{"id":142630,"date":"2024-10-15T05:00:13","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T09:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/?p=142630"},"modified":"2024-10-15T05:00:13","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T09:00:13","slug":"st-theresa-of-avila-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/st-theresa-of-avila-2\/","title":{"rendered":"St Theresa of Avila"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Daniela,<\/span><\/p>\n

I commend you for your efforts to find the shortest route to holiness and happiness. \u00a0Would that my other nieces and nephews made such a priority switch! But I have to chide you a bit anyway. \u00a0As I have often said, the fastest route to inner strength, peace, and beauty is also the simplest: it\u2019s Christ. \u00a0\u201cI am the way\u201d he told us, and he didn\u2019t lie. You should, of course, study the ways of spiritual growth, but always in the context of seeking to know, love, and follow Christ better. \u00a0Christ is all you need. That was the great lesson that today\u2019s remarkable (and remarkably influential) saint took half her life to learn, and the other half to teach. <\/span><\/p>\n

She was the most normal of children, exhibiting a love for the faith (quite natural considering the prominent role of the Church in sixteenth-century Spain), but also a fascination with fashions and romance and the sparkle of high society. \u00a0When she began to listen to her conscience and felt the tug of her religious vocation, it was hard for her to accept it. She had to battle against contradictory desires in her own heart, and opposition from her beloved and devoted father. When she finally did enter the convent, she fell into the widespread spiritual mediocrity that plagued Spanish religious life, and for years enjoyed all the dissipation of the nuns\u2019 peculiar social life (the convent was one of the busiest of Avila\u2019s social parlors). \u00a0But God\u2019s love wouldn\u2019t leave her alone. A good priest here, a saintly layman there \u2013 bits and pieces of sound spiritual advice combined with special favors in her prayer (and with plenty of trials \u2013 especially long illnesses) connived to lead her down a path of ravishing intimacy with the Lord. Levitations, visions, interior locutions, trances, angelic visitations \u2013 God showered her with extraordinary signs of his love, because he had an extraordinary mission for her to carry out. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the suggestion of a young nun, she discovered what it was: reform the lax Carmelite lifestyle, and begin a new foundation in which the nuns dedicated themselves seriously to prayer, simplicity, work, and the love of God. \u00a0This she did, having to overcome a whole range of mountainous obstacles (from her sisters, from the clergy, from lay people, from townspeople, from her own followers\u2026) in order to lay the foundations of thirteen new Discalced (\u201cunshod\u201d \u2013 they wore sandals instead of shoes as part of their rigorous poverty) Carmelite convents for nuns and two for monks. \u00a0Admittedly, Theresa was endowed with uncommon natural qualities of good humor, charm, wit, intelligence, and prudence, but it was because she generously put those talents (plus her burning, passionate heart) at the service of God\u2019s call that she achieved her personal fulfillment and a renewal in the Church that continues even today.<\/span><\/p>\n

When she speaks of the spiritual life, therefore, we all should listen. \u00a0That\u2019s why she was named a Doctor of the Church. And here\u2019s what she says about the shortcut to holiness and happiness: \u201cIf Christ Jesus dwells in a man as his friend and noble leader, that man can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us. \u00a0He is a true friend\u2026 Unlike our friends in the world, he will never abandon us when we are troubled or distressed. Blessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps him near.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the shortest route. \u00a0And the surest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your devoted uncle, Eddy<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Daniela, I commend you for your efforts to find the shortest route to holiness and happiness. \u00a0Would that my other nieces and nephews made such a priority switch! 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John Bartunek, LC","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Fr. John Bartunek, LC"},"description":"Fr. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college, he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the religious Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010. He provided spiritual support on the set of Mel Gibson\u2019s\u00a0The Passion of the Christ\u00a0while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller,\u00a0Inside the Passion, the only authorized, behind-the-scenes explanation of the film. Fr. John has contributed news commentary regarding religious issues on NBC, CNN, Fox, and the BBC. He also served as the English-language press liaison for the Vatican\u2019s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. His most widely known books are The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer and 60 Days to Becoming a Missionary Disciple. His most recent book is\u00a0Spiritual But Not Religious: The Search for Meaning in a Material World. Fr. John resides in Atlanta and serves as Territorial Vicar for the Legionaries of Christ. See all books, Regnum Christi Essays, Retreat Guides, posts, and online classes from Fr. John Bartunek, LC.","url":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/author\/jbartunek\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142630"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=142630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}