Quote of the day, 13 July: St. Teresa of the Andes

Let us praise the Lord and give Him thanks for the great favor He has bestowed on your little daughter. I have permission, and with God’s help, I will fly to the dear little dovecote on May 7.

My father gave me his permission last Sunday. Saint Joseph was the one who wrought this miracle.

Yesterday, I went to Communion for the first time since receiving his permission. I assure you that I could not keep from weeping in the face of such a great favor from my dear Jesus. I am at the peak of happiness and pain.

When I consider the favor Our Lord granted me and on the other hand, when I see my misery and unworthiness, I am filled with confusion. Then, I throw myself into the arms of the One who is all mercy and, casting myself there, remain completely surrendered to my celestial Bridegroom.

He does everything in me. All I do is love Him and this so imperfectly. I love Him and for Him I am going to give up everything. That everything, however, is such a small thing in comparison with the everything of His love.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 80

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: St. Teresa of the Andes is depicted in this collage against the backdrop of the Chilean Andes. Image credit: Carmelite Quotes

#familyLife #Jesus #mercy #StTeresaOfTheAndes #vocation

13 July: Saint Teresa of Jesus Fernández Solar (Not observed in 2025)

July 13
SAINT TERESA OF JESUS FERNÁNDEZ SOLAR
Virgin

Memorial
In the houses in Chile: Feast

Pastoral note: In the year 2025, this Memorial gives way to the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Juanita Fernández Solar was born at Santiago, Chile, on July 13, 1900. From her adolescence she was devoted to Christ. She entered the monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns at Los Andes on May 7, 1919, where she was given the name of Teresa of Jesus. She died on April 12 of the following year after having made her religious profession. She was beatified on April 3, 1987, at Santiago, Chile, and canonized on March 21, 1993, by Saint John Paul II and proposed as a model for young people. She is the first Chilean and the first member of the Teresian Carmel in Latin America to be canonized.

From the Common of Virgins, except the following:

Office of Readings

Second Reading
Diario y cartas (Los Andes, 1983), 373, 359, 376

From the Spiritual writings of Saint Teresa of Jesus

Jesus alone is beautiful; He is my only joy. I call for Him, I cry after Him, I search for Him within my heart. I long for Jesus to grind me interiorly so that I may become a pure host where He can find His rest. I want to be athirst with love so that other souls may possess this love. I would die to creatures and to myself, so that He may live in me.

Is there anything good, beautiful or true that we can think of that would not be in Jesus? Wisdom, from which nothing would be secret. Power, for which nothing would be impossible. Justice, which made Him take on flesh in order to make satisfaction for sin. Providence, which always watches over and sustains us. Mercy, which never ceases to pardon. Goodness, which forgets the offenses of His creatures. Love, which unites all the tendernesses of a mother, of a brother, of a spouse, and which, drawing Him out of the abyss of His greatness, binds Him closely to His creatures. Beauty which enraptures… what can you think of that would not be found in this Man-God?

Are you perhaps afraid that the abyss of the greatness of God and that of your nothingness cannot be united? There is love in Him. His passionate love made Him take flesh in order that by seeing a Man-God, we would not be afraid to draw near Him. This passionate love made Him become bread in order to assimilate our nothingness and make it disappear into His infinite being. This passionate love made Him give His life by dying on the cross.

Are you perhaps afraid to draw near Him? Look at Him, surrounded by little children. He caresses them, He presses them to His heart. Look at Him in the midst of His faithful flock, bearing the faithless lamb on His shoulders. Look at Him at the tomb of Lazarus. And listen to what He says of the Magdalene: “Much has been forgiven her, because she has loved much.” What do you discover in these flashes from the Gospel except a heart that is good, gentle, tender, compassionate; in other words, the heart of a God?

He is my unending wealth, my bliss, my heaven.

Responsory

R/. I have come to rate all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ: I am racing to grasp the prize * since I have been grasped by Christ Jesus.
V/. I give no thought to what lies behind but push on to what lies ahead as I run toward the prize to which God calls me on high * since I have been grasped by Christ Jesus.

