The Mother of all Headaches

"Give me wings to get to the point"

(St Teresa of Avila)

Today is the feast day of St Teresa of Avila, the Spanish-born mystic, reformer of the Carmelite Order and Doctor of the Catholic Church (see earlier post: "The Friendship of God", April 2012). 

Although she produced some of the most remarkable mystical writings, she retained a down to earth manner of communion with both her peers and God. She told her Sisters: "If you do something wrong, don't punish yourself - change!" A lady after my own heart, her reply to criticism that she preferred to eat well was that there is a time for partridge and a time for penance. Although obviously I would prefer a bean burger and a bar of chocolate. One of her most quoted offerings, "Nada te Turbe (Let Nothing Disturb You)", is still popular in Spain and beyond, as a meditative chant, a ballad or even as a Flamenco guitar solo.
The patron saint of those in need of grace as well as those ridiculed for their piety, she is also patron of headache and migraine sufferers! My migraine today is probably due as much to my own intolerance of my neighbours' high-spirits yesterday as it is to any particular clamour they were making. St Teresa's "Prayer for Virtue" is as stoical as it is inspiring: where is it written that saints can't have a sense of humour? I would have thought it was a pre-requisite.

(This little post is especially for Catriona McGlynn and her lovely mum; but also for all those with headaches today...)

St Teresa's "Prayer for Virtue"

"Lord,

Thou knowest better than I myself

that I am growing older and will someday be old. 

Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking 

I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. 

Release me from craving to 

straighten out everybody’s affairs. 

Make me thoughtful but not moody; 

helpful but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom, 

it seems a pity not to use it all; 

but Thou knowest, Lord, 

that I want a few friends at the end. 

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details:

give me wings to get to the point. 

Seal my lips on my aches and pains; 

they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them 

is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I dare not ask for improved memory, 

but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness 

when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. 

Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken. 

Keep me reasonably sweet, for a sour old person 

is one of the crowning works of the devil. 

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places 

and talents in unexpected people; 

and give, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.

Amen."

"Nada te Turbe"  as sung for meditation on retreat at Taize, France (2009)

"Yours are the eyes through which

Christ looks compassion into the world.

Yours are the feet

with which Christ walks to do good."

(St Teresa of Avila)

The Friendship of God: St Teresa of Avila

“Prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.”

(St Teresa of Avila)

I've been sent a beautiful clip of the New Zealand based folk group "Lava" singing "Inner Peace" and wanted to share it on here and build a post around the sentiments. One of the founding members of the group, Amanda O'Connor, was inspired to compose the piece by the writings of St Teresa of Avila. This inspiration is immediately evident.
St Teresa joined the Carmelite Order when she was twenty.  After a further twenty years, she felt that God was asking something more of her. She founded her own convent and monastery, St Joseph's in Avila, Spain, amid a great deal of opposition. Many condemned her as a woman deceived by her own experiences in prayer; her conviction that she had become friends with God. Eventually, the initial hostility subsided. Over the next twenty years of her life, she founded many more houses for sisters and friars across Spain. Teresa introduced a fresh orientation into the Carmelite life: she combined solitude and stillness with community living and the apostolic power of prayer. Her writings are brimming with love and serenity, yet her unfailing energy and sense of humour are also present.
In March, I joined a Day Retreat at the Carmelite Priory in Oxford. It was a day of some friendly chatter, some stillness, some smiles; and much peace. The Priory is set in untampered grounds which seemed to ring with St Teresa's urgings to surrender to calm, peace and joy: some of which I've included here.

Sadly, I've now learnt that Amanda O'Connor passed away last November, following complications with her pregnancy. She was only 39 years of age and will be greatly missed by her husband and co-musician Sean, their two little girls; and by the many friends of their music.

"There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers" 

"I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him"

"It is true that we cannot be free from sin, but at least let our sins not be always the same!"  

"Each of us has a soul, but we forget to value it. We don’t remember that we are creatures made in the image of God. We don’t understand the great secrets hidden inside of us" 

"It is love alone that gives worth to all things”
"Anyone who truly loves God travels securely"

Carmelite Priory, Oxford. Photo: Gigi

"Untilled soil, however fertile it may be, will bear thistles and thorns; and so it is with man's mind" 

"Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life. . . . If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing" 

"What a great favour God does to those He places in the company of good people!"

The Carmelite Priory, Oxford. Photo: Gigi, album

"About the injunction of the Apostle Paul that women should keep silent in church? Don't go by one text only...!"

"Inner Peace"  performed by Lava, written by Amanda O'Connor

"Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All things pass; God never changes. Patience attains All that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices"

Carmelite Priory, Oxford. Photo: Gigi

"Sing, Dance, Praise, Love"

Thank you to my lovely friend Cat for sending me St Teresa of Avila's prayer for inner peace on a rather stressful Wednesday afternoon

St Teresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you

are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite

possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received,

and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones,

and allow your soul the freedom to sing,

dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

"Primavera" Ludovico Einaudi