The friendship of God
pray is not to waste time but to discover the essence of our life, the love of God, said the Pope talking about Saint Teresa of Jesus's general audience Wednesday, Feb. 2, in Paul VI.
Dear brothers and sisters,
during the catechesis that I wanted to dedicate to the Church Fathers and great theologians and figures of women in the Middle Ages I was able to focus also on some saints who have been declared Doctors of the Church for their outstanding teaching. Today I will start a short series of meetings to complete the presentation of the Doctors of the Church. It started with a Santa who is one of the leaders of the Christian spirituality of all time: St. Teresa of Avila [Jesus].was born in Avila, Spain, in 1515, with the name of Teresa de Ahumada. In her autobiography she herself mentions some details of his childhood: the birth of "virtuous and God-fearing parents, in a large family, with nine brothers and three sisters. As a child, less than 9 years, so read the lives of some martyrs who inspire the desire of martyrdom, so that a sudden short flight from home to die a martyr and go to heaven (cf. Vita 1, 4); "I want to see God," says the small parents. Some years later, Teresa speaks of his childhood reading and affirm to have you discovered the truth, which follows two basic principles: first, "the fact that everything that belongs to the world from here, go", the other that God alone is "forever, forever, forever", a theme that returns in the famous poem "Nothing will disturb / nothing frighten you, / for more. God does not change, / get all the patience; / Who has God / can not fail / Only God is enough. "Having been orphaned of mother-to-12 years, asked the Blessed Virgin that the mother's face (see Life 1, 7).If adolescence reading secular books led her to the distractions of a social life, experience as a pupil of the Augustinian nuns of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Avila and the attendance of spiritual books, especially classics of Franciscan spirituality, teaches meditation and prayer. At age 20, he entered the Carmelite monastery of the Incarnation in Avila always, in religious life takes on the name of Teresa of Jesus Three years later, became seriously ill, so as to remain for four days in a coma, apparently Life (see Life 5, 9). Even in the fight against his illness the Holy sees the fight against the weaknesses and strengths to God's call: "I wanted to live - he writes - because I understood that I was not living, but I was struggling with the shadow of death, and had no nobody to give me life, and even I could take me, and one who could give it to me was right not to help me, because many times I had turned towards him, and I had abandoned "(Life, 8, 2). In 1543, the lose proximity of family: his father dies and all his brothers emigrated to America one by one. In Lent of 1554, to 39 years, Teresa is the culmination of the struggle against their own weaknesses. The accidental discovery of the statue "a very wounded Christ" a strong impression on his life (cf. Vita 9). La Santa, which at that time located deep harmony with the Confessions of St. Augustine, describes the decisive day of his mystical experience: "... It happened that I suddenly felt a sense of God's presence, that in no way I doubt that was within me or that I was all absorbed in Him "(Life 10, 1). In parallel with the maturation of their inner life, the Santa begins to develop in practice the ideal of reform of the Carmelite Order: founded in 1562 in Avila, with the support of the bishop of the city, Don Alvaro de Mendoza, the first Caramel reformed, and soon after also receives the approval of the Superior General Order, Giovanni Battista Rossi. In subsequent years continues, the foundations of new Camels, a total of seventeen. The key issue is the meeting with St. John of the Cross, with whom, in 1568, is a Duruelo, near Avila, the first convent of Discalced Carmelites. In 1580 obtained from Rome the erection in the Autonomous Province for its Carmeli reformed, the starting point of the religious order of Discalced Carmelites. Teresa ended his earthly life is just as engaged in the foundation. In 1582, in fact, after the Costituto Carmelo Burgos and while he is making the return trip to Avila, died the night of October 15 in Alba de Tormes, humbly repeating two phrases: "In the end, I die daughter of the Church "and" It's about time, my spouse, we'll see. "A life consumed in Spain, but spent the whole Church. beatified by Pope Paul V in 1614 and canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV is proclaimed "Doctor of the Church of the Servant of God Paul VI in 1970.
