Saint (noun)
1.any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian Church, especially by canonization.
2.a person of great holiness, virtue, or benevolence.
The Carmelite order has a long list of the exceptional people who lead Holy and devout lives. I have highlighted the most Famous of these Saints, which have one thing in common. They have all taken the name Teresa.
1. St. Teresa of Avila
"Oh my Lord! How true it is that whoever works for you is paid in troubles! And what a precious price to those who love you if we understand its value."1
Mystic, reformer and Doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Avila is undoubtedly one of the greatest mystics the Church has ever known, and the reader will see how immense of an influence she was upon all the daughters of Carmel who came after her. Her reforms of the Carmelite Order alongside St. John of the Cross ensured that the order was free of all corruption and worldly taint that had crept in. Along with her most famous work, Interior Castle, she is also wrote Way of Perfection and a rich autobiography.
"Oh my Lord! How true it is that whoever works for you is paid in troubles! And what a precious price to those who love you if we understand its value."1
Mystic, reformer and Doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Avila is undoubtedly one of the greatest mystics the Church has ever known, and the reader will see how immense of an influence she was upon all the daughters of Carmel who came after her. Her reforms of the Carmelite Order alongside St. John of the Cross ensured that the order was free of all corruption and worldly taint that had crept in. Along with her most famous work, Interior Castle, she is also wrote Way of Perfection and a rich autobiography.
2. St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart
"Speaking to Father Ildefonse one day, she tried to express to him something of the significance those words God is love now held for her, but she became almost incoherent in her emotion. 'Just as the soul in the state of grace (which is charity) is in God, God is in her. Just as the soul lives the life of God, so does God in a certain way live IN her. And so it is that between them there is but a single life, a single love ... God alone! The difference is that God has all by essence, whereas the creature has it only by participation and grace.' And, adds Father Ildefonse, 'Note that these words came from a simple child who had never studied and knew no theology apart from what her instinct taught her.'"2
"Speaking to Father Ildefonse one day, she tried to express to him something of the significance those words God is love now held for her, but she became almost incoherent in her emotion. 'Just as the soul in the state of grace (which is charity) is in God, God is in her. Just as the soul lives the life of God, so does God in a certain way live IN her. And so it is that between them there is but a single life, a single love ... God alone! The difference is that God has all by essence, whereas the creature has it only by participation and grace.' And, adds Father Ildefonse, 'Note that these words came from a simple child who had never studied and knew no theology apart from what her instinct taught her.'"2
3. Bl. Teresa Maria of the Cross
"To suffer, to suffer, always suffer. Do what you want with me, it’s enough that I save souls for you."3
Much like St. Teresa of Avila, who was her central inspiration, Bl. Teresa Maria of the Cross met with much opposition in her life. Beginning as a member of a third order of Carmelites, she became a nun in the Carmelite order only two years later. Her life was spent in service to the poor, establishing schools, and taking care of children in need. She is today remembered as the foundress of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa of Florence (named after St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, incidentally), an order known for its special charism of teaching and caring for children.
"To suffer, to suffer, always suffer. Do what you want with me, it’s enough that I save souls for you."3
Much like St. Teresa of Avila, who was her central inspiration, Bl. Teresa Maria of the Cross met with much opposition in her life. Beginning as a member of a third order of Carmelites, she became a nun in the Carmelite order only two years later. Her life was spent in service to the poor, establishing schools, and taking care of children in need. She is today remembered as the foundress of the Carmelite Sisters of St. Teresa of Florence (named after St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, incidentally), an order known for its special charism of teaching and caring for children.