Prayer

God of mercy, joy of the saints,
you set the young heart of Saint Teresa ablaze
with the fire of virginal love for Christ and for His Church;
and even in suffering made her a cheerful witness to charity.
Through her intercession,
fill us with the delights of your Spirit,
so that we may proclaim by word and deed
the joyful message of your love to the world.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Juanita Fernández Solar | Credit: Discalced Carmelites

Catholic Church 1993, Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and the Order of Discalced Carmelites (Rev. and augm.), Institutum Carmelitanum, Rome.

#DiscalcedCarmelite #JuanitaFernandezSolar #LiturgyOfTheHours #Memorial #StTeresaOfTheAndes #virgin

Quote of the day, 11 June: St. Teresa of the Andes

J.M.J.T.
June 11, 1919
My dear Luís:

May the love of Jesus take possession of your soul.

I don’t think you’ll blame me for not answering your two little letters immediately, since my time is not my own. I gave away everything I had—even my own will! I must do everything Our Lord asks of me moment by moment, so that it’s only now that I’ve read your last letter. What a joy!

How happy I find myself in sacrificing everything for God! It’s all nothing in comparison with the way Our Savior sacrificed Himself from the cradle to the Cross and from the Cross to the point of annihilating Himself under the form of bread till the end of time. Oh, how great is this infinite love—a love unknown, a love not returned by most of humanity.

Luís dear, throughout these days I have kept you here with me in this retreat…. How I’d like to share with you what I feel, little brother of my soul. How I’d love to show you the lovely infinite, the horizon beyond creation that I experience and contemplate.

I love God now a thousand times more than I did before, because I hadn’t known Him. He reveals and makes Himself known to souls that really seek to know and love Him. Everything on earth, Luís, seems to shrink, to lose value before the Divinity which, like an infinite Sun, continues to shine upon my miserable soul with its rays.

Oh, if you could go to the depths of my soul even for an instant, you’d see me captivated by that Beauty, by that incomprehensible Goodness. How I’d love to bind the hearts of creatures and surrender them to divine Love!

You’ve never known the heaven that I, through God’s mercy, possess in my heart. Yes. I have a heaven in my soul, because God is there, and God is heaven.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 107 to her brother Luis (excerpt)
11 June 1919

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Andes mountains are always a stunning view in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. The Cuernos del Paine are one of the features that await tourists to the nation’s Southern Patagonia region. Image credit: Adobe Stock (Stock photo)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
When has God helped you recognize that He is living within you, creating a heaven in your soul?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#divineLove #happiness #heaven #retreat #StTeresaOfTheAndes

Marie du jour, 28 May: St. Teresa of the Andes

From the solitude of my cell, I will pray for you to the Virgin so idolized, that she may reveal herself as a true Mother for the brother I love so much.

United in thought here on earth, our united souls will find themselves together again forever there in heaven after this sorrowful exile has ended.

Then we’ll understand the value of our separation during this time of exile, which will have won our eternal communion there in that homeland where there’s true life.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 81 to her brother, Luis
14 April 1919

Note: Luis (affectionately known as “Lucho”) was the beloved brother and confidant of St. Teresa of the Andes. The two were inseparable during childhood and adolescence, and he cherished her deeply. Lucho was also a friend of St. Alberto Hurtado, the renowned Chilean Jesuit. Luis testified at two sessions during his sister’s beatification process, offering vivid personal memories that many found moving. The three surviving letters Teresa wrote to him are considered among her most beautiful and profound.

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This striking image of Chile’s national patroness, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, was taken on her feast day, 16 July 2010. The feast is celebrated at the Votive Temple of Maipú, beloved by Chileans. The statue of the Virgin of Carmel is the focal point of the basilica, consecrated by St. Paul VI on 23 November 1974—nearly 70 years after the original votive church, commissioned by General Bernardo O’Higgins, was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Image credit: Municipalidad de Maipú / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How do I entrust those I love to the care of the Blessed Virgin—especially in times of separation or suffering?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#CarmelOfLosAndes #familyLife #OurLadyOfMountCarmel #solitude #StTeresaOfTheAndes #vocation

Quote of the day, 11 May: St. Teresa of the Andes

You who created me, save me. Since I’m unworthy to pronounce Your most sweet name because it would bring me consolation, I dare, being annihilated, to implore Your infinite mercy.

