Reflect
If I had one word to describe St. Teresa of Avila it would be tenacious. There is a well-known story of her traveling once back to her convent during a heavy rainstorm. She slipped down an embankment and fell into the mud where begrudgingly she mumbled, “If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder why you have so few them!” On a much deeper level, Teresa was a mystic, counter-Reformation author, and a mystical theologian of the contemplative life through mental prayer.
Pray
Jesus my friend,
Fill me with some of the holy tenacity that you infused on your daughter Teresa.
Through her words and actions,
she helped reform the Church at a time it was most needed.
Show me where you want me to help bring about reform
in my community, my family, or the Church.
Amen.
Act
Spend some time reflecting on this prayer attributed to St. Teresa of Avila: “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.” Where do you need these words most in your life right now? How might they be a blessing to you?
