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Teresa de Ahumada was born in a town called Castilla near Avila, Spain and two years after her brith Martin Luther started the protestant reformation. Her symbol is a heart an arrow and a book. She was bought up in a religious family of 10 sibliings, influenced by her mother's encouragment to become a "pious christinan".
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At the age of five Teresa convinced her brother, Rodrigo, to run away from home and to find martydom, "...out of love of God....", but was stopped by their uncle right outside the city.
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At the age of 14 her mother, Beatriz, passed. Teresa deeply grieved triggering the deeper connection she wish to make with our Virgin mother, asking if Our Lady could adopt her. As time went on Teresa began to love romance novels and became very vain, worried about her appearence. The picture dispayed is a photograph of Saint Teresa when she was young.
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At the age of 16 her father, noticing his daughter change in atittude and vanity, sent her to be educated by the Augustinian nuns. A year and half later she became ill with malaria and while in recovery her uncle Peter gave her Jerome's letters. After reading these she decided to become a nun, becoming closer to God.Originally her father was not pleased at all with her becoming
a nun, so she ran away at the age of 20. -
Teresa entered the Carmelite order of the incarnation in Avila, Spain. The convenant there was very lax with the nuns and she felt that this was not the right the religious order should be run, as the nuns gossiped and were not focused. In the picture shown we see St Tereas with Saint John,wearing the carlmelite nuns garments.
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Teresa had a genuine need to reform the convenant and became close with Saint John later on as they both worked in the counter reformation. She heard the Lord say to her during her conversion that "you will not hold conversations with men but with angels"
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Saint Tersa didnt feel God in her life until the age of 40 and was then she became devouted and active in the Church
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Experienced her conversion while praying under a statue of Jesus, althought it was considered the next 20 years were a time of semi-conversion.
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Saint Teresa started to practice mental prayer but gave up on it not feeling God in her life. She had suffered a seizure and for 3 years she was paralysed, not continuing to practice her religion, using the excuse that she was too sick.
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During the season of lent Teresa would pray under the satute of a sufering Jesus and when she woke she would feel the presence of God
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After her illness, Teresa started to realise the difference between venial and mortal sin and was consious of her need to be closer to God. Many of her friends said that this knowledge was from satan not divine leading Saint Teresa to begin to inflict mortifications of the flesh on herself.
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Teresa of Avils experienced a rapture from God where an angel repeatedly stabbed a spear that was on fire into her heart. Causing spiritual-bodily pains. This vision motivated her for the rest of her life to imitate God.
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Teresa was convinced wholeheartedly that she was recieving visions from Jesus though he was not visible. She continued to have these visions for 2 years. Teresa was in so much ecsatsy when the Lord visited her that she often levitated.
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When Saint Teresa felt she was going to be levitated into the air -because of the ecstacsy of talking with Jesus-she would call her sisters so that they would come and sit on her!
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start at 1:14From 1560 until her death Saint Teresa founded 17 RENEWED Carmelite convents in spain and targeted the areas where Christianity was becoming rather lax (layed back), genereally renewing the Catholic life. They situated in places like Malagon, Toledo and Pastana. Her books on the encouragemnt of prayer and her work as a leader of the Catholic reformation earned her the honour of being crowned one of the Doctors of the Church.
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In 1562 Saint Teresa of Avila founded a new covenant dedicated to povery with strict obeidence to the monastic rules. She lived there writing books for her sisters. 5 years later she recieved permission to continue to found houses and 9 years later founded many more covenants. She worked with Saint John the Cross to create monstaries with strict monastic rules.
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Saint Teresa formed the convent know as the Discalced carmelites or the barefoot. This depicts a renewed covenants centered around poverty and obeidence. they wore sandals instead of shoes to show their vows of poverty and obeidence
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Pope Pius the fourth finally gave Teresa the authority to found the "Saint Joseph of Avila" convent which she was really happy about.
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Wrote the book "way of perefection" which encourages prayer.
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Saint Tersa was condemed to retire against her will by her adversities, meaning she had to stop founding covenants, but these charges were dropped and she was free to go.
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Teresa was given permission to establish new homes
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In 1571 St Teresa undertook under obedience the responsibility of reforming the unreformed covenant of the incarnation of avila and she sent for Saint John to be its spiritual director and confessor.
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Saint Peter of Alcantara told her that her soul was conducted by God but will continue to be prosecuted.
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Saint Teresa of Jesus died in the arms of Blessed Anne at nine in the evening during her visit to Albe De Tormes. She had recieved a last confession and the sacremnt of the annointing of the sick. Before she died she said "...at last my daughter, the hour of death has come"
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A beautiful quote wjich is said by Saint Teresa was "Prayer is an act of love, words sre not needed. Even if sickness distracts us from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to love.
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Saint Teresa of Jesus is canonized a saint in the year 1622, 40 years after her death by Pope Gregory XV. After her death her body was found sweet-smelling, firm and incorrupt.
