BIG C CATHOLICS

St. Teresa of Ávila (left) and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Edith Stein grew up in a devout Jewish family, but espoused atheism as an academic, before her conversion to Catholicism. A young woman with immense intellectual gifts, she dedicated herself to a search for the truth. At that time, German philosophy was preeminent. Following extensive studies at major German universities, Edith became an influential philosopher in her own right, and a renowned speaker on feminism. In 1913, she enrolled in Gottingen University, to study under the guidance of Edmund Husserl. There she encountered Christians whose intellectual and spiritual lives she greatly admired. While visiting Catholic friends, Edith came across the autobiography of the 16th century Carmelite nun, Saint Teresa of Ávila , and spent an entire night reading it. The next year, (January 1, 1922) she was baptized into the Catholic Church. After her conversion to Catholicism, she continued to be a major force in German

October 15th, is the memorial of Saint Teresa of Ávila, (1515-1582) also called St. Teresa of Jesus, celebrating the heroic virtue of the 16th century Spanish mystic, foundress, and Doctor of the Church. Baptized Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, she was born into a wealthy family at Ávila, Spain, the third of nine children. In her youth she was described as beautiful, precocious and marked by a spiritual acuity beyond her years. Of her initial formation and temperament, she observed: "The possession of virtuous parents who lived in the fear of God, together with those favors which I received from his Divine Majesty, might have made me good, if I had not been so very wicked." Teresa was 14 when her mother died. Overcome with grief, she asked the Virgin Mary to be her spiritual mother. Despite her pious upbringing and Godly inclination; Teresa’s interest was briefly given to superficial pursuits. Enamored with tales of chivalry, the future saint deigned to write the same

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a woman whose tremendous intellect and thirst for truth brought her from avowed atheism to belief in Christ, is a model of humility and heroic virtue. May we follow her example in fully devoting ourselves both intellectually and spiritually to do the Father's will. Below are 25 quotations reflecting St. Teresa Benedicta's great love for the Church and for God. In order to be an image of God, the spirit must turn to what is eternal, hold it in spirit, keep it in memory, and by loving it, embrace it in the will. ***  My longing for truth was a single prayer. ***  On the question of relating to our fellowman - our neighbor’s spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love. *** The limitless loving devotion to God, and the gift God makes of Himself to you, are the highest elevation of which the heart is capable; it is the highest degree of pra

We know and are convinced that our good mother St. Anne helps in all needs, dangers, and tribulations, for our Lord wishes to show us that He will do in Heaven what she asks of Him for us.  — St. Teresa of Avila Mary herself once said that those who honor her mother "will obtain great aid in every need, especially at the hour of death."

Learning to Love With the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir , (published 2016, by Mercy Press, Wichita, KS, 122 pages) the second book from writer, speaker, psychologist and blogger, Jean Heimann, M. A., is an intimate account of her life’s search for authentic love. Coming of age at a time of social upheaval, widespread religious questioning, and great personal difficulties, she looked everywhere but the Church to find it. Professional success did nothing to quell her heart’s deepest longing for purpose and meaning. For fifteen years she followed the zeitgeist , not the Gospel, distinguishing, but not fulfilling herself. Slowly, through divine serendipity and the Sacred Heart of Christ, she would reaffirm her faith in God and the Church. Along the way, the saints she had venerated in her childhood reemerged to remind her of God’s boundless love. Like her blog, Catholic Fire , her spiritual biography features men and women of heroic virtue who speak to us today. Learning to Love With the

Christ has no body now, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks compassion into the world. Yours are the feet With which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands With which Christ blesses the world. — St. Teresa of Avila

  It is impossible for a person who prays regularly to remain in serious sin; because the two are incompatible, one or the other will have to be given up.  — St. Teresa of Avila Teresa was born in Avila, Spain, in the year 1515. At the age of seven she set out for Africa to die for Christ, but was brought back by her uncle. When she lost her mother at twelve, Teresa implored Mary for her maternal protection. In 1533 she entered the Carmelite Order; for eighteen years she suffered physical pain and spiritual dryness. Under divine inspiration and with the approval of Pope Pius IV, she began the work of reforming the Carmelite Order. In spite of heavy opposition and constant difficulties, she founded thirty-two reformed convents. (See video below for more on Teresa's life.) Truly wonderful were the exterior and interior manifestations of her mystical union with God, especially during the last decade of her life. These graces reached a climax when her heart was transfixed (t

Because I can't say this prayer enough in light of recent events. Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices. — St. Teresa of Avila