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Teresa of Avila (October 15th) is one of only two women to be honored with the rare title "Doctor of the Church," a distinction referring to her teaching and influence. She is one of the very greatest examples of the mystical-contemplative saints. Teresa was born near Avila, Spain in 1515 to a large and aristocratic family.
In her masterpiece. The Interior Castle (a thinly disguised autobiography written 1577-79), she tells us that after her mother's death she became so "worldly" that her father put her in a convent for her education. There she became seriously ill. During her convalescence she read the letters of St. Jerome and decided to become a nun. Against her father's wishes, she entered a Carmelite convent in 1535. However, she did not like the relatively easygoing life of their "mitigated" Rule and so she formed her own more rigorous regimen. Focusing on St. Mary Magdalene and St. Augustine of Hippo, her spirituality became intensely penitential and meditative.
In 1554, while praying before a statue of the wounded Christ, she experienced a profound spiritual conversion that led her to embrace absolute poverty. She began to receive visions, but she struggled mightily to reject them, fearing that they could be from Satan. Finally, her spiritual director and another priest helped her to accept the visions as godly. However, she was exposed to misunderstanding, ridicule, and even persecution. Teresa then established a convent where her strict Carmelite Rule could be observed. Over 25 years, she traveled throughout Spain, establishing 17 convents of her Rule despite virulent opposition (including trials, kidnapping, and imprisonment) from the established Order and from the Papal Nuncio to Spain who called her a "restless, disobedient, and contumacious female." It was also during this time that Teresa had experiences of levitation; these became so frequent that others became envious and resentful other, fueling her opposition.
In 1566, she wrote The Way of Perfection, another classic of spirituality. For Teresa, the test of growth in the mystical life is love of neighbor. Her contemplative nature did not prevent her from leading an active life. She was an energetic, practical, and efficient leader, and an extraordinarily gifted administrator. Her activities and responsibilities were so complex that her most recent biographer commented that it is a wonder that Teresa had any spiritual life at all! Her death in 1582 was peaceful. Her last words were "0 my Lord! Now is the time that we may see each other."
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