ST. TERESA OF JESUS

I like to think of Teresa of Jesus as a diamond, many faceted and beautiful. 

It is said that when she was a young girl, both she and her brother, ran away to become martyrs in the conflict with the Moors. Their uncle saw them on the road and intervened in their plans. Teresa had deep desires even as a young child.

Chris de Silva composed a song called Belong. The lyrics are:

You are my light and my salvation.

Whom should I fear, and why should I be afraid?

My shelter, my refuge, my protection, God’s holy light.

I belong to you. I belong to you, my God. I belong to you. I belong to you, my God.

I gaze on the beauty of my Saviour.

One thing I ask, one thing of my Lord, I seek.

To live in the house of my redeemer, God’s safe embrace,

I belong to you. I belong to you, my God. I belong to you. I belong to you, my God.

The goodness, the glory of God’s kingdom.

This I will seek, this place of eternal peace.

I wait for my God, my hope, my freedom, God’s saving grace. 

I belong to you. I belong to you, my God. I belong to you. I belong to you, my God.

I believe that Teresa of Jesus could have composed this song. Her relationship with God was deeply personal and it motivated what she did, who she wanted to be. There is a quote in several books that says that one day Teresa was travelling along in a donkey cart and the cart got stuck in a mud puddle and Teresa fell out of the cart. She said she experienced the voice of God in that moment saying, “This is how I treat my friends.” Teresa’s response was “That’s why you don’t have many.” Only someone with a loving trusting relationship could respond this way.

A prayer attributed to Teresa is this one. Let us pray it today in honour of her devotion to God:

Christ has no body now but yours.

No hands, no feet on earth but yours.

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.

Amen.

Pat Carter, CSJ is a disciple, a teacher and an advocate for the poor. She has been a Sister of St. Joseph for more than half of her life and loves to use words to inspire faith and laughter. She is a cantor at her parish of St. Jerome’s in Sault Ste. Marie.