St Teresa of Ávila, one of the great mystics of the Catholic Church, was born 500 years ago. Fr Mario Attard, OFM Cap, says that her experience is central to the way contemporary secular spirituality is evolving.

A 1615 painting of St Teresa of Ávila by Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of one of the great mystics of the Church, namely St Teresa of Ávila, also known as St Teresa of Jesus.

In his letter addressed to Fr Saverio Cannistrà, Provost General of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, which is commemorating this great event, Pope Francis thanked God “for the charisma of this exceptional woman”.

Although she lived five centuries ago, her compelling example still stirs in us an interior search for God.

The Holy Father described the Carmelite nun as “a teacher of prayer”. By the latter phrase the Argentinian Pope meant that for St Teresa “the discovery of the humanity of Christ was central to her experience”.

It was by meeting Christ in his dolorous Passion that St Teresa could see him living in those around her. This point is central to the way contemporary secular spirituality is evolving.

For various reasons many are not happy with contemplating Christ’s Passion. They find it so difficult to confront that God had to suffer and die in the person of Jesus Christ.

However, if such a God would not have done so and opted instead to remain in splendid isolation, how can you and I present to Him our pleas when we suffer?

How can He understand what we feel when harsh times terribly befall us? But, because this God walked with us through the valley of suffering and death until He rose again forever, we can confidently resort to Him when the cords of death encompass, assail, entangle and confront us (see Ps 18:4-5).

Many are not happy contemplating Christ’s Passion. They find it so difficult...

St Teresa presents God as our friend. When talking about those who have started the life of prayer, she commented: “Beginners do well to form an appealing image of Christ in His sacred humanity. They should picture Him within themselves in some mystery of His life, for example, the Christ of the agony or the Risen Saviour in His glorified body.

“Once they are conscious of Our Lord’s presence within their souls they need only look upon Him and conversation will follow. This friendly conversation will not be much thinking but much loving, not a torrent of words, much less a strained prepared speech, but rather a relaxed conversation with moments of silence as there must be between friends.”

The more she became close to Christ, the more she understood that her life of prayer can be reached by everyone. She said that prayer is essentially “being on terms of friendship... with Him who, we know, loves us” (Vida, 8, 5).

In a society besieged by a mentality of distrust towards religious and secular institutions, it is important to rediscover once more that God’s mercy is the alpha and omega of our existence.

As fish cannot live without being in water, so you and I cannot live and breathe without immersing ourselves into God’s mercy.

St Teresa’s powerful witness gently invites us to approach Our Merciful Lord, to enter into a dialogue of friendship with Him. There isn’t the need to say much to Him. Jesus wisely exhorts us not to be like the Gentiles who heap their prayers with empty phrases.

What he invites us to do is simply to “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt 6:6). Yes! That is why he reminds us one more time: “Do not be like them [Gentiles], for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matt 6:7)

This great mystic also came to know that authentic mysticism is embedded within the great spiritual family of the Church.

Her last words before dying in Alba de Tormes were: “After all, I die as a child of the Church” and “O my Lord and my Spouse, the hour that I have longed for has come. It is time to meet one another”.

When will I meet Jesus Christ through His word and the sacraments which mother Church makes available for me?

With Christ as my friend and spouse under the maternal guidance of the Church, will I not relive St Theresa’s spiritual experience too?