The Lesser Feast of Teresa of Avila, Mystic and Monastic Reformer
Page numbers listed are from The Book of Common Prayer.
Opening Sentence, page 103
Officiant: O God, make speed to save us.
People: O Lord, make haste to help us.
All: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm 42:1–7, page 643
1 As the deer longs for the water-brooks, *
so longs my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; *
when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, *
while all day long they say to me,
“Where now is your God?”
4 I pour out my soul when I think on these things: *
how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God,
5 With the voice of praise and thanksgiving, *
among those who keep holy-day.
6 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *
and why are you so disquieted within me?
7 Put your trust in God; *
for I will yet give thanks to him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Reading: Mark 1:35-39
In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Reflection: Teresa of Avila, Mystic and Monastic Reformer
Teresa was born in Spain, near Avila. Even in her childhood, she took much pleasure in the study of saints’ lives, and she used to delight in spending times of contemplation, repeating over and over, “For ever, for ever, for ever, for ever, they shall see God.”
In her autobiography, Teresa tells that following her mother’s death, she became quite worldly. To offset this, her father placed her in an Augustinian convent to be educated, but serious illness ended her studies. During convalescence, she determined to enter the religious life and, though opposed by her father, she became a postulant at a Carmelite convent. Again, illness forced her to return home, but after three years, she returned to the convent.
Her prayer life during this period was difficult. She wrote: “I don’t know what heavy penance could have come to mind that I would not have gladly and frequently undertaken rather than recollect myself in the practice of prayer.” This early difficult experience would shape her later writings on prayer, in which she insisted that the spiritual life cannot be grounded in feelings and consolations.
In time, frustrated by the laxity of life in her community, Teresa set out to establish a reformed Carmelite order of “discalced” religious, who wore sandals or went barefoot. Despite many setbacks, she traveled for 25 years throughout Spain. Energetic, practical, and efficient, as well as being a mystic and ascetic, she established 17 convents of Reformed Carmelites. Even imprisonment did not deter her. Her younger contemporary John of the Cross became a close personal and spiritual friend.
Her sisters urged her to write down some of her teachings on prayer for them, which is how we came to have her works The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection. Many people at the time felt that mental prayer (as opposed to reciting the vocal prayer of the liturgy) was too difficult and too dangerous for women, but Teresa insisted that “Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends. It means taking time frequently to be alone with him whom we know loves us.”
Despite the demands of her administrative and missionary work, Teresa found time to write the numerous letters that give us rare insights into her personality and concerns. Her extensive correspondence often kept her awake at night until 3:00 in the morning, after which she would awaken at 5:00 for morning prayer with the community. Teresa found writing to be burdensome, and often protested that she would be much happier spinning or working in the kitchen. Once she sat down to write, however, she was eloquent and efficient. Her great work The Interior Castle was written in less than two months.
Her death in 1582, following two years of illness, was peaceful. Her last sight was of the Sacrament, brought for her comfort; her last words, “O my Lord! Now is the time that we may see each other.”
The Prayers, pages 106-107
Officiant: Lord have mercy.
People: Christ have mercy.
Officiant: Lord have mercy.
All:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Officiant: Lord, hear our prayer;
People: And let our cry come to you.
Officiant: Let us pray.
O God, who by your Holy Spirit moved Teresa of Avila to manifest to your church the way of perfection: Grant us, we pray, to be nourished by her teaching, and enkindle within us a keen and unquenchable longing for true holiness; through Jesus Christ, the joy of loving hearts, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Intercessions and Thanksgivings
Dismissal, page 107
Officiant: Let us bless the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Officiant: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.