In
this concluding chapter I will present what I consider are the
important elements of her heritage, collated and preserved not only
for today, but constituting also a pertinent legacy for tomorrow.
This is done with the actual state of the Church today in mind, and
is seen under the light of St Teresa's contribution.
It
is true that she was first sent by God for the Church of her time.
But given that, I think that she still has much more to offer to
today's Church, and that time, circumstances, and the Church have not
explored all her riches. On the contrary, I firmly believe that we
could be on the eve of a new and deeper discovery, not to mention use
of the wisdom and treasures that God deposited through her in the
Church. The full richness of St Teresa has not been exploited fully
till now, for a great deal of powerful new energy is still enclosed
in her writings, awaiting our belief in the experience she offers,
our exploration of it to the full and the application of it to many
areas in the Church. I believe that many of these areas are reaching
their limits today, like in a desert that cannot flower without
water. Heritage sometimes – in a very old-fashioned way – is like
an old treasure chest containing the most precious gems to be handed
on by parents to their children. So when we speak about 'St Teresa's
heritage' we mean these important precious rich gems. We need to open
that treasure chest and gather them up.
With
these gems, can St Teresa influence the Church today? Some can argue
that she has already done so to a full extent. This is true. But as
we saw in the previous chapters and juxtaposed on the actual needs in
the world and in the Church today, we can counter-argue saying that
St Teresa's heritage is highly capable of creating a new wave of
influence. What are the elements of this new wave? How can we
encapsulate them? The following elements will outline what the Church
still needs to invest in, so that new waves of the grace of God can
be manifest:
1-
The Immense Meaning of her Conversion
First,
we need a renewed understanding of the meaning of her conversion and
of its repercussions on the daily life of the Church, starting with
formation of consecrated persons and Formation in general. In fact
the story of her conversion shows that one can faithfully live
nineteen years of religious life, and still lack something of
paramount importance: a living relationship with the Risen Lord. We
need to study the elements that trigger her conversion and their
influence on the second part of her life (the most fruitful one).
Amongst the most important elements are: total gift of oneself; the
emotional/erotic attachments as real obstacles; the foundations of
spiritual life (the virtues exercised in a perfect way); the presence
of Christ at the centre of our being (eases prayer); the power of the
the grace of God; and the importance of meditating on the Lord's
Passion in order to open our hearts to his Grace.
By
studying her conversion, we will discover that she had two different
yet legitimate christian lives, one before and one after her
conversion. This recalls the fact that in the early Church something
similar existed:
a-
First there was Catechesis aimed at people desiring baptism. This is
an initial formation offered by the Church. Think of today's
Catechism of the Catholic Church that offers the essence of
our Catholic Faith, the structure upon which it will be built –
or, to give it a more concrete image, the two slices of bread
necessary to contain the ham which will later go to make up the
sandwich.
b-
After a while, having started to live this new life, the Church felt
the urge to offer a more profound teaching, that initiates the
Christian into a deeper level of Spiritual life encompassing the
depths of Jesus' mysteries called: mystagogy, or the ham in the
sandwich. Already in the letters of St Paul himself and in the letter
to the Hebrews, there is an allusion to a deeper teaching.
With
St Teresa's life we learn how Mystagogy is not only essential, but
should also not be dismissed and should be revived and taught. In
fact, all her teaching is one of the most complete and accessible
form of Mystagogy in the history of the Church as testified in her
trilogy: Autobiography, Way of Perfection, Interior
Castle. St Teresa helps us to delve deeply into our Christian
life and to understand that our horizons should be enlarged.
Note:
Please read the Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte of St John Paul
II where he invites the Church to delve deeply ('Duc in Altum'),
setting out the programme of Holiness as the Parish's main programme,
and emphasising learning to pray and praying as a necessity.
2-
Style of Life and Spiritual Life
Since
it is important, even if only as a result of her reflection on her
conversion, a second element should be set apart because of its
significance: the relationship between the style of life and the
spirit that animates our prayer and soul, that is, form and content.
After her conversion, having a new life in Christ, one of the lessons
St Teresa learned is that the way one lives is directly connected to
the quality of the spiritual life one has. This is why she decided
that there was a need to change her life-style to one more in harmony
with this new life. Again, it is very important to understand that
her previous style of life in her first Monastery was not at all
offensive.
