Our Continuing Study and Prayer

with Saint Teresa's Book of Her Life

Recently our community was privileged to have Rev. Michael Woost, a priest of the Diocese of Cleveland, share some of his reflections on the prayer of Saint Teresa of Jesus, as she writes about it in the Book of Her Life. 

Mike recalled for us that this Book of Her Life, published in 1562, represents Teresa’s early experiences in prayer and relationship with God.  For Teresa, mystical theology is living the encounter with God, and as her knowledge of God developed over time, so too did her theology.  Teresa’s later work, The Interior Castle, shows her evolution to a fuller, more mature experience of God and understanding of herself.

What follows are the reflections of several of our sisters following Mike’s presentation.

“In writing the Life, Teresa portrays 20 years of her own life.  You can see the evolution of her thought.  She is not a trained systematic theologian, but her knowledge comes through her experiential background, and her reflection on her encounter with God.”

“For a long period of time, Teresa experienced a dichotomy between the interior and exterior parts of her life.  The life of God and the life of the world felt contrary.  She was coming to know both herself and God better.  Then, her Interior Castle begins with more hopefulness.  In spite of all her external affairs, she is always united with God.”

“What came to me most meaningfully…was that prayer for Teresa evolved.  A prayer that was in its beginning apart from the world became a prayer that was part and parcel with and in the world and for the world.  Compassion, I believe, becomes more than a spoken word or a felt emotion.  Compassion became for Teresa her act and her prayer—one and the same.  So it must be for us.”

“What Teresa wrote was ‘theolgia prima’, that is, a theology based on life experience which evolved over years.  God formed her understanding of herself and God’s self over a lifetime of prayer.  Teresa’s fidelity to prayer began with the struggle to be faithful to its practice.  Her writing shows her struggle to find the language to express her extraordinary graces in prayer.”

“A quote from my recent reading comes from Polly Berrien Berends: ‘Everything that happens to you is your teacher.  The secret is to learn to sit at the feet of your life and be taught.’

“As I ponder Teresa’s Life, I sense that she is conveying those milestones that brought her into profound connection with her Savior, Jesus Christ.  I can reflect and recount in my own life those encounters where God has invited me to journey into a deeper commitment and faithfulness.  I have the hope and confidence that God abides with me through years of maturation.  Just as Teresa’s writings spanned years and her insights sharpened, I am called to have latitude with myself and others.  In reading Teresa I am asked to bear in mind that people have the potential to grow and change during the course of life.”