Yes, I’m ungrateful. I acknowledge this. I’m a rebellious bit of dust. I’m a criminal nothingness.

But are You not the Good Shepherd? Are You not the One who came in search of the Samaritan woman to give her eternal life? Aren’t You the One who defended the adulterous woman and the One who wiped away the tears of Mary the sinner?

It’s true that they knew how to respond to your tender looks. They recognized Your words of life. And I—how many times have I not been transported by Your love, how many times have I not felt Your Heart beating without my own by listening to Your melodious accents—yet still I don’t love You.

But pardon me. Remember that I’m a criminal nothingness, that I’m only capable of sin.

Oh, my adored Jesus, by Your divine Heart, forget my ungratefulness and take me to Yourself completely. Free me from all that’s going on around me. May I live by always contemplating You. May I live submerged in Your love, so that it will consume my miserable being and transform me into You.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Prayer, Retreat of September 1919

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Good Shepherd is an oil on canvas painting by American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859–1937), which was created ca. 1902–1903. It is part of the Art of the Americas collection at Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University. Image credit: Google Arts & Culture via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
Do I trust the Good Shepherd enough to let His mercy consume and transform my whole life?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#dust #love #mercy #prayer #repentance #retreat #sin #StTeresaOfTheAndes #tenderness

Marie du jour, 7 May: St. Teresa of the Andes

Carmel presents itself with all the attractions needed to fill my soul. Besides, Our Lord has manifested to me so many times that I am to become a Carmelite.

When I’m in prayer, Our Lord tells me that He has chosen me for that life which is so perfect and so filled with union with Himself because He loves me greatly among those chosen by his Divine Heart.

To Magdalene, He said, “You have chosen the better part,” although Martha served Him with love.

The Most Holy Virgin, my Mother, was a perfect Carmelite. She always lived contemplating her Jesus, suffering and loving Him.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Her Intimate Spiritual Diary, 47 (1919)

The Annunciation
Alexander Murashko (Ukrainian, 1875 – 1919)
Oil on canvas, 1909
National Art Museum of Ukraine

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How can I imitate Mary’s contemplative love—suffering and loving Jesus as she did?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#BlessedVirginMary #Carmelite #contemplation #love #perfection #silence #solitude #StTeresaOfTheAndes #suffering

Quote of the day, 15 April: St. Teresa of the Andes

I want you to know that I’d give anything to preach to the whole world blind abandonment into God’s hands.

Believe me, I’ve felt Him within me as I work along, since I’ve asked Him for nothing but what He wants and nothing more.

I’ve told my Jesus that He’s the Captain. Let Him give the orders. His soldier will follow Him to death, as long as He helps me with His grace.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 86 to Mother Angelica Teresa of the Blessed Sacrament, O.C.D. (excerpt)
20 April 1919

Note: Father Michael Griffin, O.C.D.—translator and editor of the Letters of St. Teresa of the Andes—comments on her correspondence with the prioress of the Carmel of the Holy Spirit at Los Andes, Mother Angelica Teresa:

At age seventeen, Juanita began corresponding with Mother Angelica Teresa in hopes of being admitted to the Carmel of Los Andes. All in all, she wrote Mother Angelica Teresa twenty letters. These letters shed great light on Juanita’s understanding of the Carmelite vocation and show how earnestly she wanted to become “the perfect friend and bride of the Lord’s heart” (L 51).

One is especially struck by the complete honesty and sincerity with which the aspirant allowed Mother Angelica “to read her soul” to the point that she can say, “Rev. Mother, you can’t complain that your little daughter doesn’t talk to you heart-to-heart” (L 30).

Assuring Mother Angelica of her great desire to enter the Order and to “be able to wear the habit of Carmel with honor” (L 36), she never hesitated to manifest her faults, some of which she felt could disqualify her from this beautiful vocation.

What were these possible impediments to her vocation? For one thing, Juanita did not feel she was holy enough. Furthermore, she was afraid she might not have the health required for such an austere vocation.

