October 15th - Feast of St Teresa of Avila

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October 15th is the feast of St Teresa of Avila, the first woman to be declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970. She has many writings. Born in 1515 in Avila, Spain, she lived during the Counter Reformation in Europe and she died in 1582.

Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, (March 28, 1515 – October 4, 1582) was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be, along with John of the Cross, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites.




iBenedictines have a very short but pointed reflection on her feast day today:

The five hundredth anniversary year of St Teresa of Avila’s birth has seen some remarkable celebrations but today, on her feastday, I think we honour her best by reflecting on one single aspect of her life: her prayer. It was the leitmotif of her whole existence. We tend to think of her enormous energy in founding convent after convent, her endless letters, her often awkward dealings with ecclesiastical authority, but at the centre of it all, day after day, was that humble, persevering seeking after God. Today, when we must be busy about so many things, let’s make sure we take some time just to be with God. His Divine Majesty awaits us. Let us not disappoint him

Read more about this saint here and here.

Christ Has No Body
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

St Teresa of Avila

"Nada Te Turbe" is one of two virtual choirs produced for the celebration of St. Teresa of Jesus's 500th birthday. The choir is made up of Carmelite Nuns from around the world and is accompanied by the Teresian Orchestra of St. James Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, USA. Music composed by Claire Sokol, OCD.

The prayer — which is more of a sort of contemplative pulse — is this:

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.

"Salve Regina" is the second of two virtual choirs produced for the celebration of St. Teresa of Jesus's 500th birthday. This virtual choir is made up of Carmelite Nuns and Friars from around the world and highlights the internationality and diversity of the Carmelite Order. Music composed by Claire Sokol, OCD.