How God rewarded St. Teresa of Avila’s holy reading and good desires in the beginning of her devout life

November 3, 2021 • 2 min

From Life of St. Teresa of Avila written by Herself, page 23

It seemed to me, in these beginnings of which I am speaking, that there could be no danger capable of withdrawing me from so great a blessing, if I had but books, and could have remained alone; and I believe that, by the grace of God, it would have been so, if I had had a master or any one to warn me against those occasions of sin in the beginning, and, if I fell, to bring me quickly out of them.

If the devil had assailed me openly then, I believe I should never have fallen into any grievous sin; but he was so subtle, and I so weak, that all my good resolutions were of little service—though, in those days in which I served God, they were very profitable in enabling me, with that patience which His Majesty gave me, to endure the alarming illnesses which I had to bear.

I have often thought with wonder of the great goodness of God, and my soul has rejoiced in the contemplation of His great magnificence and mercy. May He be blessed for ever!—for I see clearly that He has not omitted to reward me, even in this life, for every one of my good desires. My good works, however wretched and imperfect, have been made better and perfected by Him Who is my Lord: He has rendered them meritorious.

As to my evil deeds and my sins, He hid them at once. The eyes of those who saw them He made even blind, and He has blotted them out of their memory. He gilds my faults, makes virtue to shine forth, giving it to me Himself, and compelling me to possess it, as it were, by force.

I must now return to that which has been enjoined me. I say, that if I had to describe minutely how our Lord dealt with me in the beginning, it would be necessary for me to have another understanding than that I have: so that I might be able to appreciate what I owe to Him, together with my own ingratitude and wickedness; for I have forgotten it all.

May He be blessed for ever Who has borne with me so long! Amen.

Latest book snippets

See all 518 | Random Book Snippet

Recent Blog Posts

See all

  • Law and Sin December 1, 2021 • 7 min

    St. Paul talks a lot about the law, and that it’s good, and St. John talks a lot about lawlessness, and that it’s evil. In fact, St. Paul calls the Antichrist the lawless one, and St. John says there are many antichrists before the final one. What can we learn from all this?

  • How to overcome temptations November 30, 2021 • 11 min

    Evil is light a black hole. The more you stare at it, or the closer you get, the more you are pulled in. There’s only one way to avoid getting sucked into this black hole: cling fast to God.

  • Biblical words of comfort for those who suffer injustices November 29, 2021 • 10 min

    When you feel like you can’t handle any more of the difficulties God is putting in your life, don’t despair. Jesus is going to rescue you from it soon. Here are some of the promises from the Bible to comfort and reassure you:

  • Thoughts on what Heaven will be like November 28, 2021 • 13 min

    The goal of this life is to be convinced that the Love of God is worth not sinning. And one of the best rewards we will receive, if we believe this and put it into practice faithfully until death, is Heaven. So it’s helpful to think about Heaven and what it will be like.

  • Death and Life November 27, 2021 • 8 min

    We’re so afraid of bad things happening, but that’s exactly what Jesus came here to save us from. The more we love Jesus and trust in him, the less our problems in life can hurt us.

  • How the Saints were helped in bad times, and what they recommended us to do November 26, 2021 • 9 min

    The Saints universally recommend that we meditate on the Passion of Christ, as the best thing we can do for our salvation. It’s also extremely helpful in dealing with bad times.

Books

Movies