Today is Oct. 15, the memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, virgin and Doctor of the Church.
In the Gospel reading for today’s feast, Jesus says: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
St. Teresa of Jesus, better known to many of us as Teresa of Ávila, became a determined reformer of Carmelite order and renowned for her profound closeness to Christ. That closeness was cultivated through both the heights of spiritual ecstasy and the depths of spiritual dryness. Her intimate relationship with Our Lord is an inspiration for us, not only in the moments of consolation when prayer flows easily, but especially in the moments of dryness when God seems distant and our hearts are parched.
In her autobiography, St. Teresa speaks candidly of this dryness: “During all this time I never dared to pray without a book, except immediately after communicating, so that my soul was as much afraid to be without a book, as to fight against a multitude of people.” How comforting it is to know that even a saint as great as Teresa experienced such difficulties! St. Teresa’s reliance on spiritual books was a form of humble surrender. “It was like a guard of soldiers, or a buckler, on which the blows of many thoughts were to be received.” When distractions and dryness threatened to scatter her mind, spiritual readings helped her become recollected, focusing her attention on the Lord.
Christ is never far from us, even when we feel abandoned or empty. The key is to keep seeking him, to use whatever tools — like spiritual books, the sacraments or acts of charity — help us remain recollected and focused on his presence.
In her humility, Teresa did not rely on her own strength to overcome dryness, but turned to Our Lord. In her book “Interior Castle,” St Teresa writes, “Life is long and full of crosses, and we have need to look on Christ, our pattern, to see how he bore his trials, and even to take example by his apostles and saints, if we would bear our own trials perfectly.” In times of spiritual dryness, we may feel scattered, distracted or even abandoned. But Christ is always near, quietly leading us onward. Like St. Teresa, let us always cling to him, the vine.
A prayer invoking St. Teresa’s intercession:
O God, who through your spirit raised up saint Teresa of Jesus to show the Church the way to seek perfection, grant that we may always be nourished by the food of her heavenly teaching and fired with longing for true holiness. Through our lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
My Daily Visitor spiritual reflections are a dose of daily Catholic inspiration from Our Sunday Visitor magazine.
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