There is no doubt but that Mother Angelica was powerfully impressed with Juanita’s letters. In fact, she told Juanita she was a “born Carmelite.” Just how impressed she was can be garnered from a reading of the outstanding Circular Letter Mother Angelica wrote to the other Carmels immediately after Sister Teresa’s death. Mother Angelica was fully convinced “that her knowledge of the Carmelite vocation did not come from her intelligence and reflection alone. These thoughts came, she said, from an understanding which God put in her soul concerning the vocation to which He was calling her.”

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This striking image of Christ Pantocrator—inspired by the style of Viktor Vasnetsov—shows Jesus blessing with His right hand while holding the Gospel open in His left. The Slavonic text and iconographic details suggest it originates from a Russian or Serbian Orthodox church. Image credit: oleg_ru / Adobe Stock (Used under license).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What helps you trust Jesus as your Captain—even when you don’t know where He’s leading?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#abandonment #CarmeliteSpirituality #grace #SequelaChristi #soldier #StTeresaOfTheAndes #willOfGod

Quote of the day, 7 April: St. John Paul II

“I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12)

Sister Teresa of the Andes—Teresa of Jesus, a Discalced Carmelite—is a light of Christ for the entire Church in Chile. She is the first canonized saint of the Teresian Carmel in Latin America and is now enrolled among the saints of the universal Church.

As in the first reading from the Book of Samuel, Teresa does not stand out because of her appearance or stature. The sacred text reminds us: “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). And so, in a short life of just over 19 years—and in only eleven months as a Carmelite—God allowed the light of his Son, Jesus Christ, to shine through her in an extraordinary way. She now serves as a beacon and guide for a world that has grown blind to divine radiance.

To a secularized society that lives turned away from God, this young Carmelite from Chile—whom I joyfully present as a model of the Gospel’s enduring youth—offers the clear testimony of a life that proclaims to today’s men and women: in loving, adoring, and serving God, we find human greatness and joy, true freedom, and the fullness of our calling. From the silence of the cloister, the life of Blessed Teresa quietly cries out: “God alone suffices!”

And she proclaims this especially to young people, who are hungry for truth and searching for a light that gives meaning to life. To a generation bombarded by constant messages and the pressures of an eroticized culture—to a society that confuses real love, which is self-giving, with the hedonistic use of others—this young virgin of the Andes proclaims the beauty and joy that flow from hearts that are pure.

Now, from eternity, Saint Teresa of the Andes continues her intercession as an advocate for countless brothers and sisters. She who found her heaven on earth in espousing Jesus now beholds him face to face, and from that place of intimacy, she prays for all who seek the light of Christ.

Saint John Paul II

Canonization Homily for Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
Sunday, 21 March 1993

Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Photographer Juan Jose Napuri captures this stunning image of Laguna Torres in Torres del Paine National Park, a famous landmark of Patagonia in southern Chile. Image credit: peruphotoart / Adobe Stock (Asset ID# 304107267)

💠 Appreciate these quotes from the Carmelites?
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💠 Reflection question:
Where do you see Christ’s light shining in today’s world—and how are you called to reflect it?
Share your thoughts in the comments.

#canonization #Christ #contemplation #homily #light #purity #StJohnPaulII #StTeresaOfTheAndes #translation #youth

Quote of the day, 16 March: St. Teresa of the Andes

The Carmelite must ascend the Tabor of Carmel and be clothed with the garments of penance that will make her more like Jesus. And, as He, she wants to be transformed, to be transfigured in order to be converted into God.

The Carmelite must ascend Calvary. There she will immolate herself for souls. Love crucifies her; she dies to herself and to the world. She is buried, and her tomb is the Heart of Jesus; and from there she rises, is reborn to a new life and spiritually lives united to the whole world.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Her Intimate Spiritual Diary, 58

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The featured image is a detail from a stained glass window depicting the Transfiguration, located in the Church of Saint-Thurien in Plogonnec, Finistère, France. Created in the early 16th century, the window has undergone restorations in 1912 and 1956. Source details retrieved from pop.culture.gouv.fr. Image credit: Musée de Bretagne (Some rights reserved).

