Feast Day :15th October
St. Teresa of Avila, also called St. Teresa of Jesus. She is known as a 16th century Spanish mystic, a reformer of the Carmelite Order, and the first female doctor of the Church. Feast Day is October 15. Jesus spoke to St. Teresa of Avila in several famous mystical visions, sharing messages of deep love, gentle correction, and divine friendship.
Teresa of Avila was born into the Spanish Empire on March 28, in 1515. She lived in an age of exploration as well as political, social, and religious upheaval. It was a time of turmoil and reform. She grew up with strict parents who were pious. When Teresa was eleven years old, her mother died, leaving her grief-stricken. This prompted her to embrace a deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary as her spiritual mother.
Teresa was sent to the Augustinian nun’s school in Avila when she was 16. At first, she hated it but eventually began to enjoy it, partly because of her growing love for God. Teresa is famous for her profound spiritual writings, practical wisdom, and memorable quotes on prayer and trust in God.
Teresa of Avila suffered from a lifetime of severe chronic physical illnesses, painful joint conditions, and intense spiritual and emotional struggles. She said, “Prayer is an act of love, words are not needed, even if sickness distracts from thought.”
Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.
The gift of God to Teresa in and through which she became holy and left her mark on the Church and the world is threefold: She was a woman; she was a contemplative; she was an active reformer.
Her writings, especially the Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, have helped generations of believers. She clung to God in life and in prayer. She was a woman of prayer, a woman for God. She died on October 4,1582. She was beatified on April 24,1614, in Rome by Pope Paul V and was Canonized on March 12,1622, in Rome by Pope Gregory XV.
The primary symbols of St. Teresa of Avila are a heart pierced by an arrow, a book, and a quill or feather pen. A dove is often shown near her to symbolize divine inspiration from the Holy Spirit.
Teresa of Avila’s last words were, ” My Lord, it is time to move on. Well then, may your will be done, O my Lord and my Spouse, the hour that I have longed for has come. It is time to meet one another.”
We can pray to St. Teresa of Avila for deeper prayer life, inner peace and calmness, courage during times of distress or spiritual dryness.
“Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks.
Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good. “ – St. Teresa of Avila
-Sherida de Souza