God is very pleased to see a soul that humbly takes His son as mediator and that loves this Son so much that even when His Majesty desires to raise it to very lofty contemplation, as I have said, it is aware of its unworthiness, saying with St. Peter: Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man [Lk 5:8].
Such has been my experience; it’s the way God has led my soul. Others will journey, as I’ve said, by another shortcut.
What I have come to understand is that this whole groundwork of prayer is based on humility and that the more a soul lowers itself in prayer the more God raises it up. I don’t recall His ever having granted me one of the very notable favors of which I shall speak later if not at a time when I was brought to nothing at the sight of my wretchedness.
Saint Teresa of Avila
The Book of Her Life, ch. 22, no. 11
Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.
Featured image: Photographer Ángel Cantero from the Archdiocese of Valladolid captured this close-up image of a historic statue of Saint Teresa — wearing her white mozetta and doctoral biretta with white tassels, which in Spain signify a doctorate in theology. The Discalced Carmelite nuns of Valladolid (founded 1568) placed the statue in the courtyard outside the doors of their monastery chapel for the veneration of the faithful on St. Teresa’s feast day, 15 October 2013. | Photo credit: Iglesia en Valladolid (Some rights reserved)
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