm growing from a minute
seed, (the egg), feeding on the mulberry leaves and then spinning for itself a
cocoon where it will enclose itself and die. Eventually it will emerge, a small
fragile butterfly with wings and now it can fly. It has newfound freedom and
beauty. A wondrous transformation has taken place. Teresa likens this to our
dying to self and rising with Christ, as we live the Paschal mystery through
suffering to the glory of Resurrection. Can you believe it? Just look at
creation.
The
culmination of the mystical journey upon reaching the Seventh Dwelling is
Spiritual Marriage when the soul is totally at one with the Beloved sealed in a
permanent union. As rain falling into the river becomes that river or the
stream flowing into the sea or light streaming into a room from separate
windows cannot be separated. Truth enlightens all and the three persons of the
Trinity communicate love and peace in silent embrace. God is both Noun and Verb.
What is more, to have
participation in the life and love of the Trinity means that one can share that
life with others without it diminishing in any degree, for those who draw near
to God do not have to withdraw from real life but rather become truly close to
others. The harmony within opens the person to compassion and unselfishness and
enables that one to grow as a person, being totally at peace with itself and
the world. ‘This is the reason for prayer…the birth always of
good works…’ (IC VII 4:15) Let
us not underestimate the influence we have on each other because it is in the
here and now that God becomes present to us. Our companions on the same journey
might even be other little Thereses, unrecognized and unappreciated! Indeed both Teresa and Therese discovered
that “The Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our works as at the
love with which they are done.” (IC VII 4:15) Above all she had a relationship with Christ
that enabled her to overcome obstacles and accomplish so much. Christ is her
‘Living Book’, the source of her generous life of love.
Teresa, that
‘undaunted daughter of desires,’ ever open to God’s stirring in the human heart,
was transformed with sanctity and the radiance of her intimate friendship with
God. This is ultimately the essence of her lasting attraction. This is our
deepest desire too, yet it is a rare gift to find someone who can communicate
it with Teresa’s sincerity and candor.
As we celebrate
and rejoice in the blessings that have come to us personally and the
far-reaching graces across the centuries through the fidelity of this great
friend of God, we can go forward in confidence knowing that Our Incarnate Lord has
come to meet us. When we dare to go beyond our own narrow boundaries true love flourishes
and light shines, revealed in the Gospels when we listen attentively and ponder
them faithfully.
Pope Francis gave us the Gospel of Joy,
‘Evangelium Gaudii’ so that we encounter Christ in a joy that frees and
illuminates us. St Teresa shows us how we can live in that joy which enriches
our lives and inspires heroism to overcome obstacles, surmount barriers and
experience supernatural grace capable of transforming the whole being.
The Carmelite Way, St Teresa’s Way, gives everyone the encouragement to
cultivate the contemplative dimension which holds the promise of the past, the
passion for the present and the courage to look to the future, as Pope Francis
has suggested. (cf. EG 199 & Homily 16.12.13)
Thus we return to our Carmelite tradition and see Love as “Allegiance to Jesus
Christ”, and taking up Teresa’s desires, treasure the beauty of intimate
friendship with the One who loves us into being and transforms our lives to be
prophets of hope in our 21st century. Teresa beckons - her Camino leads us to live
love to the full and carry it to our world.
No comments:
Post a Comment