Deepening
our understanding of the direct relationship between life-style and
spiritual life is, however, of paramount importance. We live in a
world where we often think that time is at a premium, - a form,
actually, of being enslaved by the concept. In this sense, our life,
in practice (our time) does not belong to God. Lay people think that
this is their problem, but it is one faced by everybody: religious,
monks, priests who also think alike. Time and space, however, are
intrinsic to the human being. Therefore, we need to become aware that
our excuse is an obstacle preventing us completely from really
following – as St Teresa shows us – the Lord. We are putting
other values or excuses above and beyond the Lord. This is where St
Teresa proves to be prophetic.
3-
Goal and Journey of Spiritual Life
When
St Teresa wrote her book The Interior Castle God allowed its
influence to spread. This book is a masterpiece we all admit, but are
we aware of the exact reason? Certainly it is not the first time we
have a master of Spiritual Life who speaks about its goal and the
journey to reach it. But it is the first time that we have so many
details on both of them, as well as provided in a manner that has a
practical influence on each one of us in the Church.
Outlining
such a clear goal for life here on earth, showing that it is not to
be attained in heaven after we die but here on earth; uncovering for
us, too, that there is a life after Union, a fertile life
participating in the work of salvation in a much more fruitful sense,
is, to express it quite simply, an 'atomic bomb'. Even if today
everybody in the Church accepts that holiness is the goal of each one
of the faithful, there is no more popular or precise a description of
holiness as the one written by Teresa, who not only has experienced
it but has also been sent by God to impart her message to each one of
us: here is the way, follow me, do a, b and c and you will acquire
it, by the grace of God. Holiness with St Teresa not only becomes
attainable, feasible, but she paves the way, showing us how to move
forward at each essential stage. This is revolutionary. The majority
of spiritual authors do touch on the early stages of spiritual
growth. However, with Teresa we suddenly discover new horizons, new
stages of growth, new challenges and we are offered a description of
the journey in a very human, orthodox and safe way.
If
this field is explored and developed we will certainly dare to embark
more readily on the journey to holiness and have new things to
discuss, instead of remaining at the point of departure going around
in circles of indecision. If the journey is set out for us in a
secure way, our Christian life will have a motive, and apostolate and
ministry in the Church will start to be focused, centred and
powerful.
We
certainly need more experts in this field!
4-
Clear and Practical Means
Another
amazing step ahead is taken by St Teresa, when she offers not only a
clear goal and describes the journey to reach it, but also when she
offers a fruitful means to progress in a safe way on the journey
toward union with Christ. Her means are two-fold: first, by working
at the virtues, growing in them, practising them in a perfect way, a
heroic and pure way; secondly, by constant daily practice of the
Prayer of the Heart. Teaching in detail how to practise the first and
the second, she never abandons us in the obscurity of this new world.
To be more precise, Teresa not only teaches us how to practise the
three essential evangelical virtues (see previous chapters), but she
also teaches us how to practise the Prayer of the Heart (ibid). With
St Teresa one really feels in safe hands, and that one will not err
when following her advice. This is what God desires and is far
removed from human endeavour – in truth a gift from God to us
through her… rare gems of great practical clarity.
5-
The Secret of the Prayer of the Heart
Within
her teaching on the Prayer of the Heart, it is important to stop and
ponder on various important elements, a salient one being to
understand the difference between the action of the human being (with
the general help of the grace of God) and the direct personal
action of God in him. This is of paramount importance in the Church.
Granted, many do pray. Even the Catechism of the Catholic Church
acknowledges the existence of a new phenomena: prayer groups
spreading throughout the globe, which ironically reveal there is an
undeniable thirst for God. But have they learned how to pray? Do we
understand that prayer could be radically changed by knowing exactly
what God is waiting for us to do? Do we appreciate the immense fund
of graces that God desires to pour into us in order to sanctify us?
Even from St Teresa we learn that there are at least two ways of
attending Mass: one in prayer and one not in prayer (see previous
chapters). Similarly, she illustrates how vocal prayer should be
transfigured from within. Surely the value of this teaching and
discernment cannot be doubted.
In
sum we cannot simply have a prayer group, or personally pray at
random. St Teresa firmly believes that it is necessary we learn
to pray. This, in turn, entails the need for many formators in the
art and theology of Prayer. We learn from the Saint that we can
simply sit still and wait in faith for the grace of God. She reveals
that there are triggers for the Grace of God, and that the main one
is to offer ourselves to God, like a little child.
