Carmelite wisdom to encourage & inspire
St. Teresa of the Andes was profoundly moved by the writings of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. “I love her,” Teresa writes in her diary. “Although she was a saint, I will imitate her and be a saint.”
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As the Church observes the Memorial of St John Paul II, we recall his beatification homily for Teresa of the Andes: “God made Christian love blossom in her; the secret of her perfection, of course, is love.”
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St. Teresa of the Andes had an emergency appendectomy on 28 December 1914. Here we read the entry from her diary that describes her mother's December novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux "because I'm very devoted to her."
Even at the tender age of 15, St. Teresa of the Andes comprehended the importance of taking up the cross and following Jesus. But He called her to "take up the cross with love and joy."
Ask the Virgin Mary to be your guide – to be your star, the lantern that shines for you amid the darkness of your life. #StTeresaoftheAndesTweet
In the notes from her first retreat in the Carmel of Los Andes, St. Teresa writes that God "desires me to allow myself to be guided entirely by the Holy Spirit. My life should be a continuous praise of love. I should lose myself in God and always contemplate Him without ever losing sight of Him."
Juanita Fernández Solar was born at Santiago, Chile, on July 13, 1900. From her adolescence she was devoted to Christ. She entered the monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns at Los Andes on May 7, 1919, where she was given the name of Teresa of Jesus. She died on April 12 of the following year after having made her religious profession. She was beatified on April 3, 1987, at Santiago, Chile, and canonized on March 21, 1993, by Saint John Paul II and proposed as a model for young people. She is the first Chilean and the first member of the Teresian Carmel in Latin America to be canonized.
Within the first days of her postulancy, St. Teresa of the Andes made her confession to the spiritual director for the Carmel of Los Andes, Fray Avertano of the Most Blessed Sacrament, OCD. She writes: "I went to Confession to Father Avertano. I give thanks to God for having given me a director so learned and holy."
St. Teresa of the Andes had a lively devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In this prayer from 1917, she writes, "may your Heart be my refuge, my hope, my consolation, my solitude."
On 14 May 1919, St. Teresa of the Andes wrote, "I'm now in Carmel eight days. Eight days of heaven. I feel divine love in such a way that there are moments when I believe I'm unable to endure it..."
In December 1915 St. Teresa of the Andes took a pivotal step toward her Carmelite vocation when she received permission to profess a private vow of chastity.
Saint Teresa of the Andes entered the Carmel of the Holy Spirit in the township of Los Andes, some 90 kilometers from her home in Santiago de Chile on Wednesday, 7 May 1919. The Prioress said that when Teresa said farewell to her oldest sister, she said, "Until heaven! Life is so short!"
The house of Bethany was the delight of Jesus when He was on earth; ; it was His favorite dwelling. There He was intimately known by Lazarus, served by Martha and madly loved by Mary.
We recall that on this date in 1920, St. Teresa of the Andes requested the last Sacraments as she lay dying from typhus. We recall the peace she experienced when going to confession two years earlier.
On Holy Thursday, 1 April 1920, St Teresa of the Andes began to experience the first signs of her terminal illness, typhus. One year earlier she wrote to a friend, "Religious life, my little sister, is nothing but a life of sacrifice. The soul has given itself to God and must give itself entirely, for love leaves nothing for itself; it consumes everything so that from these ashes, one single person may rise: Christ."
"When I love, it is forever. A Carmelite never forgets. From her little cell she accompanies the souls she has loved in the world."
All the Sisters with their veils raised came to greet me with such affection that I was embarrassed. They asked me when I was coming. I told them in May. Then one went to look at the calendar... It turned out the seventh was the Feast of Saint Joseph, and they commended me to him.
"Especially during Lent try to have periods of solitude, silence, and recollection alone with Jesus in the desert. Minister to him with the angels, work for him after the example of St. Joseph in the home of Nazareth..."
For Teresa of the Andes, "God is infinite joy. This is the new hymn of Christian love that rises spontaneously from the soul of this young Chilean girl."
When one loves, everything is joy. The cross doesn't weigh down.
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Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
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