Teresa of Avila led reformation of Carmelites

Columbus’s accidental discovery of a “New World” unleashed a floodgate of exploration, trade and colonization that drastically changed the lives of people living on the two American continents and affected the people living under European monarchies. The plunder of gold and the trade that ensued boosted the economies in Europe, and Spain in particular. The rush of prosperity, new ideas and opportunities and errant behavior gave the Catholic Church of Rome concern that the practice and adherence to Catholic beliefs might be lost in the process.

Before Columbus set sail, there had been an influx of Moors from Africa and European Jews into Spain and the church had been concerned about their influence on the Christian majority. In 1478, Pope Sixtus IV established a council to investigate the matter. It was believed that many Jews had publicly converted to Christianity to facilitate business dealings but still practiced the Jewish faith. After Columbus’s discovery, the work of the council intensified and became known as the Spanish Inquisition because of torture and the number of executions.

It was into this world that Don Alonso Sanchez y Capeda of Avila reared his family of 12 children: two boys and a girl by his first wife, and eight boys and a daughter by his second wife. Don Alonso’s father was a Jew who converted to protect his family but Don Alonso adopted Christianity and made religion an important part of his children’s lives. The family was wealthy from their business in the silk trade and owned magnificent estates.

Teresa was born in 1515, the third child of Don Alonso’s second wife. During her lifetime of 67 years, important developments occurred in the church in Rome. Unable to get approval for a divorce, Henry VIII broke from the church and took England with him. Martin Luther, a monk and doctor of theology in Germany, was thwarted in his attempts to reform the church from within and also broke from Rome. St. Ignatious of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus, the Jesuit order of priests, in Spain. Teresa joined the Carmelite Order and led its reformation from within by founding 16 new communities. She would become the first woman declared a doctor of the church and also was elevated to sainthood.

Theologians have studied Teresa’s writings, some for her insight into doctrine and some because of her mystical visions and levitations. Nearly 500 years after Teresa’s birth, two women, primarily known for their work in the media, have published books about Teresa.

Shirley Du Boulay was a radio and TV producer for the BBC and covered religious and spiritual topics. Her book, “Teresa of Avila” was published in 2004, and The Times Literary Supplement calls it “A clear, reliable account of Teresa’s remarkable life.” The book was a preferred choice for several book clubs.

“Entering the Castle” by Caroline Myss was published in 2007. Myss has done presentations on spirituality and personal development for public television.

Growing up with all those boys in the family, Teresa could be called a tomboy because she participated in their games and activities. She loved to do Spanish dances and ride horseback. Her father home-schooled the children. He taught each one how to read by the age of 7 and he would lead a discussion daily, often on religious topics.

When Teresa was 11, she persuaded a younger brother to run away from home with her so they could convert the Moors, knowing they would surely be martyred and, thus, go straight to heaven. A relative spied them crossing town and returned them to their home where Teresa was punished.

When the word eternity came up in discussion, Teresa became obsessed with the concept that anything could continue without ending. She and the other children made a game of it. One of the children would call out “forever,” and the others would chime in with “and ever, and ever … .”

Teresa was 13 when her mother died and she and her older sister took over the responsibility of running the household. Three years later, her sister married and since there was no family matron to act as chaperone, Teresa was placed in a school for wealthy girls run by Augustinian nuns. It was a finishing school where the girls would learn proper etiquette and behavior.

Teresa assumed that she would marry but when the school stressed that a married woman must never state her own opinion, she began to change her mind. The custom prevailed that a wife must wait until her husband took a position on a subject and then offered support of that viewpoint. Teresa couldn’t understand this as her father had always allowed his daughters to express their views. Teresa turned to the only other opportunity available to her, and was accepted into the Carmelite Order of nuns at the Incarnation in Avila.

Teresa followed all the rules of the order for 30 years. She was determined to pursue the religious life, not because she felt an attraction for it, but because she was convinced that it was the safest way to save her soul. She had difficulty in the beginning with saying the prayers of the church. For Teresa, God was not a distant being in heaven. She believed God to be within her, centered in her heart. She would constantly talk to God as a loving father, a protector and dear friend.

Her spiritual adviser had allowed her to follow a type of prayer that she called “mental” prayer but that we would call reflective or contemplative prayer today. Occasionally, when she was deep in prayer, she would begin to levitate.

One day, while she was walking to chapel, she had a vision of Christ with wounds covering his body. She dropped to her knees and wept. She continued to experience unsought revelations, mystical experiences and prophetic insights. Her deep interior prayer life was soon to have an exterior component.

Through her discussions with some of the other nuns and patrons, she realized that the convent life was lax and not much different than life in the world. She found herself surrounded by supporters who sought to lead a more structured and intense religious life that would conform to the primitive rule of the order.

When Teresa was 48, she founded the first community under this stricter concept. She limited it to 13 members but soon received applications from other cities and she continued to develop the new houses with approval from church authorities. Her groups became known as “discalaced” (without shoes) Carmelites as they went barefoot or only wore loose sandals to denote their adherence to a life of self-sacrifice.

When Teresa was 52, she met the 23-year-old priest who would become St. John of the Cross. He also felt a need for reform and wanted to start a new order. Teresa convinced him to help her reform the Carmelite order as she was asked to extend her work to the Carmelite fathers.

In l582, Teresa was returning to Avila after establishing her l6th community in the north of Spain. It was winter and she fell ill and died while staying at the home of a patron in the town of Alba de Tormes near Avila. Alba de Tormes has a museum and it is a focal point for tourists wanting information about Teresa.

Teresa would often say, “Where spiritual things are neglected, little by little temporal ones will fail.” She also would quote St. Francis of Assisi who said, “If you want to reform the world, reform yourself.”

XDr. Agnes Martinko is a member of St. Edward Church, Youngstown.