💜 Transformation comes through surrender. How is Christ calling you to be transfigured today?

#Calvary #Carmel #HeartOfJesus #immolation #penance #StTeresaOfTheAndes #Tabor #Transfiguration

Quote of the day, 14 March: St. Teresa of the Andes

Resolutions For 1917

1. To accept sacrifices interiorly without murmuring or being discouraged.
2. I must be more hidden.
3. I must strive to work for the happiness of others.
4. I will try to practice virtue in an amiable way for the sake of others. I must forget myself:
   • By uniting myself to Jesus;
   • In being charitable to my neighbor;
   • In not giving my opinion unless asked;
   • In suffering humiliations with joy by being nice to those who cause me humiliations;
   • By living with Jesus in the depths of my soul, which must be His little home where He can repose. I will adore Him and offer Him mortifications, sufferings and humiliations. To live with God, isn’t this heaven on earth?

To live with Him in unity of thoughts, sentiments, and actions so that in looking at me the Father will find the image of His Son. And the Holy Spirit, in seeing the Father and Son residing in me, will make me His bride, and the three Persons will come to make their abode in me.

I must contemplate Jesus Crucified in my soul. I will imitate Him and receive the Blood of my Jesus at the foot of the cross, which I will preserve in my soul and which I must communicate to the souls of my neighbors so that, through the Blood of Christ, they may be washed clean.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Her Intimate Spiritual Diary (excerpt)

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Discalced Carmelites bear witness to the virtue of charity each and every day. You can find this photo and others like it in our 2020 slideshow of scenes from daily life at Maryton Carmel at Liverpool, England. Image credit: Maryton Carmel Liverpool and the Association of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (by kind permission)

#charity #DiscalcedCarmelite #familyLife #love #monasticLife #nuns #reconciliation #sacrifice #StTeresaOfTheAndes

Quote of the day, 8 March: St. Teresa of the Andes

My goal is to love and serve God. For if I love God, I’ll fulfill His divine will.

What is His Will? That I follow Him and be perfect.

How can I most easily attain perfection? By means of the evangelical counsels: obedience, chastity and poverty.

I must follow Jesus Christ wherever He calls me, since that is my salvation.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Resolutions, Retreat of 1918

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Calling of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio (Italian 1571–1610), oil on canvas, ca. 1599–1600, Contarelli Chapel, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

#Call #DivineWill #evangelicalCounsels #followingJesus #goal #love #perfection #salvation #StTeresaOfTheAndes

Quote of the day, 7 January: St. Teresa of the Andes

Mommy, there’s no need to worry, since I’m always on vacation with Jesus. Besides, from Christmas, the 25th until January 6, we had several recreation days which we might call a Carmelite’s vacation time.

Nevertheless, Mommy, nothing seems to distract a soul that’s searching for God alone. I myself am shocked when I see my indifference over what had previously filled me with enthusiasm. My only happiness now is to live for my Jesus alone. In Him I find everything my soul desires in an infinite degree.

I never tire, Mommy dear, of thanking God for having chosen me for Himself, despite my sinfulness; and may the vocation of your Carmelite always help you to love and praise Him more.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 157 to her mother
18 January 1920

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Andes mountains are always a stunning view in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. The Cuernos del Paine are one of the features that await tourists to the nation’s Southern Patagonia region. Image credit: Adobe Stock (Stock photo)

#Carmelite #Jesus #recreation #StTeresaOfTheAndes #vocation #monasticLife #happiness #GodAlone #Christmas

Advent III — Joy

SCRIPTURE

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
as on a day of festival.

Zephaniah 3:14-18a

READING

“To live always joyfully. God is infinite joy” (14 May 1919).

“When one loves, everything is joy. The cross doesn’t weigh down. Martyrdom isn’t felt. One lives more in heaven than on earth. The life of Carmel is to love. This is our vocation” (May 1919).

