St. Teresa of Avila Novena 2022 — Day 5

Reading

O Eternal Father! How much this humility deserves! What treasure do we have that could buy Your Son? The sale of Him, we already know, was for thirty pieces of silver [Mt 26:15]. But to buy Him, no price is sufficient.

Since by sharing in our nature, He has become one with us here below—and as Lord of His own will—He reminds the Father that because He belongs to Him the Father, in turn, can give Him to us. And so He says, “our bread.”

He doesn’t make any difference between Himself and us, but we make one by not giving ourselves up each day for His Majesty.

The Way of Perfection, Chap. 33, no. 5

Reflection

Teresa composed these words as she reflected on the words of the Our Father: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Her meditation on this phrase brought her immediately to Christ’s experience of the Passion and its significance for her and her contemporaries. For her, Jesus is the foundation and model of humility in the spiritual life.

Humility plays an important role in interior progress because through it we come to appreciate and understand the beauty of our souls and our limitations, to gradually cede control of our lives to God in faith and trust, and develop a sensibility for perceiving and carrying out His will, to love others properly, and to accept and cherish the depth of the love God has for us.

So let us ask for the grace of humility, so that we may grow in truthful relationship with God, ourselves, and others.

Father Emiel Abalahin, O.Carm.

Novena Prayer

O Holy Mother Saint Teresa, look down from heaven and see: visit this vine and protect what thy right hand hath planted.

(Mention your intentions)

Merciful God, who by thy Spirit didst raise up thy servant Saint Teresa of Jesus to reveal to thy Church the way of perfection: grant that her teaching may awaken in us a longing for holiness until, assisted by her intercession, we attain to the perfect union of love in Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Our Father…

Hail Mary…

Glory be…

Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us!

All citations for this novena come from the 1985 edition of The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, published by ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer