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Teresa of Avila (Outstanding Christian Thinkers)

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Teresa of Avila is one of the masters of spiritual discipline and spiritual writing in the broad tradition of Christendom, and together with her friend John (St. John of the Cross) is one of the pillars of the spiritual world of the Reformation/Counter-Reformation period.

Rowan Williams, current Archbishop of Canterbury, has put together a beautiful little text that looks at Teresa's spiritual classics and ideas. Williams gives a brief biographical sketch, in which he traces the life of this daughter of a house of minor nobility, constantly plagued with illness, and who entered a Carmelite convent without her father's knowledge or consent (a quite bold move at that time). She lived through the beginnings of the Reformation with all the theological, social and political upheaval that entailed, and often raised suspicion with her own activities, in a world already suspicious of residule Judaism (post-inquisition) on the one hand, and protestant reformist ideas on the other.

Williams' first chapter deals with the ideas of purity and honour in the social world of the time. Purity included an idea of purity of the blood (distinguishing more 'pure' Christians from those who were or were descended from conversos, those who converted from Judaism under the Inquisition - one can sense a foreshadow of later European events here). Honour was of supreme importance in the Latinate countries of the Middle Ages, but Teresa's ideas were more toward the honour of God and how this honour extended to all of humanity and creation. Williams does deal at some length with the impact of Teresa's knowing her own Jewish lineage on her identity.

In Teresa's autobiography, Williams finds trouble 'both in its composition and its consequences'. The inquisitorial censors took a very long time in editing and approving; Teresa's own issues of suspicion regarding her confessors and others who discounted her visions at best, or thought they were demonic possessions at worst, made her loyalty to the church seem somewhat problematic. Still, according to Williams, the autobiography served its purpose to show a crucial stage in Teresa's spiritual development, one that sets the stage for her later, greater works, 'Interior Castle' and 'The Way of Perfection'.

Williams calls 'The Way of Perfection' Teresa's most 'mischievous book'. She looks with irony and satire in many ways at the world around her, particularly at the ecclesiastical establishment. However, this is couched in terms of love and concern for her fellow humanity in ways that were completely consistent with the orthodox faith (if not always with standard practice). Her absolute devotion to the Eucharist is apparent, and it is somewhat ironic, as Williams points out, that while she writes in disparaging tones about Lutheran theology and views of the sacraments, in fact her theology is very close to Luther's personal sense. 'Anything Teresa writes about the Eucharist is that it is for her the one concrete and contemporary sign of the reality on which everything depends - the desire of God to be with creation, at all costs - and is thus the centre and touchstone of all that is said about Christian life and prayer.'

Teresa's most well known work, 'Interior Castle', develops both ideas of what we do and what God does. Williams entitles one of the sections of his text 'Homecoming', sensing that what Teresa was really longing for in this text, particularly the innermost mansions, is to be united, be at home, and be at rest in God.

Williams explores Teresa's legacy, declaring that, despite modern attempts to recast her image, she was not a feminist, was not a social reformer, and not particularly interested in individual rights of freedom of religion or belief. She was a product of her time, without undue regard for many of the more 'worldly' aspects of concern today. However, in some of her concerns, she does reach into modern situations. While she did not challenge the church's right to have authority, she nonetheless called those in authority in the church 'be clearly answerable to the reality, the incarnational movement of God, that directs her own prayer and action.'

Williams himself is a man of authority of a kind, overseeing a troubled communion whose concept of authority is in the process of change. He clearly resonates with some of the ideas of Teresa, particularly whenever the intersection of God's love and the world's need occurs. Williams writes with grace and clarity, and the combination of Teresa's message and Williams' analysis and presentation produces a wonderful spirit indeed.

Un texto básico para acercarse a la vida y obra de teresa de Avila.