Saint Teresa of the Andes

From the writings of St. Teresa of the Andes

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Featured image: Photographer Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. captures this image of a rose vestment and Advent wreath. Image credit: Lawrence Lew O.P. / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

#Advent #Carmel #joy #love #StTeresaOfTheAndes #vocation

Quote of the day, 18 November: St. Teresa of the Andes

What you must strive for is to be more and more with God each day; to empty out your heart of everything that is not Him; to have no other love; not to worry about anyone and, when those thoughts of creatures come to you, to reject them that you may think of God.

Let’s respond to Him with our whole being. Oh, may everything belong to Him from this moment. Let’s live for Him alone.

For this, let’s live in intimate union with our Jesus in the depths of our souls. When we serve creatures, let’s serve Him in them with a love and perfection worthy of Him. Whatever we do, may it be for love of Him. He, at every moment, acts lovingly within us.

Tell Him: “I’m worn out: I don’t feel like working, but I’ll do it for love of You. Lord, everything I do is for You alone. It doesn’t matter whether people praise or look at me, for even if they weren’t there, I’d do it for You just the same. I desire only to be seen by You, my Love.”

Tell Him this as often as you can.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 146 to a girlfriend
November 1919

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Detail from the last photo taken of St. Teresa of the Andes, where she is embroidering a purificator. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#GodAlone #intimacy #love #prayer #StTeresaOfTheAndes #unionWithGod

I am the happiest person with my vocation and never tire of thanking God for having brought me to this little corner of heaven.

I live for God alone. My sole concern is to know Him that I may love Him more. I have begun the life of heaven here on earth, a life invented and thought of by God through all eternity; a life of love alone and of ceaseless praise.

If you could see but for an instant what’s in the soul of this Carmelite postulant, you’d understand the happiness of living always near the tabernacle. Alone with Him in His aloneness, I am there at the chapel grates or in my humble cell.

There is nothing between Him and His creature now. I hear His divine voice always. I gaze on always and contemplate His infinite beauty. I feel always the beating of my God’s Heart, begging me for love because He knows that love contains everything: sacrifice and souls.

Sister dear, without doubt, as Jesus Himself said to Magdalene, He has chosen for me “the best part.” A Carmelite is to be concerned with her God alone. She’s to live, no longer on earth, but in God. She is to move and to work and to breathe far from people, far from earthly things. We are to remember the world but only in order to pray for it and for people but without letting ourselves be influenced by them, without breathing in their impure atmosphere.

Jesus has imprisoned me here to unite Himself with me, nothing disturbing this gaze, this vision of this adorable Face of His which one day I shall possess in its fullness there in heaven. I often imagine that I am like a queen; for while others serve the King in the apostolate of action, I, like a queen, am by His side, listening to Him, contemplating Him, praying together with Him, and joining Him in His own suffering. He exchanges His own feelings with my own, by divinizing them. He surrounds me with His divine light, beautifying my soul with His teachings.

Oh, how good is this Jesus to me, His poor creature. He does not want to be separated from me for a moment. He seeks comfort and rest in my soul. He has made me like unto Himself by transforming me into a host.

Yes, a Carmelite is a host who carries Jesus within herself. She is not the one acting. It is He. He sacrifices her, offers her up in silence, just as He sacrifices and immolates Himself silently on the altar. She prays always with Jesus at the altar; she saves souls but by looking to Jesus. She sheds her heart’s blood by denying herself in all things. She has sacrificed everything for Jesus.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 141 to Amelia Montt Martinez (excerpt)
October 1919

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Image credit for the photo of St. Teresa of the Andes goes to the Discalced Carmelites.

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/10/20/andes-ltr141/

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October 15
Feastday of my Holy Mother, Saint Teresa of Avila

I wrote to Carmel. I asked Saint Teresa to allow me to celebrate her feastday in Carmel next year. Yesterday I spoke with Him; and He told me that three things are needed to come to complete union within myself:

1. I should never speak about myself, or give my opinion unless they seek it;
2. I should prefer all others to myself, and consider myself as the least one and as the servant of all;
3. I should consider the little I am worth and humiliate myself interiorly, seeing how miserable I am;
4. I shouldn’t take pleasure in anything but give thanks to Him when any sacrifice is asked of me.

With my neighbor:

1. In all my dealings with people, I should always maintain a spirit of faith, seeing God in my neighbor;
2. Whenever I converse with any young man I have Him present and see His beauty.