6-
Spiritual Theology and Theology
In
the light of St.Teresa, Doctor of the Church, what can we do for the
future? How can we go about building it? The following are some
suggestions:
Before
anything else, in order to change the world we need to “change”
Theology, in the sense of reforming it, improving it. We need to
resurrect it from within! We need a rebirth from its ashes of
“monastic theology” or better said “prophetic theology” or
“integral theology” (in the sense of complete, wholesome). If we
examine this more closely, we notice that what really governs the
Church is “Theology”. Our universities, in their secular and
intellectual way, reduce Theology to a dessicated shell of its true
glory! Science is necessary and will always remain so! But science of
what? A study of spiritual life is of the essence. It cannot be
neglected. If we want to reform Theology, we first need to reform
“Spiritual Theology” (or mysticism), for without it nothing
really valuable and lasting can result! Without Spiritual Theology
all that we accomplish is to produce empty sounds signifying nothing:
“If I speak in
the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
(1 Co 13:1)
In
my humble eyes, this is what St Teresa of Avila says, as a Doctor of
the Church, to Theology. If we want any future, we need a theology
that is alive from within, a theology that has at its centre a
meeting, one to One, with Jesus the Risen Lord and helps us to reach
union with him.
If
we want a future for Theology, there is a definite need to pay
attention to the modus operandi of theology: even if it seems
an implicit aspect of Theology (almost unconscious in the
theologian), it is a central aspect! It shapes the way we understand
our faith and how we live it! It is according to this implicit way
that Theology dictates to all of us, from the humblest catechist to
the Pope, how to think our faith and how to act accordingly. Let us
just hypothesize for one moment: if “Prophetic Theology” or
“Integral Theology” were able to rise from its ashes, try to
enumerate all the good things that could be extracted from it in the
Church! This ironically is the powerful message of St Teresa to
Theology: where it seems almost impossible to see this Phoenix rising
from its ashes, she insists that it must. Why? Because the state of
Spiritual Theology today is highly questionable. While, the Church is
the one who guides us, as from above, showering her wisdom over
everything, it is Spiritual Theology that re-forms, re-builds, also
from above, from God, all things, including Theology itself.
Spiritual Theology will be able to beget Theology from within,
establishing bridges between the Church and Theology as we know it
today. By so doing, Divine life will be revived in us, will flow in
our veins and we will flourish.
Instead
of talking about a distant future, however, let us examine a closer
future and stop at that. If we were to decant St Teresa's Body of
Teaching, it seems that the central requirement necessary for today
would be the renewal of Spiritual Theology. The latter is a branch of
Theology, or better said, a level of wisdom above mere Theology as we
know it today. It gives an account of the spiritual growth in the
human being until it is fully realised. With this in mind, St Teresa
of Avila would have certainly rejoiced when the Church renewed the
central proclamation of the Gospel that 'all are called to Holiness'.
But at the same time, forty years afterwards, it is ludicrous to
repeat to the faithful that holiness is the goal, when we fail to
develop all that pertains to this important assertion, namely, to
describe holiness; show the journey that leads to it; explain the
conditions to reach it; offer the practical means to attain it and
finally to develop the shrewd discernment that guaranties a safe
journey! All this should be learnt, taught, transmitted. All these
elements have their own science and wisdom: Spiritual Theology. That
was the greatest part of St Teresa's Mission and the reason why the
Church in the person of Pope Paul VIth declared her
'Doctor of the Church' : 'In the clock of history, we have
arrived at the hour of Contemplative Prayer'. He said as well:
'Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers,
and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.'
(Paul VIth, Evangelii Nuntiandi n°41, 27th
September 1970).
In
order to understand her message more fully, we need as a first step
to take into account the richness of Spiritual Theology and to work
on developing it, to make it known, and as a second step, we should
use this science in order to reform our way of constructing Theology.
This could be a possible starting point for a solid and durable
future. What the world awaits from us is that we become experts in
the Meeting with the Risen Lord! For now, we need go no further! One
starts building a house from its Foundations.
7-
Money, Economy and Providence
In
a previous chapter we have seen how St Teresa's understanding of the
following elements, and her gradual fine tuning of them is unique,
revolutionary and can inspire a dying economy: Time, Work, Primacy of
God and Purity of Heart, Providence of God, Shrewd Choice of Type of
Work.
