Living Water: Daily Readings With St. Teresa Of Avila

by Teresa de Ávila, Marie of Saint Peter (Editor), Ruth Burrows (Foreword)

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Saint Teresa of Jesús, also called Saint Teresa of Ávila, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be, along with John of the Cross, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1970 she was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI.

Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada Borned in Ávila, Spain, on March 28, 1515, St. Teresa was the daughter of a Toledo merchant and his second wife, who died when Teresa was 15, one of ten children. Shortly after this event, Teresa was entrusted to the care of the Augustinian nuns. After reading the letters of St. Jerome, Teresa resolved to enter a religious life. In 1535, she joined the Carmelite Order. She spent a number of relatively average years in the convent, punctuated by a severe illness that left her legs paralyzed for three years, but then experienced a vision of "the sorely wounded Christ" that changed her life forever.

From this point forward, Teresa moved into a period of increasingly ecstatic experiences in which she came to focus more and more sharply on Christ's passion. With these visions as her impetus, she set herself to the reformation of her order, beginning with her attempt to master herself and her adherence to the rule. Gathering a group of supporters, Teresa endeavored to create a more primitive type of Carmelite. From 1560 until her death, Teresa struggled to establish and broaden the movement of Discalced or shoeless Carmelites. During the mid-1560s, she wrote the Way of Perfection and the Meditations on the Canticle. In 1567, she met St. John of the Cross, who she enlisted to extend her reform into the male side of the Carmelite Order. Teresa died in 1582.

St. Teresa left to posterity many new convents, which she continued founding up to the year of her death. She also left a significant legacy of writings, which represent important benchmarks in the history of Christian mysticism. These works include the Way of Perfection and the Interior Castle. She also left an autobiography, the Life of St. Teresa of Ávila.

Reviews

[WillemC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een korte bloemlezing met mystieke gebeden / korte preken van de patroonheilige van Spanje, ingedeeld volgens verschillende thema's (liefde, kruis, kerk, levend water, ...). Het interessante aan dit soort teksten is de totale overgave die eruit spreekt.

"O, grootheid van God,
hoe stralend toont Gij Uw macht door
aan een mier zoveel stoutmoedigheid te geven!"

"eet voor Mij, en slaap voor Mij,
en laat alles wat u doet voor Mij zijn,
alsof u niet meer leefde,
maar Ik in u."

"Naar de lelijkste dingen kunt gij kijken,
en gij zoudt het allerschoonste
dat gij u kunt voorstellen,
niet kunnen beschouwen?"

"Mijn God en verkwikking in alle pijn;
hoe kan ik menselijke geneesmiddelen zoeken
voor deze smart?"

"O, levende bronnen van de wonden van mijn God!"

[Steph Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that it is a condensed version of St Teresa's work but I would like a little footnote on each page to know where it has come from, rather than the source being supplied at end.

[Katra · Rating 3 out of 5]

p-n, s-n, v-n, a-n