Contemplating Teresa and Thérèse

A few of us (ICPE Companions and W2W Ministry sisters) were involved in the Carmelite Prayer Concert celebrating the fifth centenary of the Discalced Carmelite foundress Saint Teresa of Avila who was born in 1515. We performed in sign language to the beautiful lines penned by Saint Teresa and transformed into song lyrics by John Michael Talbot:

Christ has no body now but yours

No hands, no feet on earth but yours

Yours are the eyes through which He looks

With compassion on the 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…

I really enjoyed performing to such meaningful words yesterday afternoon, such a powerful reminder for me. Then today we celebrated the feast day of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux who is the patroness of my parish church. The two Teresas, Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, or Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, are two saints I admire greatly for being women who lived out their feminine sensibilities to the fullest and inspired so many with who they were, whether alive or dead.  

Both were strong women, wilful in their youth but such giants in their spirits as adults, single-minded in their devotion to Christ. They also underwent trials: physical illness, personal tragedy (both lost their mothers at an early age), rejection and persecution, and yet, this did not change them, they continued to be true to God, and remained joyful and loving women. They were both fearless, even in the face of hostility, and humble, ever conscious of their sinful natures.

The longer one walks with Jesus, the easier it is to get complacent and to develop blind spots and become vain, wearing one’s goodness like badge. Prayer can become routine, and even being good can become so facile that we operate on cruise control and stop truly listening to Jesus and going where He goes. We do our own thing, we chart our own course. We become like the rich, young man, unwilling to step out of our comfort zone. We become missionary disciples on our own terms, picking and choosing what we want to do, discarding the uncomfortable and unappealing. We stop losing our lives to gain new life.

I am ever fearful that I take Jesus for granted, and I stop trying my best to be like Him, and in so doing, I stop becoming. I stop journeying in a meaningful way, and maybe even walk away from Jesus. Because of how far I have come, I know how to be good and I can put on a good performance effortlessly. It is at this point that I stop being honest with myself, and with Jesus. Here is where the enemy can enter and wreak havoc for I have stopped trying to be a better person, to be the real me.

I know I will always have blind spots, but I also know I can rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth, assuming I ask for His opinion and listen in earnest. This is why both Saints Teresa and Thérèse encourage me. They both made time to contemplate their actions daily, to seek God in the silence of their hearts, and they listened with child-like humility and sincere contrition. In so doing they were able to deal with darkness in their time and circumstance by shedding light, and bringing so many to Christ.

Saint Teresa and Saint Thérèse, help me always to believe, as you did, in God’s great love for me, so that I can be His hands and feet in the world, bringing His healing love to all.