8-
Apostolate and Spiritual Growth
St
Teresa's approach to apostolate is unique, supported doctrinally by
St John of the Cross, and lived perfectly by St Therese. Spiritual
Growth implies the growth of God's love in our heart, namely, to
reach the stage when our acts acquire, for the first time, a power
over God that they did not have before, required in order to receive
the plentiful graces that are the necessary to obtain the salvation
of Christ on the Cross.
9-
Offer of a Viable Future
St
Teresa's power is the capacity to offer in a chaotic world, with its
disintegrating values, references and traditions, a kernel of hope
capable of encapsulating society entirely. A description of today's
world reveals the pertinence of a new understanding of St Teresa's
message and its capacity to generate a new form of life – not
merely a movement in the Church, not a new order, but a new way of
being.
One
has only to look at today's world, or rather the negative side of it,
to appreciate the enormity of the task in hand. Loss of guiding
values, is compounded by constant and accelerated change in all areas
of life. Perception of time and its duration consequently suffers, so
that what happens today is totally cut off from what happened
yesterday. Continuity becomes non-existent, as if a force is at work
dedicated to generating chaos in a variety of forms – all this in
order to shake the human being to the very foundations of his
humanity where any form of behaviour is permissible. It resembles a
stronger and more profound application of 'divide and rule' that has
become more widespread, and will generate chaos where opposites are
bedfellows and where all values are shaken to the core. Everything,
it seems, exists for the benefit of the few. Mass media contributes
much to generating the psychological effect that results, oscillating
as it does between highlighting striking short-lived events with a
constant stream of subtle messages, where information is limited and
superficial so that it is of no use and is in no way uplifting. The
resultant effect is to numb the mind, causing it to lose its critical
ability and to encourage docility, producing depression as initiative
is quashed. Individuality sapped, the human being degenerates into a
mere follower, a consumer owing imaginary debts. Fear consequently
results, masterminded in a very subtle way. How can a human being
survive this state of affairs? How can the Church survive?
Paradoxically
(since social media is diffuse) the human being is now living in
great solitude. Now quest and thirst for God seems to be an important
form of relief for this. There is a thirst for wisdom, a vision of
life given from above, on how to put God above all else, not as other
saints do but in a new way, capable of responding to the new
requirements of today's spirit/mentality where the human being is at
the centre. Despite many exterior structures collapsing in the actual
globalisation process, what St Teresa is offering is a viable human
style of life, full of wisdom, having God at the centre of the human
being, and couched in the language of experience so appealing to
today's mentality. Now too, society is becoming increasingly
secularised, constantly straying from the old order and generating
greater difficulty for remaining faithful to God. Time and space are
kidnapped, even more now by the internet and the smart phone, so we
find less and less time and space for God.
If
we take a line going from William of Ockham up until today, passing
through Luther, Kant and Freud, we see that the human being,
especially after the revolution of the sixties and seventies, is
increasingly to be found at the centre of society, subjectivity, the
'I' and 'experience' being the dominant features. St Teresa, however,
illumines this line magnificently giving it a source of real
fulfilment from within, and just as Pope Gregory presents St.
Benedict before her as a 'luminous
star' who in the
words of Pope Benedict XV1 'point[s]
the way out of the 'black night of history' (cf. John Paul II, 18 May
1979), so too does she show us how God can, with his grace
awaken the potential of every human being, inviting him to embark on
a fascinating journey that will give an aim and sense to his life,
and will finally realise the great privilege of union with Christ.
This is what will continue the life of Jesus on earth. To repeat: if
with the human being, the 'I' has now become the centre of society,
God through St Teresa imparts a new message: God alone is at the
centre of the human being... From that inner central point, a new Way
will blossom.... a Way that leads to real fulfilment, for both 'a
new spiritual and cultural unity will result, that of the Christian
faith shared by the peoples of the Continent.' (Pope Benedict XV1)
It was St Teresa who mapped out the journey, and by so doing she
mapped out a possible new world for us, a world in which the Church
especially can be renewed. It is within the coordinates of her map
that the future is possible. Outside of it chaos reigns.
Conclusion
In
conclusion what can we say about the message of St Teresa and the
heritage she bequeaths to us? As intimated before, what can we learn
from her? From what she left us, what should continue? And in which
way? What can her impact be on the Church of today and tomorrow?
These are the questions that we should attempt to answer in a
practical way.
