One day I was alone in my room. Because of my illness they spoiled me so that I couldn’t remain alone. I want to relate that one day Lucita (Lucía, her older sister) was sick and Elisea — a servant who took care of my dear grandfather — went to be with her.
Then I became envious and troubled and began to cry. My tearful eyes began to fix themselves on a picture of the Sacred Heart, and I heard a very sweet voice say to me:
“What! I, Juanita, am alone on the altar for your love, and you can’t even suffer for a moment?”
From that time, the dear Jesus spoke to me, and I spent entire hours conversing with Him. That’s the reason I enjoyed being alone. He went on teaching me how I should suffer and not complain, and about intimate union with Himself. Then He told me that He wanted me for Himself, that He would like me to become a Carmelite.
Ah! Mother, you can’t imagine what Jesus was doing in my soul. At that time I didn’t live in myself, it was Jesus who was living in me. I used to get up at seven o’clock, at the time Rebecca was going to school. I kept to a schedule for the whole day and I was doing all things with Jesus and for Jesus.
Saint Teresa of the Andes
Her intimate spiritual diary, 7
Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
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