Vigils Reading – St Teresa of Avila

A reading from

ST TERESA OF AVILA

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If Christ Jesus dwells in a person as his friend and noble leader, that one

can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons

us. He is a true friend. And I clearly see that if we expect to please him and

receive an abundance of his graces, God desires that these graces must come to

us from the hands of Christ, through his most sacred humanity, in which God

takes delight.

Many, many times I have perceived this through experience. The Lord has

told it to me. I have definitely seen that we must enter by this gate if we wish his

Sovereign Majesty to reveal to us great and hidden mysteries. A person should

desire no other path, even if he is at the summit of contemplation; on this road

he walks safely. All blessings come to us through Our Lord. He will teach us, for

in beholding his life we find that he is the best example.

What more do we desire from such a friend at our side? Unlike our friends

in the world, he will never abandon us when we are troubled or distressed.

Blessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps him near. Let us

consider the glorious St Paul: it seems that no other name fell from his lips than

that of Jesus, because the name of Jesus was fixed and embedded in his heart.

Once I had come to understand this truth, I carefully considered the lives of the

saints, the great contemplatives, and found that they took no other path:

Francis, Anthony of Padua, Bernard, Catherine of Sienna. A person must walk

along this path in freedom, placing himself in God’s hands. If God should desire

to raise us to the position of one who is an intimate and shares his secrets, we

ought to accept this gladly.

Whenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led him to

bestow on us so many graces and favors, and also the great love God showed in

giving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us

strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For

if at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our

hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly

and without effort.