A Meeting that Marked My Childhood
St. Teresa was the first great Catholic figure I ever encountered, and her mark has remained etched in my heart ever since. This pilgrim of God touched my life when I was only six years old. I grew up in a Presbyterian home and attended an Adventist school; from a young age, I was immersed in the Word of God, but the saints held no place in my upbringing. Yet the Lord had other plans. A kind and devout Catholic neighbor patiently introduced me to the lives of several canonized saints—among them, Teresa of Jesus.
Her stories stirred a unique curiosity in me: faith was portrayed as an adventure of the soul. When I began to ask questions at home, my mother discouraged me, believing those “Catholic stories” to be inventions. My great-grandmother, however—a teacher both in the classroom and in Sunday school—responded wisely: “If you don’t learn about other beliefs, how will you know the truth of your own?” I believe that her curiosity was also stirred by the life of the saint.
Letters that Shape the Soul
In a time when literacy was reserved mainly for men of nobility or the clergy, Teresa was self-taught. Through reading, contemplation, and prayer, she built a spiritual and theological framework that shaped her writings and her reform. Her friendship with St. John of the Cross nourished her inner journey and gave language to what her soul experienced: God who communicates and dwells within.
Her mystical experiences are not an escape from reality but a school of Christian realism—to pray, to discern, and to love in every circumstance. Her discernment between consolation and desolation, between what leads closer to God and what distances from Him, remains a living legacy to the Church.
Guided by Masters of the Spirit
Teresa also found spiritual confirmation and comfort in St. Francis Borgia (once a duke, later a Jesuit). He helped her recognize the work of God in her life. In The Life (24:4), the saint recounts:
“After Father Francisco had heard me, he said it was the Spirit of God and that it was no longer right to resist Him… that I should always begin prayer with a passage from the Passion; and that if the Lord should then take me into contemplation, I should not resist but let His Majesty carry me. He said it was an error to resist further.” (The Life 24:4)
Teresa and Borgia drank from the same source—the Spirit of God, poured out without measure. Both teach the beauty of total surrender: to walk with God who walks with us. As Teresa wrote in The Way of Perfection: “If you are suffering or sad, look at Him on the road to the Garden: what great affliction He bore in His soul!”
To Gaze Upon Christ in the Garden
When the soul feels weary or burdened, Teresa invites us to look upon Jesus in Gethsemane. In His deepest anguish, He did not flee from the Father’s love; He surrendered with trust.
To look upon His pain is to discover that we are not alone in ours. Amid the struggles of daily life—the rush, the fatigue, the doubts—Teresa teaches us to return to the source: a scene from the Passion, a gaze fixed on Christ, a breath of prayer in His Presence.
To Pray and Act Today
The saint of Ávila never leaves us in theory. She calls for concrete prayer and an absolute determination to love. Entrepreneur of the spirit, reformer with her feet on the ground, mystic with her heart in heaven—Teresa reminds us that the work of God begins within and is proven in everyday charity.
Questions for the Heart
- What do you need to surrender to Christ today so you can pray with greater freedom?
- Which moment of the Passion helps you remain near Jesus in times of desolation?
- What “small reform” (habits, priorities, or attitudes) is the Lord inviting you to begin this week?
- Whom is God calling you to accompany with gentleness and listening?
