After Jusepe de Ribera, Santa Teresa de Ávila (detail), ca. 17th century — Source
St. Teresa of Jesus, who didst forever glorify the name Teresa
The month of October celebrates three Teresas, namely; St. Teresa of Avila (also known as Teresa of Jesus), St. Therese of Lisieux (popularly known as the ‘little flower’ or Therese of the child Jesus), and Bl Maria Teresa Tauscher (Maria Teresa of St. Joseph). They continue to enrich the spiritual life of the church in various capacities; as founders, as doctors of prayer and as teachers of the interior life. How providential to celebrate three in a manner as pivotal at the beginning, middle and end of October. We celebrate Therese of Lisieux every 1st of October, Teresa of Avila, on the 15th of October and Teresa Tauscher, on the 30th of October. Musing on the great legacy of the ‘Big Teresa’ of Avila as a mystic and [cloistered]warrior of the counter-reformation would leave one to wonder whether others ‘Teresas’ after were footnotes to this noble name. It is therefore not overstating to share the month of October with Our Lady as a “Teresian month”.
* Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582), or Teresa of Jesus, Spaniard, founder of the Discalced Carmelites, and Doctor of the Church
Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart (1747–1770), an Italian Discalced Carmelite
Theresa of Saint Augustine (1752–1794), Discalced Carmelite and martyr
Thérèse Couderc (1805–1885), co-founder of the Sisters of the Cenacle
* Maria Teresa of St. Joseph (1855–1938), founder of the Carmelite Daughters of the Divine Heart of Jesus
* Therese of Lisieux (1873–1897), or Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, French Discalced Carmelite nun, and Doctor of the Church
Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891–1942), German Discalced Carmelite
Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes (1900–1920), Chilean Discalced Carmelite
Mother Teresa, (“Teresa of Calcutta”) (1910–1997), founder of the Missionaries of Charity
The extent of our Holy Mother Teresa’s (in the Carmelite Order) influence on subsequent generations seems to make a case for the rather zealous assumption by St. Paul as a model; “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” (1 Cor 11:1) Like St. Paul, Teresa life commands such admiration concretized in several imitation. Her legacy consists in reinstating the place of friendship and intimacy with the Sacred Humanity of Christ at the heart of the Church’s Spiritualities. This transformed the landscape of prayer as an intimate relationship between friends, as intended by the biblical witnesses, which anchors the true meaning of Carmel as a garden. The figure of Mount Carmel (as an orchard or garden of God in Hebrew) exists as a constant invitation to awareness, wonder and beauty of the presence of God even more evident in the Divine indwelling. Carmel is also a figure of the heart, cultivated and watered by the ascetic and formative action of the spirit through pondering the Law of God (cf. Lk. 2:19) in silence and solitude. The Carmelite Spirituality is thus at the heart of the Church’s prophetic and Marian character, traditionally claimingspiritual (and even historical) roots going back to the biblical figures of Mary and Elijah.
In the sixteenth century after several attempts at reforming this great order of Mary, St. Teresa, a true daughter of the Church didst give the church a new impetus to the Carmelite being of “unceasing prayer” as an intimate sharing between friends (Life 8:5). The testimony of her life is a stronger inducement than the rich body of writings, which forever glorifies the name Teresa. She was a landmark to the great re-awakening: “Fix your eyes always on the race from which we have sprung—the race of those holy prophets. How many saints we have in Heaven who wore this habit! Let us, with a holy boldness, and with the help of God, dare to be like them.” (Foundations Ch. 29) At the end of her life, she gave thanks to God for she was and died a “Daughter of the Church”, (Foundations, Appendix), a theme Blessed Marie-Eugene, of the child Jesus would use to synthesize the Legacy of our Holy Mother Teresa – I am a daughter of the Church.
