Spiritual classic Archives

Cover image of "The Life of St. Teresa of Avila" by Carlos Eire

The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila (Lives of Great Religious Books), Carlos Eire. Princeton University Press (ISBN: 9780691164939) 2019

Summary: An account both of St. Teresa’s life and of her autobiography recounting her encounters with the divine.

The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila, or as it is often known, the Vida, is one of the great works onf the spiritual life, tracing the religious progress of Saint Teresa of Avila and her encounters, some quite ecstatic, with God. It was so controversial at the time that it was not published for two decades. In this volume of the Lives of Great Religious Books. Carlos Eire not only offers an account of her life and the composition of the book. He also traces its after-history of reception and interpretation, down to the present.

Eire begins with her life story. He emphasizes the place of good books in her life. She entered the convent at age twenty and nearly died of an illness. However, it would be another twelve years of convent routines before Teresa’s transformation. This came when venerating a new image of Christ brought to the convent. From here, she rapidly evolved into a mystic, experiencing instances of union with God that included visions, raptures and even levitations. Eire also notes the influences of other mystics, including Francis Borgia and Pedro de Alcantara. This awakening resulted not only in mystical experiences of union with God, but a series of writings beginning with the Vida, and her leadership of efforts to reform the Carmelite order, resulting in establishing the Discalced Carmelites.

The origin of the Vida was less her desire to get her story out than a directive of her spiritual advisors, a kind of confession to answer questions about her experiences. This was the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Her unusual experiences raised eyebrows. It was fascinating to see how the work developed under her advisors oversight, which she heeded, which probably saved her from outright condemnation as a heretic. She had both defenders and opponents. She both remained free while the Inquisition succeeded in suppressing her work.

Eire then walks us through the content of the Vida. He sets the book in the context of her reading. He also discusses major themes, including mental prayer, the Four Waters, the prayers of quiet and union, and mystical phenomenon.

Then he turns to the afterlife of the Vida. Teresa died in 1582. He discusses both the lingering opposition to the work and its spread, including numerous translations. He also traces the representation of the Vida in art, which underscored the rapturous character of some of her experiences. The final chapters explore her treatment in modernity and in post-modern criticism. This includes those skeptical of her accounts, those who psychoanalyzed her experiences, and even Spanish fascists who sought to appropriate her for their cause. The book concludes with her elevation as a Doctor of the Church by Paul VI. Eire notes how her treatment as doctor orationis (Doctor of Prayer) remains in conflict with modern and post-modern readings of her life.

I’ve read Teresa’s Interior Castle but not the Vida. Eire’s account made me want to do so. And his commentary makes this an ideal companion that I’ll want to have on hand should I do so.

__________

Thanks for visiting Bob on Books. I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

The Way of Perfection, St. Teresa of Avila, Foreword by Paula Huston, Translated by Henry L Carrigan, Jr. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2009.

Summary: St Theresa’s reflections on growing in love, humility, and the life of prayer.

About a year ago, I reviewed a different, out of print, edition of this work from the same publisher. The folks at Paraclete were so generous that they sent me their “in print” edition of the same work, published for the 500th anniversary of the writing of this work. In addition to a foreword by Paula Huston reflecting on her own encounter with this work, the translation is one into contemporary English, with instances where the translator changed sentences in the passive voice to active. In reading this edition, I felt like Theresa was speaking directly to me.

The Way of Perfection breaks down into two parts. The first focuses on the spiritual life and how one of those in the Carmelites might progress in becoming like Christ. She explains the benefits of poverty, the importance of unceasing prayer and the necessity that women love each other equally without favoritism, which can wreck the harmony of a house. She instructs on detachment from all earthly affections to focus on the love of God. This includes gifts from family. She addresses answering unjust accusations:

“No one can ever blame us unjustly, since we are always full of faults, and a just person falls seven times a day. It would be a falsehood to say that we have no sin. Even if we are not guilty of the thing we are accused of, then, we are never entirely without blame in the way that our good Jesus was” (p. 57).

She devotes several chapters to mental and vocal prayer and contemplation. She urges people to pray as they are able and that the Lord is as pleased with our vocal prayers as our silent mental praying. She stresses that the state of contemplation, resting in the Lord, is a gift that may come equally to those praying vocally or mentally.

The second part turns to the great vocal prayer of the church, the Our Father. Theresa takes us through the prayer phrase by phrase, mining its richness. She marvels how much Jesus gives us in the first words, “Our Father.” She reflects on the significance of “hallowed be thy name” and “thy kingdom come” side by side, that the presence of God’s good rule on earth reminds us of the holiness of his name. She acknowledges the challenge of yielding our will to God. She tends to spiritualize the idea of daily bread, focusing on the bread of Christ. Perhaps it is well that our need for daily physical bread be a reminder of the need to be daily nourished in Christ. She emphasizes the underlying love of each other behind the prayer to be forgiven as we forgive. “Lead us not into temptation” is not a shrinking from spiritual conflict but our awareness of our vulnerabilities to temptation and the protection of God.

I’ve but touched on the richness to be found in these pages. It certainly did not hurt me to read The Way of Perfection again. I suspect that multiple readings are warranted because, in each reading, we are different people and will hear different things.

_______________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.