Daily Thought For September 16, 2015
Encouragement from St. Teresa of Avila
The grace of the Holy Spirit be with your charities, my daughters and sisters. You should know that I have never loved you as much as I do now, nor have you ever been so obliged to serve the Lord, for He has given you the great favor of being able to taste something of His cross and share in the terrible abandonment that He endured on it. Happy the day you entered that house where such a fortunate event was reserved for you! I envy you very much, and indeed when I learned of all those changes—for everything was carefully communicated to me—and that they wanted to expel you from that house and about other details, I felt the greatest interior joy. I saw that, without your having crossed the sea, our Lord revealed to you mines containing eternal treasures. Through these, I hope in the Lord, you will be left very rich and able to share with those of us who are here. For I believe that He will enable you to bear all without you offending Him in any way. Don’t be afflicted that you feel it very much, for the Lord would want you to understand that you are not capable of as much as you thought when you were once so desirous of suffering.
Courage, courage, my daughters. Remember that God does not give anyone more trials than can be suffered and that His Majesty is with the afflicted (cf. 1 Cor 16:13). For this is certain, there is no reason to fear but to hope in His mercy. He will reveal the whole truth; and some machinations, which the devil kept hidden so as to create a disturbance, will be made known. This was more painful for me than all that is happening now. Prayer, prayer, my sisters, and now let humility shine forth.…
Oh, what a good time it is for gathering fruit from the resolutions you made to serve our Lord. Consider that often He desires to have proof that our works are in conformity with our resolutions and words. Bring honor to the daughters of the Blessed Virgin, your sisters, in this great persecution, for if you help one another, the good Jesus will help you. Even though He sleeps at sea, when the storm gathers strength He calms the winds (cf. Mt 8:25–26). He wants us to ask of Him, and He loves us so much that He is always looking for ways to be of benefit to us. May His name be blessed forever, amen, amen, amen.
In all these houses they are urgently praying to God for you, and so I hope in His goodness that He will soon provide the remedy for everything. So strive to be joyful and reflect that, if carefully considered, all that is suffered for so good a God, who suffered so much for us, is small, for you have not reached the point of shedding your blood for Him. You are among your sisters and not in Algiers. Let your Spouse act and you will find that it won’t be too long before the sea will swallow up those who wage war on us in the manner of King Pharaoh (cf. Ex 14:28). And He will set His people free, and everyone will be left with the desire to suffer again, so great will be the gain they feel from what they underwent.…
Hill, M. L. (2011). Foreword. In M. L. Hill (Ed.), Peace in Prayer: Wisdom from Teresa of Avila (pp. 39–41). Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.