Saint Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada of Ávila (1515–82) was a Spanish Carmelite nun and mystic. She is one of the greatest religious women of the Roman Catholic Church.
Born to a prosperous family in Gotarrendura, Spain, Teresa combined a private meditative life with exceptional public activism on behalf of the church. She founded the Discalced Carmelite Order (“discalced,” meaning “shoeless”) with support from St. John of the Cross.
Teresa’s religious writings, including The Way of Perfection (1583) and The Interior Castle (1588,) have inspired spiritual devotion for over three centuries and have spawned a considerable body of scholarly work. Her feast day is October 15.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Teresa of Avila
O my God, what must a soul be like when it is in this state! It longs to be all one tongue with which to praise the Lord. It utters a thousand pious follies, in a continuous endeavor to please Him who thus possesses it.
—Teresa of Avila
We bloomed in Spring. Our bodies are the leaves of God. The apparent seasons of life and death our eyes can suffer; but our souls, dear, I will just say this forthright: they are God Himself, we will never perish until He does.
—Teresa of Avila
Topics: Death
Prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.
—Teresa of Avila
Topics: Prayer
All the way to heaven is heaven.
—Teresa of Avila
It is love alone that gives worth to all things.
—Teresa of Avila
Topics: Romance
It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found—not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater.
—Teresa of Avila
Topics: Love
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