St. Teresa of Avila , livre ebook

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105 pages

English

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A definitive life of one of the greatest Saints of the church and one of the most appealing women of all time by a master writer. Immensely sane, witty, intelligent, charming and courageous, she is the reformer of the Order of Mt. Carmel, founder of many convents and monasteries, and is universally considered the greatest mystical writer of the Church, for which she was declared "Doctor of the Church." A life filled with delight, surprises and love of God! 608 pgs,

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Christian theology

Catholic Church

Christianity

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Publié par	TAN Books
Date de parution	01 décembre 1992
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781618904898
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	4 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0224€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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St. Teresa of Jesus, also known as St. Teresa of Avila

Nihil Obstat: Francis M. Canon Wyndham Censor Deputatus Imprimatur: Edmund Canon Surmont Vicar General Westminster August 10, 1917
Originally published in 1917 by R. & T. Washbourne, Ltd., London, as The Life of Saint Teresa in the series Standard-bearers of the Faith: A Series of Lives of the Saints for Young and Old.
ISBN 978-0-89555-625-7
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 98-61410
Cover and frontispiece illustration: St. Teresa of Jesus, by Alonso del Arco (17th century). M. Lázaro Galdeano, Madrid.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
TAN Books Charlotte, North Carolina www.TANBooks.com 2012
“He who in the heights is the Lord, in the depths is the Beloved; above the stars He reigns; among the lilies He loves.”
—St. Bernard
CONTENTS
1. Girlhood
2. The Call of God
3. The Great Mistake
4. Christ or Satan?
5. Probation
6. The Divine Mission
7. Silence and Patience
8. St. Joseph’s
9. Foundations
10. Prioress of the Incarnation
11. The Last Trial
12. The End of Sorrow
A Collection of Classic Artwork
Brief Life of Christ
Introductory
The Setting
Birth of Jesus
Childhood at Nazareth
John The Bapist
Jesus Begins His Ministry
Journey To Galilee
The Kingdom and the Apostles
Manifestations of Divine Power
Speaking in Parables
Increasing Popularity
Death of John the Baptist
Miracles of the Loaves
The Bread of Life
Peter the Rock
Training of the Twelve
Visit to Jerusalem
Clash with the Pharisees
Judean Ministry
The Supreme Declaration
Raising of Lazarus
Last Missionary Days
Banquet at Bethany
Palm Sunday
Second Cleansing of the Temple
Day of Questions
Judas the Betrayer
The Last Supper
Arrest and Trial
Death on Calvary
Risen and Living Still
St. Teresa of Avila
Chapter 1
GIRLHOOD

