15 October: Saint Teresa of Jesus, Doctor of the Church
A woman who reformed men
The Apostolic Nuncio in Spain, Archbishop Filippo Sega, described Teresa of Jesus as “a restless and wandering woman… whose teachings opposed Saint Paul’s command that women should not teach”. His description of the restlessness of Teresa of Jesus, in the world Teresa de Ahumada, was accurate. Indeed, at the time of his comments, she had already founded 12 monasteries throughout Spain and had travelled more than 50,000 kilometres. And she had done all this with the travel means available at the time, journeying on roads that were not quite roads, with all the discomforts involved in moving from one side of the kingdom to the other, especially for a woman, and even more so, for a nun. She managed to open 17 monasteries with very few funds, health problems and countless difficulties in finding homes that could be turned into religious convents. Her “crime” was that she was a woman, and above all, a reformer of consecrated life, including that of males.
Faced with such hardship, her life was not easy. In addition to facing slander, hostility, and prejudice, her autobiography was reported to the Inquisition of Valladolid on suspicion that the words she had written, in particular concerning visions, revelations and doctrine, were fruits of heresy. However, in 1575, after careful examination, the famous theologian, Domingo Báñez, expressed a favourable judgment. She was then reported twice in Seville, by some nuns from a monastery she herself had founded. In those cases too, the Inquisition absolved Teresa from the charges.
She was certainly a woman who brought out contradictions and reactions in people. Anyone who met her, left somewhat changed. Her very witness challenged the quiet life and laid bare any inconsistencies with the principles of the Gospel.
María de San José Salazar, one of her traveling companions, described her as follows: “She was an average-height saint, more robust than thin. In her youth she was known for being very beautiful, and she remained so until later in life. Her face was by no means common, but extraordinary…, it was very pleasant to look at her and listen to her because she was very gentle and witty in all her words and actions…She was perfect in every way… (cf. Book for the Hour of Recreation).
Teresa on the other hand, presented herself as being full of zeal for what was good, and aware of her “poverty” and helplessness. In 1562, she wanted to establish a small community that would authentically live the Gospel. She founded the Carmel of Saint Joseph in Avila, which had the aim of a life of prayer and working in fraternity and silence, to “do the little I could”, as she often said: “And, seeing that I was a woman, and a sinner, and incapable of doing all I should like in the Lord's service, and as my whole yearning was, and still is, that, as He has so many enemies and so few friends, these last should be trusty ones, I determined to do the little that was in me -- namely, to follow the evangelical counsels as perfectly as I could, and to see that these few nuns who are here should do the same” (The Way of Perfection 1,2).
Teresa then had to face a new challenge: to reform the Order of Carmel, establishing a community of men who would follow in the footsteps of the nuns. In 1567, she was ready: “Behold a poor Barefoot nun with no help on any side, except from the Lord, furnished with licences and with good desires, but with no possibility of putting them in practice! But my spirit did not fail, nor my confidence that since the Lord had given the one He would also give the other: indeed all seemed possible to me; and so I began to set to work” (The Book of the Foundations 2,6).
Teresa’s life was filled with human and divine experiences that transformed her words into a witness and a message for everyone.
She was born on 28 March 1515 in Ávila to Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda and Beatriz de Ahumada. Her family was numerous: she had three sisters and nine brothers.
When she was 16 years old, she was sent to boarding school to the convent and college of the Augustinians of Gracia in Ávila. She begrudgingly accepted to go, but when she came into contact with some women religious, she drew close to prayer. After one and a half years, she fell ill and had to return to her family. During her time of recovery, she began to think about her vocation and decided to enter the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation. On 2 November 1535, she entered the monastery, which was located outside the city walls, and remained there for 27 years. She began a journey of prayer which led her to have mystical experiences. In 1537, she made her religious profession, but in Autumn of the same year, she fell gravely ill. She was taken back to her family home, where in August of 1539, she became paralyzed and was given up for dead for four days. She was confined to her bed, paralyzed, for three years, until 1542, when she was healed, thanks to the intercession of Saint Joseph, to whom she was devoted for the remainder of her life.
After a time of crisis, she felt the need to live the Gospel and her vocation to consecrated life, in a radical way. She had an epiphany during Lent of 1554, before the image of a suffering Christ. She would no longer be led by fear of taking action, but rather by her love for God who loved her first. In 1556, she had her definitive conversion. Reading Saint Augustine’s Confessions helped her enter into the divine mystery.
In 1560, she began her Apostolic mission. At that time, she had a vision of Hell that spurred her to sacrifice herself and to pray to save souls from damnation. From then onwards, she no longer feared suffering, but rather made herself available for anything that would save her brothers and sisters. She was inspired to found a small community and understood that God would accompany her. She tried to foster a climate of fraternity, simplicity, prayer and humility. She recommended “three things” to her companions: mutual love, detachment from all created things and true humility. Then came the missionary and apostolic turning point: her meeting with Franciscan, Alonso Maldonado, who had just returned from Mexico. His account of his evangelizing experiences in America opened out new horizons for her. She wanted to do something to bring the Gospel to those who still did not know it. In the Spring of 1567, a visit from the Superior General of the Order of Carmel, Fr. Juan Bautista Rubeo, proved to be providential. He promised Teresa new foundations, and on 10 August 1567, he granted her permission to open two homes for monks, according to the new charism.
She thus walked through the streets of Castille and founded 17 monasteries, involving even Saint John of the Cross in her reform. The first male community, made of three men religious, was founded in the small village of Duruelo on 28 November 1568.
She left her mark in history, also because of her commitment against the prejudice faced by women, for renouncing the idea that women did not have the right to spiritual Reading, to mental prayer, to being spiritual teachers even of men, or to be writers. After the completion of the foundation of the Monastery of Burgos, Teresa died on 4 October 1582 in Alba de Tormes. According to the reformed Gregorian calendar, the following day would have been 15 October.