With God:

1. Humble, annihilated before Him.
2. Loving and seeking charity.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Her Intimate Spiritual Diary, 46 (1918)

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: St. Teresa of the Andes before she entered the Carmel of Los Andes. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites, altered with AI tools by Carmelite Quotes

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With every passing day, Rev. Father, I love our Lord more and I unite myself more to Him in everything. All I do is directed to Him with love, since this is the strength that enables me do even things for which I feel the greatest repugnance.

In prayer I have greater fervor, so that sometimes I spend twenty minutes completely immersed in Him, as if in a great ocean, where I lose myself and at other times, as though drawn by His immensity. Then I feel a great desire to be united with Him.

Oh, how good Our Lord is! At each moment it seems I can touch and hold Him close to my heart. So close to Him do I feel that at times, when my eyes are closed, I imagine I’ll see Him when I open them.

Still, Rev. Father, don’t think that everything is joy. I’m in such an atrocious state of doubt that I don’t even know how to make a decision as to whether I should become a Carmelite or a Sacred Heart Sister. That’s why I’m searching for light.

You, Rev. Father, know me well. Since I’ve allowed you to read everything in my soul, you will be able to advise me. I only want to do God’s will.

A Carmelite needs to be united to God and completely filled with Him, but she keeps this spirit; while a Sacred Heart Sister must be filled with God and give Him to souls. She, therefore, needs greater union; for, if she doesn’t possess it, she’ll remain without God and will have nothing to give to souls.

But what terrifies me, Rev. Father, is that I don’t remain united to God when dealing a great deal with creatures. For I’ve learned from experience that by dealing a little more with them, I grow colder in my love for God.

I also think that Our Lord has very clearly made known to me that I should become a Carmelite, even though I don’t know any Carmelites. But I believe this because I’ve already read the Life of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.

What I’m perfectly sure of is, that ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to join a very austere community and have no dealings with the world.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 45 to Father José Blanch, C.M.F. (excerpts)
13 December 1918

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Andes mountains are always a stunning view in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. The Cuernos del Paine are one of the features that await tourists to the nation’s Southern Patagonia region. Image credit: Adobe Stock (Stock photo)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/22/andes-ltr45/

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It is impossible to describe what took place between my soul and Jesus. I asked Jesus a thousand times that He would take me, and I experienced His dear voice for the first time. “Oh Jesus I love You, I adore You!”

I prayed to Him for everybody. I felt the Virgin near me. Oh, how my heart expanded! For the first time, I experienced a delicious peace.

From that time, the dear Jesus spoke to me, and I spent entire hours conversing with Him. That is the reason I enjoyed being alone. He went on teaching me how I should suffer and not complain and about intimate union with Him. Then He told me that He wanted me for Himself, that He would like me to become a Carmelite.

Ah! Mother, you cannot imagine what Jesus was doing in my soul. At that time, I did not live in myself. It was Jesus who was living in me.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

From her autobiographical writings at age 15

Note: St. Teresa of the Andes made her First Holy Communion on 11 September 1910 in the chapel of Sacred Heart private school in Santiago. Bishop Ramón Ángel Jara Ruz presided at Holy Mass.

Saint Teresa’s First Communion Portrait, 11 September 1910. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

of the Andes, T 2003, The Writings of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes: An Abridgement, translated from the Spanish by Father Michael D. Griffin, OCD, New Life Publishing Company.

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/10/andes-1commun/

#alone #FirstCommunion #Jesus #love #mysticalExperience #peace #soul #StTeresaOfTheAndes #suffer #union #voice

Dear Rebecca:

May Jesus always be the Master of your heart.

You must help me with a big problem. I’m sending you the little book of thoughts that Mother Superior gave me; and it’s by Father Avertano. Imagine it! The little dog got in our cell and tore it to pieces, and now I have to return it.

Please, buy me one just like the little red one and copy the thoughts that are in it. It’s like a little letter, and for the pages torn or not there you can look up the thoughts in the little black book because they are all there.

