Try these quotations on for size: “May God deliver me from gloomy saints.” “There are more tears
shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.” “To reach something good it is very useful to
have gone astray, and thus acquire experience.” “Our body has this defect that,
the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds.” “Accustom yourself continually to make
many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.” “Don't let your sins
turn into bad habits.” “Pain is never
permanent.” “We can only learn to know
ourselves and do what we can - namely, surrender our will and fulfill God's
will in us.”
What a wealth of wisdom!
St. Teresa of Avila was a reformer in Spain in the 16th
century, helping turn spiritually weak nuns into spiritually strong nuns. She reformed her religious order of
Carmelites. She is one of four women who
have been declared Doctors of the Church along with St. Catherine of Siena and
St. Thérèse of Lisieux and, this month, St. Hildegard of Bingen.
Wisdom is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and we really
need this gift in these times. “The
beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Pr.
9:10). Fear of the Lord refers to
knowing our place before God as his creatures.
When we know that, we can start on the path to wisdom. Further, Jesus told his disciples, and
us: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep
in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves” (Mt.
10:16). St. Teresa truly was one of the
wise virgins: “Anyone
who truly loves God travels securely.”
Let us be wise, love God, and travel through life secure in the Lord.
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