For
a start it should be recognised that within a few decades the world
has truly morphed from an “ancient” form into a new and different
one. The make-up of people has changed. Indeed it has yet to be
finalised and this end result will depend also on the individual's
contribution. Therefore in order to reply to the above questions,
“heritage” or “contribution” need to be defined, namely, the
entire body of graces granted by the Lord to the Church and the world
through St Teresa needs definition, in order to ensure validity for
today and tomorrow. If it were possible to look objectively at the
elements that compose today's culture and the essential elements of
St Teresa's heritage, without the pretence of being prophets, we
might have a clearer and more mature vision of the future.
Returning
to the description Pope Benedict makes of the world at the juncture
between the Vth and the VIth centuries, some
similarities with our time are soon found. In both times a world was
in a state of collapse. Then, too, we ourselves are as yet unable to
envisage the world that will emerge as we are participants in the
process. History is always marked by the birth of forms, that reach
their peek, fall and finally disappear. These forms (cultural,
political, social, religious,...) are not a goal in themselves but
the result of the synchronicity of effort and spirit. They inspire
the driving-force behind many acts and give voice to the spirit. What
matters most is the identity of the form, its very spirit embodied in
those called to perform the task. Thus, in Teresa's case, if we look
closer at the work the Lord called her to do for the Order of his
Mother, the Carmelite Order, we will note that it contains clear and
defined elements on four different but complementary levels:
Legislative (Constitutions; Procedure when visiting a
monastery,..); on daily life (Way of Perfection,...); on
Spiritual life, interior life (Autobiography, Way of Perfection,
Interior Castle,...); plus the expansion, the missionary
dimension (Foundations). Here the consensus of opinion would
be that this set is complete and homogeneous. In fact her input and
heritage encompass not only one point – the “spiritual” for
example. This is absolutely not the case! Her influence and teaching
cover all the areas external to the interior life.
In
this light, then, when Pope Paul VIth said in 1970 that
'in the clock of history, the hour of Contemplative Prayer ha[d]
struck', we should not fall into the trap of understanding
Contemplative Prayer in an ethereal way, not of this world. As we
have said many times before: there is 'Contemplative Prayer' and
there a life of prayer the rest of the day. It is timely to remember
here that mental prayer without a 'life of prayer' is
non-productive. A 'life of prayer' is composed of different
concentric circles which have 'Mental Prayer' as their centre -
meeting the Risen Lord one to One, living with Him. Mental prayer
without commitment to the growth of the virtues (see Way of
Perfection) will lead only to stagnation for the individual! And
we know that in spiritual life if we fail to grow, we slide back on a
journey that is at best haphazard! So too, mental prayer, will never
be effective if it fails to expand to include the missionary
dimension, the foundation of a prayerful spirit and life-style, not
to mention prayer for the Church, as well as, last but not least,
prayer for priests!
______________
Extract
from the Pope's Homily for the Doctorate of St Teresa of Avila, 27th
of September 1970:
'The
Message of Contemplative Prayer
The
title of 'Doctor,' bestowed on St Teresa today, will ensure that the
light she exudes will envelop us more brightly and penetrate more
deeply.This light is the message of Contemplative Prayer!
It
comes to us, children of the Church, at a time signalled by the great
effort to reform and renew liturgical prayer; it comes to us, while
we are being overcome by the overwhelming attractiveness of earthly
delights, by their loud clamour and by our desire to be involved in
the external world and surrender to the 'busyness' of modern life, to
the detriment of the true treasures of our soul. This light comes to
us, children of our time, at a point when not only the habit of
having a dialogue with God is being eroded, but also the sense of the
need and duty to adore and invoke Him. The message of contemplative
prayer – the song and music of the spirit impregnated by grace and
opened to the dialogue of faith, hope and love – is making itself
known, at a time when psychoanalytical exploration is undermining the
fragile and complicated instrument that we are, and is failing to
recognise the voice of suffering and redeemed humanity, concentrating
purely on the confused whispers of our sensual subconscious with its
corroding passions and its desperate pain. The sublime and simple
message of contemplative prayer according to the wisdom of Teresa now
comes to us, exhorting us to understand 'what
great blessings God grants to a soul when He prepares it to love the
practice of prayer;... mental prayer, in [her] view, is nothing but
friendly intercourse, and frequent solitary converse, with Him Who we
know loves us' (Life 8:4-5).'
'O
Eternal Father, through the powerful intercession of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, pour down your manifold graces up each and every reader
so that they will bear many fruits to the glory of your name. This
book and its readers I most humbly entrust to Her care.'