Copy them in the same order that they are in the little colored book, taking up the same space, everything just as it was and with your best small round letters. I need it by August 15. I hope that afterwards you can copy the thoughts in your normal handwriting in another book, to have them to give them to Mother Superior.

Beautiful little Dove, I’ll thank you with my whole heart for this because you have no idea how upset I’ve been about this. I hope that when they write me, they can send me some paper, envelopes and stamps. I can’t write any more because I’m out of time.

How are you getting along at home? Give everyone my affectionate greetings, especially to my Daddy and Mommy. Give Ignacito my congratulations and a great big hug.

Farewell, my dear little Dove. Transcribe the notebook for me with beautiful round handwriting in every way just like the little notebooks they buy. I’d like to tell you many other things, but there’s no time.

Help me sing continually the canticle of love and thanksgiving to Jesus.

Your unworthy

Teresa of Jesus, Our Carmelite

P.S. If you can get the notebook done for me earlier, I’ll be even more grateful to you. Do it for Jesus’s sake. Don’t copy anything but the thoughts in the little red book. The other one is only so you can see the words you don’t understand. Forgive me for the trouble I’m causing you, but I count on you as I do on my own self.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 119 to her sister Rebecca
Around 29 July 1919

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This photo of Teresa was taken when she received the habit, as was the custom in many Carmels at the time. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (Used by permission)

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Discover the inspiring life of Saint Teresa of the Andes, a young Carmelite whose heart was ablaze with love for Christ and the Virgin Mary. Despite her brief life, she left a lasting legacy of holiness. Join us as we explore her story and reflect on her message of infinite joy in God.
Music credit: Sean Beeson

May we always live joyfully. God is infinite joy.

Saint Teresa of the Andes
Letter 101, 14 May 1919

Saint Teresa of the Andes, born as Juana Enriqueta Josefina de los Sagrados Corazones Fernández Solar, was affectionately known as Juanita. She was born in Santiago, Chile, on 13 July 1900. Growing up in a devout Christian family, she was the favorite among her siblings and cherished by her grandfather, Eulogio Solar, who was often seen with his rosary.

From a young age, Juanita attended Holy Mass almost daily and longed for Communion, which she received for the first time on 11 September 1910. Her spiritual life was profoundly influenced by her intense devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Juanita was educated at the Sacred Heart School from 1907 to 1918. Despite her deep affection for her family, she embraced the trial of boarding school as preparation for her vocation. On 7 May 1919, she entered the Discalced Carmelites of Los Andes and took the name Teresa of Jesus. She was clothed in the Carmelite habit on 14 October of the same year.

Inspired by God, Juanita knew she would die young, a reality she accepted with joy and serenity. She saw this as a continuation of her mission to make God known and loved. After much suffering from typhus, she made her religious profession in articulo mortis on 7 April 1920, and passed away on 12 April 1920, at the age of 19.

St. John Paul II, in his homily at her beatification, highlighted her “simple and accessible holiness, centered on the essentials of the Gospel: to love, suffer, pray, and serve.” He emphasized her deep familiarity with Christ and the Virgin Mary, noting, “Her love for Christ, by whom she felt fascinated, led her to consecrate herself to Him forever, and to participate in the mystery of His passion and resurrection.”

For Teresa, “God is infinite joy.” This joy permeated her short life and left a lasting legacy of love and devotion.

The beatification ceremony took place on 3 April 1987, in Santiago, Chile, and her canonization was celebrated on 21 March 1993, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Prayer:

God of mercy, joy of the saints,
you set the young heart of Saint Teresa ablaze
with the fire of virginal love for Christ and for His Church;
and even in suffering made her a cheerful witness to charity.
Through her intercession,
fill us with the delights of your Spirit,
so that we may proclaim by word and deed
the joyful message of your love to the world.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Spanish readers will find a wealth of information on the website santateresadelosandes.cl

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Image credit for the photo of St. Teresa of the Andes goes to the Discalced Carmelites.

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/12/andes-ep09/

#biography #CarmelOfLosAndes #feastday #homily #love #Podcast #pray #serve #StJohnPaulII #StTeresaOfTheAndes #suffer #VirginMary