“He who loves Thee, O my God, travels safely by the open and royal road, far from the precipice; he has scarcely stumbled at all when Thou stretchest forth Thy hand to save him.”
— St. Teresa
“I T was the little girl who made me do it,” pleaded Rodrigo de Cepeda, and although he did not know it, the excuse was as old as the world.
The “little girl” in question was Rodrigo’s seven-year-old sister Teresa, who had been seized with a burning desire for martyrdom. She wanted to see God, she passionately assured her brother, and as it was necessary to die first, martyrdom was obviously the only means to her end. Rodrigo himself had not seen the matter quite in the same light, but as Teresa was his own particular friend and playmate, and they had always done everything together, he had considered himself bound to enter into her views.
The two had set forth hand in hand at an early hour in the morning to seek the desired martyrdom in the country of the Moors, but fate had been against them. Scarcely had the children left the town of Avila when they fell into the hands of an uncle, who was returning from the country. Untouched by their tears and prayers, he promptly took them home, to the relief of the anxious mother, who was searching everywhere for the missing pair. Rodrigo’s excuse has already been given. Teresa with earnest eyes repeated her assertion: “I wanted to go to God, and one cannot do that unless one dies first.”
Doña Beatriz de Ahumada was a wise and saintly woman. She explained gently to her little daughter that for most people the road to God lies through a life spent faithfully in His service. Such a life, especially if one tried one’s best to please God in everything one did and was careful to avoid offending Him, might be quite as meritorious as the shorter way of martyrdom, which was, moreover, only for the few.
It was hard to give up all one’s dreams. Teresa consulted the Lives of the Saints and decided that the most desirable thing, after a martyr’s death, was a hermit’s life. Assisted by the faithful Rodrigo, she set to work to build a hermitage in the garden, but, as cement had not entered into their plans, the stones fell down as fast as they built them up. Teresa was at last obliged to admit sorrowfully that there seemed no more prospect of a hermit’s life than of a martyr’s death, and it was in this moment of discouragement that her mother’s words came back to her. To do one’s best to please God and not to offend Him seemed possible for anybody; she determined, therefore, to try this simple plan and with her usual energy set to work at once.
She had not very much pocket-money, but what she had she gave to the poor; she tried to say her prayers as devoutly as possible and resolved to do a kind action or say a kind word to everyone she met. It sounds like a simple program, but it took the little girl all her time and cost her many acts of self-denial—how many, those who practice it will soon discover. But she brought sunshine with her wherever she went, and she began to be supremely happy, for there is no joy like that of giving joy to others.
Doña Beatriz de Ahumada, Teresa’s sweet young mother, did her utmost to bring up her large family in the fear and the love of God. Gentle, pure and devout, she was herself their best example. Of the three sisters and nine brothers who made up the merry family party in the big house at Avila, not one in later life lost the strong faith and fervor that had been so firmly rooted in their childish hearts. Don Alonso de Cepeda, her husband, was a man whom all respected. Truthful, charitable and chivalrous, he was loved as well as obeyed by all his children. St. Teresa herself tells us that she never knew her father or mother to respect anything but goodness and that all the children in mind and heart took after their parents. “All, that is,” she adds in her humility, “but myself.”
The happy family life was soon to be broken up. When Teresa was between twelve and thirteen years old, Doña Beatriz died. In the anguish of loneliness that followed the loss of the mother to whom she had confided all her joys and sorrows, the child flung herself on her knees before the Blessed Virgin, begging her to be her mother now that she no longer had one on earth.
Of all the family, Teresa was perhaps the one who missed Doña Beatriz the most sorely and needed her guiding hand the most. Maria, her elder sister, was already grown up; Juana, the younger, scarcely more than a baby; Teresa, beautiful, brilliant and lovable, was just growing from childhood into girlhood. Her brothers adored her, and among the troop of young cousins who frequented the house she ruled as a little queen. There was no danger as long as Teresa carried out her resolution of pleasing God and never offending Him; but time wore on, and she who had inspired that resolution was no longer at hand to encourage and advise.

The apparition of the Holy Child to St. Teresa.
There was one among Teresa’s cousins, a good deal older than herself, whose conversation, she tells us, did her much harm. She was a shallow and frivolous girl who thought of nothing but pleasure and amusement. By the time Teresa was fourteen, she seemed to have forgotten all her old desires of being a Saint. Whatever time could be spared from the reading of romances was spent in setting off her girlish beauty to the best advantage and enjoying the admiration that she received from all within the little home circle.
But the Blessed Virgin did not forget the child who had thrown herself at her feet on the day of her mother’s death. Though Teresa was her father’s darling, he was not so blinded by affection for his young daughter as not to notice the change in her behavior. He was the first to see that her prayers were more hurried, her visits to the church fewer; that she thought more of herself and less of others. He noticed with distress the unworthy friendship that was doing all the mischief. He noticed, too, that in spite of all her amusements, Teresa was less joyous than of old when she had set her childish steps to “go to God.”
He took counsel with his eldest daughter, Maria, who had also remarked the change in her sister and was grieving over it in silence. She herself was soon to be married, and it was this that helped them to come to a decision, for when Maria was established in a house of her own, Teresa could not very well remain at home alone with her brothers. It was decided to send her to the Augustinian Convent to complete her education, and no sooner was the wedding over than the plan was carried out.
After the first week or two of homesickness, Teresa was heartily glad. She was already tired of the life she had been leading, and the old desires were tugging at her heartstrings. Sister Maria Briceño, the nun who was the mistress of the secular children at the convent, helped a great deal to set Teresa on the path to sanctity. It was she who opened Teresa’s mind, by her holy example and advice, to the possibility of becoming a nun.
Teresa remained a year and a half at the convent in the company of this holy nun. Then, however, she became seriously ill and had to return to her father’s house. When Teresa’s strength was somewhat recovered, she and her father, Don Alonso, set out for Castellanos de la Canada, the home of Teresa’s sister Maria. On the road lay the home of Don Pedro, Teresa’s uncle, a holy old man who lived the life of a recluse and a Saint in Hortigosa. Don Alonso’s stay could only be short, as he was obliged to return home on business, but Don Pedro was so delighted with Teresa that he begged his brother to leave her with him until he could come back and fetch her home himself a week or two later.
Hortigosa seemed a little dull to Teresa after the happy life she had led with her sister until Don Pedro, the greater part of whose time was passed in prayer and study, proposed one day that his niece should read aloud to him in her spare moments. Teresa, always ready to give pleasure to others, set herself bravely to a task which she did not expect to enjoy. To