4. St. Therese of Lisieux
"'I cry like a young swallow' then, a cry which tells You everything, and You remember in Your infinite mercy that 'Thou didst not come to call the just but sinners.'"4
St. Therese needs no introduction - by now, she is probably the most popular and well-known saint next to St. Francis of Assisi. Surely, it must be a miracle itself that such an unknown Carmelite nun from France who lived such a sheltered life, both at home and in the cloister of Carmel, became so well-known and venerated
"'I cry like a young swallow' then, a cry which tells You everything, and You remember in Your infinite mercy that 'Thou didst not come to call the just but sinners.'"4
St. Therese needs no introduction - by now, she is probably the most popular and well-known saint next to St. Francis of Assisi. Surely, it must be a miracle itself that such an unknown Carmelite nun from France who lived such a sheltered life, both at home and in the cloister of Carmel, became so well-known and venerated
5. St. Teresa of the Andes
"I live for God alone. My sole concern is to know Him that I may love Him more. I have begun the life of heaven here on earth, a life invented and thought of by God through all eternity; a life of love alone and of ceaseless praise. If you could see but for an instant what’s in the soul of this Carmelite postulant, you’d understand the happiness of living always near the tabernacle. Alone with Him in His aloneness, I am there at the chapel grates or in my humble cell. There is nothing between Him and His creature now. I hear His divine voice always. I gaze on always and contemplate His infinite beauty. I feel always the beating of my God’s Heart, begging me for love because He knows that love contains everything; sacrifice and souls."5
Not long, in fact only three years after St. Therese had passed on to heavenly glory to begin her real work from Paradise, the child who would become known as one of South America's most famous saints was born. In some ways, her life seems like a continuation of St. Therese of Lisieux's - indeed, it was the Little Flower's writings that influenced the young Juanita to join the Carmel at Los Andes. However, it seems that St. Teresa of the Andes' spiritual life was not so much subject to what is commonly known as the "dark night of the soul", as St. Therese of Lisieux's was. Instead, she was favored with an intense and constant companionship of our Lord, living a life of complete and total mystical ascent towards God. To hear her speak of her prayer life is to catch a glimpse of the highest stages of the mystical life. Like her namesake, she died incredibly young, at the age of only 19 years old, a pure and living flame of love.
"I live for God alone. My sole concern is to know Him that I may love Him more. I have begun the life of heaven here on earth, a life invented and thought of by God through all eternity; a life of love alone and of ceaseless praise. If you could see but for an instant what’s in the soul of this Carmelite postulant, you’d understand the happiness of living always near the tabernacle. Alone with Him in His aloneness, I am there at the chapel grates or in my humble cell. There is nothing between Him and His creature now. I hear His divine voice always. I gaze on always and contemplate His infinite beauty. I feel always the beating of my God’s Heart, begging me for love because He knows that love contains everything; sacrifice and souls."5
Not long, in fact only three years after St. Therese had passed on to heavenly glory to begin her real work from Paradise, the child who would become known as one of South America's most famous saints was born. In some ways, her life seems like a continuation of St. Therese of Lisieux's - indeed, it was the Little Flower's writings that influenced the young Juanita to join the Carmel at Los Andes. However, it seems that St. Teresa of the Andes' spiritual life was not so much subject to what is commonly known as the "dark night of the soul", as St. Therese of Lisieux's was. Instead, she was favored with an intense and constant companionship of our Lord, living a life of complete and total mystical ascent towards God. To hear her speak of her prayer life is to catch a glimpse of the highest stages of the mystical life. Like her namesake, she died incredibly young, at the age of only 19 years old, a pure and living flame of love.
6. Blessed Teresa of the Child Jesus and St. John of the Cross
"Viva Christo Rey!"6
A Carmelite nun who lived in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, she was one of three nuns in her convent who were martyred by Communists. When asked to say "Long live Communism!" in exchange for her freedom, she responded with the same words of Bl. Miguel Pro before he too was martyred in Mexico - "Long live Christ the King!". She was promptly shot and stabbed by the communist mob.
"Viva Christo Rey!"6
A Carmelite nun who lived in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, she was one of three nuns in her convent who were martyred by Communists. When asked to say "Long live Communism!" in exchange for her freedom, she responded with the same words of Bl. Miguel Pro before he too was martyred in Mexico - "Long live Christ the King!". She was promptly shot and stabbed by the communist mob.
7. Blessed Maria Teresa of St. Joseph
"I was to pray for the conversion of sinners, and to move the mercy of God for the freedom of Holy Church. From that morning on my heart was filled with a new hunger and thirst, not only for God’s pleasure or for perfection, but with a burning hunger and thirst to win souls for the Divine Heart. That crucifix is stamped on my memory, and it not only keeps my zeal for the salvation of souls alive, it increases its fire and creates in me the desire to arrive soon at the throne of God, where my longing for souls may be satisfied."7
Bl. Maria Teresa was not a cradle Catholic, but a convert to the Church from Lutheranism. After converting to the Catholic faith, she founded the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus, and dedicated her life to the service of the poor, of immigrants and to educating children, much in the same manner as Bl. Teresa Maria of the Cross had done earlier. Her life is marked by intense prayer, and she communicated by correspondence with many concerning the spiritual life.
"I was to pray for the conversion of sinners, and to move the mercy of God for the freedom of Holy Church. From that morning on my heart was filled with a new hunger and thirst, not only for God’s pleasure or for perfection, but with a burning hunger and thirst to win souls for the Divine Heart. That crucifix is stamped on my memory, and it not only keeps my zeal for the salvation of souls alive, it increases its fire and creates in me the desire to arrive soon at the throne of God, where my longing for souls may be satisfied."7
Bl. Maria Teresa was not a cradle Catholic, but a convert to the Church from Lutheranism. After converting to the Catholic faith, she founded the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus, and dedicated her life to the service of the poor, of immigrants and to educating children, much in the same manner as Bl. Teresa Maria of the Cross had done earlier. Her life is marked by intense prayer, and she communicated by correspondence with many concerning the spiritual life.
8. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
"God is there in these moments of rest and can give us in a single instant exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take its course, under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him. Then you will be able to rest in Him — really rest — and start the next day as a new life."8
St. Teresa Benedicta is generally more popularly known as St. Edith Stein. Raised in the faith of Judaism, she later became an atheist, before finally converting to the Catholic Church. She was an incredibly adept philosopher in her younger days, able to navigate the world of phenomenology and existentialism with ease - she was well-acquainted with Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, two leading lights of these two schools of thought. The reading of the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila changed her life completely - before long, she converted to the Catholic faith. As soon as the Nazi regime began to gain power, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was forced to resign her position at the Institute of Pedagogy in Munster. Soon after this, she became a Carmelite nun, and finished her work on St. Thomas Aquinas and Husserl called Finite and Eternal Being. To be sure, her philosophical works are not the stuff of everyday reading - but they should most certainly not be ignored, especially when so much attention is paid nowadays to other theologians of dubious merit.
Her life ended soon enough in martyrdom - arrested for being a Jewish convert, along with many others, she was sent to die in the nightmarish death camp of Auschwitz. She was an inspiration to those around her to her last breath, and died completely resigned to the will of God.
"God is there in these moments of rest and can give us in a single instant exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take its course, under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him. Then you will be able to rest in Him — really rest — and start the next day as a new life."8
St. Teresa Benedicta is generally more popularly known as St. Edith Stein. Raised in the faith of Judaism, she later became an atheist, before finally converting to the Catholic Church. She was an incredibly adept philosopher in her younger days, able to navigate the world of phenomenology and existentialism with ease - she was well-acquainted with Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, two leading lights of these two schools of thought. The reading of the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila changed her life completely - before long, she converted to the Catholic faith. As soon as the Nazi regime began to gain power, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was forced to resign her position at the Institute of Pedagogy in Munster. Soon after this, she became a Carmelite nun, and finished her work on St. Thomas Aquinas and Husserl called Finite and Eternal Being. To be sure, her philosophical works are not the stuff of everyday reading - but they should most certainly not be ignored, especially when so much attention is paid nowadays to other theologians of dubious merit.
Her life ended soon enough in martyrdom - arrested for being a Jewish convert, along with many others, she was sent to die in the nightmarish death camp of Auschwitz. She was an inspiration to those around her to her last breath, and died completely resigned to the will of God.
9. Ven. Maria Teresa Quevedo
"How beautiful, O Mary, how beautiful you are."
Arguably the most Marian in spirit of the Teresas on this list, Ven. "Teresita" (as she was nicknamed) was a headstrong child, prone to outbursts, and incredibly impatient. But after her first Holy Communion, a change came over Ven. Teresita that would make itself progressively known throughout her life. By all accounts a picture-perfect image of the popular high-school girl, she entered the convent at an extremely young age, just like St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Teresa of the Andes before her. Her spirituality was steeped in Marian devotion, and her decisiveness to become a saint was unstoppable. She had barely entered Carmel before she succumbed to a slow and painful death due to tubercular meningitis, just as she predicted she would, just before the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was pronounced.
"How beautiful, O Mary, how beautiful you are."
Arguably the most Marian in spirit of the Teresas on this list, Ven. "Teresita" (as she was nicknamed) was a headstrong child, prone to outbursts, and incredibly impatient. But after her first Holy Communion, a change came over Ven. Teresita that would make itself progressively known throughout her life. By all accounts a picture-perfect image of the popular high-school girl, she entered the convent at an extremely young age, just like St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Teresa of the Andes before her. Her spirituality was steeped in Marian devotion, and her decisiveness to become a saint was unstoppable. She had barely entered Carmel before she succumbed to a slow and painful death due to tubercular meningitis, just as she predicted she would, just before the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was pronounced.
A Saint is simply someone who loves our FATHER who art in Heaven more then this world. All Grace is Divinely inspiried and freely given. You need not be a Nun or a Priest to be a Saint. All you need is to love Almighty GOD with all of your heart mind and Soul and JESUS CHRIST Himself will prepare the road and create the trials which will allow you to one day stand in Heaven and be an eternal Saint.
I would like to give thanks to Jason who made this post possible
http://ascentofcarmel.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-nine-teresas-of-carmel.html
No comments:
Post a Comment