“Believe me, in the presence of Infinite Wisdom, one act of humility is worth more than all the knowledge of the world.” St. Teresa of Avila-Book of Her Life
St. Teresa of Avila was
born on March 28th, the year 1515, two years before the Protestant
Reformation began. She was the youngest of 12 children, and the most favored by
her father. Her parents and brothers and sisters were all pious and devout. During
her early life, she got caught up in the vanities of the world. “I began to
make much of dress, to wish to please others by my appearance. I took pains
with my hands and my hair, used perfumes, and all vanities within my reach.”[1] At the age of twenty, she
desired to abandon her vanities and enter a Carmelite monastery, the monastery
of the Incarnation. Through her many trials, tribulations, raptures, St. Teresa
of Avila would become known as a writer, theologian, mystic and reformer of the
Carmelite Order.
Among many of St. Teresa’s
works is the Book of Her Life, or her Autobiography. The Book of Her Life was written
in obedience to her spiritual director; it is informal and full of humility. The
reader may get tired of the Saint’s numerous acts of humility, which she makes
frequently throughout the work. Not only does she cover her life, but in the course of her writings, she talks
about the importance of perseverance in prayer, the role of a spiritual
director, her own experiences with raptures and visions, and illustrates the
four ways of praying according to Carmelite tradition: meditation, prayer of
the quiet, repose, and union. The human side of the saint will become evident
in how she often wanders about from subject to subject, though for good reason,
as she herself would admit. “You, my father, must forgive me for wandering from
the subject; and, as I am speaking to the purpose I have in view, you must not
be surprised.”[2] This saint was a lover of truth and distrustful of herself; at the end of her book, she begs her spiritual
director to destroy anything in her writings that may bear resemblance to
error. The Book of Her Life is full of humility, wisdom (especially regarding
the doctrine of prayer), and a sense of humor, which makes her approachable.
[1]
Teresa of Avila, Book of Her Life, 3rd edition, trans. Fr. Benedict Zimmerman, O.C.D. 1921. Chapter II, 211
[2]
Ibid, Chapter XIV, 253
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