Although Teresa had extraordinary experiences of God, she taught that ordinary prayer, like an intimate conversation with a friend, was available to all. All that was necessary was to bring one’s full self to God, in weakness as well as strength. Teresa also valued the Eucharist when Christ comes close in the eating and drinking of his body and blood. Her deep desire, and one of the reasons she wrote theology, was to convince her readers of this truth and embolden them to open themselves to this destiny.
—from Accidental Theologians: Four Women Who Shaped Christianity
by Elizabeth Dreyer