St. Therese of Lisieux is regarded as the “daughter of Teresa.” She becomes a progeny of our holy mother by emphasizing an aspect of ‘confidence’ germinal in St. Teresa of Avila’s teachings. Thérèse was born at Alençon in 1873. At a tender age, her parents familiarized her with the love of her saintly patroness. ‘I was then five and a half, and after that time I was able to understand and appreciate all instructions. If St. Teresa was mentioned, my Father would bend down and whisper to me: “Listen attentively, little Queen, he [preacher] is speaking of your holy patroness.” I really did listen attentively,’ She said. [Story of a Soul, Ch II]At age fifteen, she joined the Carmel at Lisieux. Upon a visit to Carmel in Lisieux, she writes, ‘I knew that there was already a Sister Teresa of Jesus (of Avila); nevertheless, my beautiful name of Thérèse could not be taken from me. Suddenly I thought of the Child Jesus whom I loved so dearly, and I felt how much I should like to be called Teresa of the Child Jesus. I was careful not to tell you of my wish, dear Mother, yet you said to me, in the middle of our conversation: “When you come to us, little one, you will be called ‘Teresa of the Child Jesus.” My joy was great indeed. This happy coincidence of thought seemed a special favour from the Holy Child.’ [Story of a Soul, Ch IV]. Pope Pius X famously described Thérèse of Lisieux as “the greatest saint of modern times,”[1] for her “little way” of confidence and absolute self-surrender as a holocaust of divine love. Her autobiography, the ‘Story of a Soul’ remains a classic testament to a genuine, honest struggle in the spiritual journey. She charts a spiritual path for our modern times, through small ways of making love tangible.
Thérèse remains one of the church’s most appealing saints and the youngest doctor of the Church alongside great spiritual masters like Holy Mother Teresa. Therese’s mission to the world expresses such great confidence in God; again, as a prophetic witness to spiritual intimacy. “I feel that my mission is about to begin,” She said, “my mission of making others love God as I love him. My Mission is to teach my little way to souls. If God answers my request, my heaven will be spent on earth up until the end of the world. Yes! I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.” This sort of resonates with the sentiments of Sr. Jeanne Marguerite, OCD, that “the zeal of a Carmelite embraces the whole world.” To a generation that is unresponsive to the divine promptings and invitation to make tangible their love for God, Christ rather delights in the littleness of the simple and reveals his wisdom to such as these.
To wrap up the Teresian month is Bl Maria Teresa of St. Joseph (1855–1938), foundress of the Carmelite Daughters of the Divine Heart of Jesus. Maria Teresa Tauscher, formerly named, Anna Maria Tauscher van den Bosch was born in 1855 in Sandow, Brandenburg (now in Poland), the daughter of a Lutheran pastor. At a young age, she was attracted to the Catholic Church. While serving as Director of Nursing at a mental hospital in Berlin, her desires were realised; she made her profession of faith on 30th October 1888. While learning more about the new faith, she read the autobiography of St. Teresa and understood that her vocation was profoundly Carmelite and one of service to the poor. In 1906, she received permission to establish the religious institute – “Carmel of the Divine Heart of Jesus”, taking the name Maria Teresa of St Joseph. She died in the odour of sanctity, on 20 September 1938 and was beatified on 13 May 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI. Another convert to Christianity worth highlighting is St. Teresa Benedict of the Cross (also known as Edith Stein). The most significant and life-changing moment for Edith a Jew turned atheist was her reading the “Life” of St. Teresa of Avila’s in the summer of 1921. From that moment on Edith knows she is a daughter of Teresa and that it is in Teresa’s wisdom and teaching that she finds the meaning and purpose of her life. She said, “When I had finished the book, I said to myself: This is the truth.” Later, looking back on her life, she wrote: “My longing for truth was a single prayer.” She is soon to be proclaimed a doctor of Truth.
The influence of St. Teresa still reverberates in our times. The Centre for Applied Carmelite Studies, CACS Oxford-Uk is the brainchild of the Discalced Carmelite Anglo-Irish Province. It is a citadel for spiritual formation, renewal, and growth, drawing on the rich resources of the venerable Carmelite tradition. The words of our Holy Mother Teresa enjoin us to adopt a culture, that shapes all our apostolic commitments towards sustained renewal. “In this house … all must be friends with each other, love each other, be fond of each other and help each other,” she said. [Way Ch 4:7] This engenders the CACS’ seven touchstones and values of; shared friendship, shared prayer, shared wisdom, service, hospitality, liturgy and community. These pledge a graceful experience which ultimately empowerspeople to embrace a contemplative approach to life, their ministries/works and their vocation (as lay, religious or clergy). This Praxis of the Teresian legacy pervades all our spiritual formation programmes, CACS community acts and pilgrimages. This life-transforming accompaniment in friendship flows from the balsam of spirituality that has always had scripture for its language. In our time when there are so much questioning and crisis surrounding the dynamics of human relationships, Carmelite spirituality charts a model for every relationship; from a persons conscious response to God’s initiative, all the way to a union that is liberating and transformative. After all, prayer is relationship.
[1] Pierre Descouvemont (1996). Thérèse and Lisieux, (Dublin, Ireland: Veritas Publications), p. 5