Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Christian : Catholic

16th Century

Spain
(Europe)

Teresa of Avila

Timeline (1515 - 1582)

Poems by Teresa of Avila
Books - Links

Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila poetry, Christian, Christian poetry, Catholic poetry, poetry, poetry

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Teresa de Jesus, more popularly known as Teresa of Avila, lived in a time of turmoil and religious reform. She was a nun in Catholic Spain during the immediate aftermath of the Protestant Reformation, when Spain saw itself as the most secure bastion of traditional Catholic faith and practice.

She was a strong and inspired leader, in a time and place when women were relegated to more passive roles. And she was a deep mystic, who was sometimes seen to levitate slightly off the ground, and her face illuminated.

Teresa entered the Carmelite order of nuns against the wishes of her father. She eventually joined the "discalced" movement within the Carmelite order, a movement that advocated simplicity, humility, and the spiritual life over the increasingly worldly and sometimes corrupt practices that dominated many other communities of monks and nuns. Her reputation for holiness along with her immense energy and practical talents quickly made her a leader of the discalced Carmelites and the foundress of several monasteries. These activities led her into a world of politics, legal battles, letter campaigns, and long periods of exhausting travel.

Like Francis of Assisi, Teresa also suffered from a series of debilitating illnesses and injuries, often made even worse by the treatments of the time. Later in life, for example, she fell down a flight of stairs and broke her arm. It was poorly set and limited her movement. Someone had to rebreak her arm in order to reset it, but an even worse job was done, leaving her essentially crippled and needing aid for such simple things as dressing herself.

Obedience was one of the virtues Teresa particularly extolled. Politically, this was significant at a time when the Catholic world was being challenged by the Protestant reformation, and when many mystical movements within the Catholic church narrowly escaped the label of heresy. Yet obedience, for her and for monastics throughout the centuries, has the spiritual value of freeing the individual from self-will and the trap of ego. In other words, when practiced with intelligent caution, obedience can be understood as a technique that opens the heart and the awareness.

Despite her physical sufferings and the challenges of her foundational work within the Catholic church, she remained supremely dedicated to the mystical life. She shared a close spiritual connection with John of the Cross, her younger contemporary, and was in some ways a mentor to that great poet and mystic.

Teresa of Avila wrote poetry, many letters, histories of her work in establishing monastic foundations, but it is her book on the path of prayer, The Way of Perfection, and her spiritual autobiography, The Interior Castle, that are most widely read and considered her masterpieces.

Poems by Teresa of Avila

	In the Hands of God
	Let nothing disturb thee,
	Oh Exceeding Beauty
	You are Christ's Hands

Recommended Books

	All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, by Robert Ellsberg Amazon.com
	The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila Including the Relations: The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, by Teresa of Avila / Translated by David Lewis Amazon.com
	Collected Works of St Teresa, by Teresa of Avila Amazon.com
	The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila: Volume Three, Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD / Translated by Otilio Rodriguez, OCD Amazon.com
	The Essential Mystics: Selections from the World's Great Wisdom Traditions, Edited by Andrew Harvey Amazon.com
	Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel, on Prayer, by Thomas Dubay Amazon.com
	Gold in the Crucible: Teresa of Avila & the Western Mystical Tradition, by Deidre Green Amazon.com
	The Interior Castle, by Teresa of Avila / Translated by Mirabai Starr Amazon.com
	John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila: A Study in Mystical Psychology, by Edward Howells Amazon.com
	The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself, by Teresa of Avila Amazon.com
	Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky Amazon.com
	Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty, Edited by Alan Jacobs Amazon.com
	Prayers of Teresa of Avila, by Thomas Alvarez Amazon.com
	Saint Teresa of Avila, by William T. Walsh Amazon.com
	Teresa of Avila: Ecstasy and Common Sense, by Tessa Bielecki Amazon.com
	Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul, by Cathleen Medwick Amazon.com
	Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women, Edited by Jane Hirshfield Amazon.com
	Women of Wisdom: A Journey of Enlightenment by Women of Vision Through the Ages, by Paula Marvelly Amazon.com

Related Links:

	Christian Classics Etherial Library: St. Teresa of Avila http://www.ccel.org/t/teresa/ The Way of Perfection and other works by Teresa of Avila in PDF format. Some links to articles about her, as well.
	St. Teresa of Avila http://www.karmel.at/eng/teresa.htm A good, relatively spiritual biography.
	St. Teresa of Avila - Catholic Online http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=208 Another general biography online.
	Teresa of Avila - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Teresa_of_Avila A good introduction to the live and works of Teresa of Avila.
	Saint Teresa of Avila http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/AVILA.htm Somewhat longer biography of St. Teresa of Avila.
	Illuminating Lives - Teresa of Avila http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~gbrandal/Illum_html/Teresa.html Another biography online.
	Poetseers.org - Poems of Teresa of Avila http://www.poetseers.org/spiritual_and_devotional_poets/christian/teresa_of_avila/prayers_and_works/ A selection of poems by Teresa of Avila

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

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Teresa of Avila

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