Saint Teresa of Avila

Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada was born on March 28, 1515, in Ávila or Gotarrendura. Her upbringing was firmly based on Christianity in her family. Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda, her father, was a prosperous wool merchant who had converted to Christianity following his grandfather's excommunication by the Spanish Inquisition. Teresa's early interest in the lives of saints inspired her to flee with her brother at the age of seven in an attempt to become a martyr. Even though she was able to return, the event had a profound effect, and her mother's passing when she was eleven years old deepened her devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Teresa's spiritual path began while she studied at the Ávila school run by Augustinian nuns. She resisted a religious career at first, but in 1534, when she was twenty years old, she gave in and enrolled in the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation. Teresa's early studies of contemplative prayer took place in the convent, which was constructed on grounds that had previously been a Jewish cemetery. She was influenced by writings like Peter of Alcantara's "Tractatus de oratione et meditatione" and Osuna's "Third Spiritual Alphabet."

Ascetic and Mystical Practice

Teresa's intense desire to be mortified caused a protracted illness that resulted in profound religious ecstasy. "The Life of Teresa of Jesus," her autobiographical work, describes her mystical experiences and the stages of the soul's climb to God, including mental prayer, quiet prayer, absorption in God, and ecstatic consciousness. Her account of the trans verberation-a vision in which a seraph pierced her heart with a golden lance and served as the inspiration for Bernini's well-known sculpture-is especially noteworthy.

Teresa struggled with the idea of deadly vs venial sin all of her life. She found comfort and hope in religious writings like Augustine of Hippo's "Confessions," which gave her hope that holiness was attainable.

Monastic Reformer

Teresa's desire for change was sparked by her dissatisfaction with the convent's slack cloister observance. She established the Discalced Carmelite Order, emphasizing complete poverty and more stringent monastic regulations, with Peter of Alcantara's help. When St. Joseph's convent was founded in 1562, there was resistance at first, but Teresa's persistence, together with powerful supporters and papal approval, made the reformist order survive.

Long Distance Travel and Resistance

After being granted a license in 1567 by Carmelite General Rubeo de Ravenna, Teresa set out to find new reformist convents throughout Spain. This project, which she chronicled in her "Libro de las Fundaciones," comprised travels to multiple regions and partnerships with influential individuals such as Jerónimo Gracián, John of the Cross, and Anthony of Jesus. Teresa chose to voluntarily retire to St. Joseph's in Toledo in 1576, however, as a result of resolutions prohibiting further changes brought about by opposition from unreformed Carmelites.

Resuming reforms were made possible by her entreaties to King Philip II and Pope Gregory XIII's assistance. Over the final three years of Teresa's life, new convents were able to be established thanks to protections for the Discalced Carmelite Order established by a royal decree and a papal edict.

Final Days

In 1582, while traveling from Burgos to Alba de Tormes, Saint Teresa of Ávila contracted her last illness. Her passing occurred at the same time as Catholic Europe switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. Not only was Teresa canonized in 1622, but Pope Paul VI named her the first female Doctor of the Church in 1970, adding to her continuing significance. Centuries after her writings, such as "The Interior Castle" and "The Way of Perfection," she made significant contributions to Christian mysticism and contemplative practice that still have an impact on spiritual searchers.