The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of CarmelTeresa, of Avila, Saint
Religion
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel
Teresa, of Avila, Saint
Avila (Spain) -- Biography; Christian saints -- Spain -- Avila -- Biography; Teresa, of Avila, Saint, 1515-1582
11. When I had seen this vision, and had learned other great and
hidden things which our Lord, of His goodness, was pleased to
show me,--namely, the joy of the blessed and the torment of the
wicked,--I longed for the way and the means of doing penance for
the great evil I had done, and of meriting in some degree, so
that I might gain so great a good; and therefore I wished to
avoid all society, and to withdraw myself utterly from the world.
I was in spirit restless, yet my restlessness was not harassing,
but rather pleasant. I saw clearly that it was the work of God,
and that His Majesty had furnished my soul with fervour, so that
I might be able to digest other and stronger food than I had been
accustomed to eat. I tried to think what I could do for God, and
thought that the first thing was to follow my vocation to a
religious life, which His Majesty had given me, by keeping my
rule in the greatest perfection possible.
12. Though in that house in which I then lived there were many
servants of God, and God was greatly served therein, yet, because
it was very poor, the nuns left it very often and went to other
places, where, however, we could serve God in all honour and
observances of religion. The rule also was kept, not in its
original exactness, but according to the custom of the whole
Order, authorised by the Bull of Mitigation. There were other
inconveniences also: we had too many comforts, as it seemed to
me; for the house was large and pleasant. But this inconvenience
of going out, though it was I that took most advantage of it, was
a very grievous one for me; for many persons, to whom my
superiors could not say no, were glad to have me with them.
My superiors, thus importuned, commanded me to visit these
persons; and thus it was so arranged that I could not be long
together in the monastery. Satan, too, must have had a share in
this, in order that I might not be in the house, where I was of
great service to those of my sisters to whom I continually
communicated the instructions which I received from
my confessors.
13. It occurred once to a person with whom I was speaking to say
to me and the others that it was possible to find means for the
foundation of a monastery, if we were prepared to become nuns
like those of the Barefooted Orders. [4] I, having this desire,
began to discuss the matter with that widowed lady who was my
companion,--I have spoken of her before, [5]--and she had the
same wish that I had. She began to consider how to provide a
revenue for the home. I see now that this was not the way,--only
the wish we had to do so made us think it was; but I, on the
other hand, seeing that I took the greatest delight in the house
in which I was then living, because it was very pleasant to me,
and, in my own cell, most convenient for my purpose, still held
back. Nevertheless, we agreed to commit the matter with all
earnestness to God.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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