Teresa of Jesus had no academic training, but has always valued the teachings of theologians, scholars and spiritual teachers. As a writer, it was always stuck to what they had personally experienced or had seen in the experience of others (see the prologue to The Way of Perfection), ie from the experience. Teresa has the opportunity to build friendly relations with many spiritual saints in particular with St. John of the Cross. At the same time, nourished by the reading of the Church Fathers, St. Jerome, St. Gregory the Great, St. Augustine. Among his major works to be mentioned first autobiography, titled Book of Life, which she calls the Book of God's mercy. Composed in Caramel Avila in 1565, reports the location and spiritual biography, written, as Teresa says the same, placing his soul to the discernment of the "Master of the spiritual," St. John of Avila. The aim is to highlight the presence and action of God the Merciful in his life for this, the work often gives the dialogue of prayer with the Lord. It is a fascinating read, because the Holy not only tells, but shows to relive the experience of his deep relationship with God In 1566, Teresa wrote the Way of Perfection, which she called the warnings and advice by Teresa of Jesus to the nuns. The beneficiaries are the twelve novices of Caramel of St. Joseph in Avila. They Teresa offers an intensive program of contemplative life to serve the Church, at the base there are the virtues of the Gospel and prayer. Among the steps the most valuable comment to our Father, a model of prayer. The opera's most famous mystic St. Teresa is the Interior Castle, written in 1577, in full maturity. It is a reinterpretation of his own journey of spiritual life and at the same time, a codification of the possible Proceedings of the Christian life to its fullness, holiness, under the action of the Holy Spirit. Teresa refers to the structure of a castle with seven rooms, as an image of the interior of man, by introducing, at the same time, the symbol of the silkworm is reborn into a butterfly, to express the transition from natural to the supernatural. The Holy Scripture is inspired, particularly the Song of Songs, the final symbol of the "couple", which allows to describe, in the seventh room, the summit of Christian life in its four aspects: the Trinity, Christology, anthropology and the Church. To his activities as founder of the Discalced Carmelite, Teresa of foundations dedicated the book, written between 1573 and 1582, where he talks about the life of the nascent religious group. As autobiography, the story is intended to highlight especially the action of God in the founding of new monasteries.
is not easy to summarize in a few words the profound spirituality and articulate Teresa. Let me mention a few key points. First, Santa Teresa offers the Gospel virtues as the basis of all Christian life and human existence in particular, the detachment from the goods or evangelical poverty, and this concerns us all, love for one another as essential element of life Community and social humility as love of truth, the determination as the result of daring Christian theological hope, which describes how the thirst for living water. Not forgetting the virtues of human kindness, truthfulness, modesty, kindness, happiness, culture. Secondly, Santa Teresa offers a complete harmony with the great biblical characters and listening to live the Word of God above all, she feels in tune with the bride of the Song of Solomon and the Apostle Paul, in addition to the Christ Passion of Jesus and the Eucharist. The Holyalso points out what is essential to prayer, to pray, he says, "means going with friends because we frequent face to face one who we know loves us" (Life, 8, 5). The idea of \u200b\u200bSanta Teresa matches with the definition that St. Thomas Aquinas gives the theological charity, such as "quaedam amicitia hominis Deum," a kind of friendship between man and God, who first offered his friendship to man, the initiative comes from God (cf. Summa Theologiae II-II, 23, 1). Prayer is life and gradually develops hand in hand with the growth of Christian life begins with vocal prayer, passing through the internalization through meditation and reflection, to achieve union of love with Christ and with the Most Holy Trinity. Obviously this is not a development in which to climb higher up means letting the previous type of prayer, but rather a gradual deepening of the relationship with God that surrounds all life. More than a pedagogy of prayer, that Teresa is a real "mystagogy": the reader of his works taught herself to pray by praying with him frequently, in fact, interrupts the story or the exposure to break out in a prayer.Another issue dear to the Holy is the centrality of Christ's humanity. For Teresa, in fact, Christian life is a personal relationship with Jesus, culminating in union with Him by grace, love and imitation. Hence the importance that she attaches to the meditation on the Passion and the Eucharist, the presence of Christ in the Church for the life of every believer, as the heart of the liturgy. Santa Teresa lives unconditional love to the Church: she shows a live "sensus Ecclesiae" in front of episodes of conflict and division in the Church of his time. Reform of the Carmelite Order with the intention of better service and better defend the "Holy Roman Catholic Church," and is willing to give their lives for it (cf. Life 33, 5). A final key aspect of Thérèse's doctrine, I would like to emphasize, is perfection, as an aspiration of the whole Christian life and the same ultimate goal. The Santa has a very clear idea of \u200b\u200bthe "fullness" of Christ, revived by the Christian. At the end of the path of the Interior Castle, the last "room" Teresa describes the fullness of the Trinity made nell'inabitazione, union to Christ through the mystery of his humanity.Dear brothers and sisters, Teresa of Jesus is true teacher of life for the Christian faithful of all time. In our society, often lacking in spiritual values, St. Therese teaches us to be tireless witnesses of God, his presence and his actions, teaches us to really feel this thirst for God that exists in the depths of our heart, this desire to see God, seek God, to be in conversation with him and be his friends. This is the friendship that is necessary for us all and we must try, day after day, again. The example of this Saint, deeply contemplative and operational effectiveness, we push to devote the proper time each day to prayer, this openness to God in this way to seek God, to see him to find his friendship, and so the real life, because really most of us would say, "I do not live, not I live really, why not live the essence of my life. " For this time of prayer is not wasted time is time when you open the road of life, opens the way for God to learn from an ardent love to Him, His Church, and a real love for our brothers. Thanks.
(© L'Osservatore Romano - February 3, 2011)
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