Thursday, October 15, 2009
St. Teresa!
Today, as we all know is the feast day of St. Teresa of Jesus. Her and St. Francis may be the two more modern-type Saints that I admire. And I say that only because of her writings, which are so inspirational and educational and Francis because, well he just is. The two common threads I have with these two great saints is that one can really feel that you know them after delving into their lives through books, movies and videos. St Teresa almost makes deep contemplative prayer seem easy, and I mean that as saying that her explanations are quite easy to follow. I just finished Interior Castles a month or two ago and there's so much to take in that the words have really stayed with me, sitting and percolating under the brow.
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2 comments:
Ah yes! "Interior Castle" ... a lovely image, a fascinating book, a spiritual classic, the journey inward to find Him who created the Universe. It really does seem as if the 'spiritual life' is do-able when St. Teresa describes it--as opposed to some other saints who almost terrify one with their complicated descriptions. She does 'make deep contemplative prayer seem easy ... (and) her explanations are quite easy to follow' as you wrote.
I don't know if that's why I love her, although certainly it makes her more approachable, more human, etc. I love her natural-ness, her deep humility, her humor, her sometimes meandering way of writing, her emotional outbursts. She doesn't put on airs, but writes like she is talking to a very good friend. I love that! Have you seen the mini-series about her?
Thanks for the tribute to her!
God bless you!
Excellent mini-series, saw it last year just by chance on EWTN, and that's what sent me searching for more about her. The series really does leave a bit out; one almost has to have read her history to fully follow it. Which is why we're watching it again! As a newly hatched Secular I'd like to say I'm all Franciscan, but I'm not. I feel that without the writings of T of J or her almost male twin, St John of the Cross, their writings help to give us another new and helpful way to go deeper in prayer. I especially like John of the Cross' frankness and the way he just KNOWS how we are all basically alike as beginners in prayer.
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