Sublime

ST. TERESA OF AVILA (d. 1582),

Teresa of Avila.

«Nada te turbe, nada te espante; todo se pasa, Dios no se muda. La paciencia todo lo alcanza; quien a Dios tiene nada le falta. Solo Dios basta»[12]. La

Such obscurity and attachment, followed by God-given clarity, liberation of love, and deepening of faith, are consistent hallmarks of the dark night of the soul.9 Often, this liberation results in a remarkable release of creative activity in the world. This is especially obvious in Teresa’s case. Once paralyzed by uncertainty and self-doubt, she

John of the Cross came to define deep prayer along similar lines. “Preserve a loving attentiveness to God with no desire to feel or understand any particular thing concerning God.”

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,

Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

When in the Soul of the Serene Disciple When in the soul of the serene disciple With no more Fathers to imitate Poverty is a success, It is a small thing to say the roof is gone: He has not even a house. Stars, as well as friends, Are angry with the noble ruin. Saints depart in several directions. Be still: There is no longer any need of comment.

Teresa of Ávila’s theology of innerness was revolutionary. She saw that the soul of every human being is designed as a kind of queendom—a magnificent “interior castle”—with softly rounded rooms leading ever inward toward a luminous center inhabited by Love itself. It is a blessed realm meant for all of us. Teresa of Ávila extends a radical