Customer Reviews

St. Teresa of Avila

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This famous author has presented here another masterpiece and what is undoubtedly the finest life of St. Teresa of Avila ever written in English - a picture of one of the greatest saints of the Church and one of the most appealing women of all time. During her lifetime (1515-1582), St. Teresa captivated just about everyone she met by her wit, sanity, courage, intelligence, simplicity, humility, charm and power; today she continues to delight people by her wonderful combination of holy madness and huge common sense. William Thomas Walsh recounts Teresa's years of resisting complete self-surrender to God before finally entering with undivided will on the way of perfection; of her terrible anguish over the Lutheran heretics falling into Hell and of the grievous penances and sacrifices she undertook for their conversion, and of her many adventures in opening up houses of cloistered contemplative nuns. A masterful biography of a remarkable woman who was a mystic and foundress, the reformer of Carmel, a doctor of the science of divine love, and now, recently proclaimed "Doctor of the Church!" Fabulous! 592pp PB. Imprimatur

Before reading this book, I read Teresa's "Life", "Way of Perfection", "Interior Castle" *well, most of it*. Only after stumbling upon this book did I understand her and fall in love with her. I have shared my book with others who said the same thing. Alas, my book is somewhere out there, and I have been searching for this one to read again. Interesting that former searches have not been fruitful ... but I rejoice in having found this once again.

For those who know nothing at all about this saint this book may be helpful, if you want an authorized and approved-by-the-Vatican selection. For those who want to really know what made her tick, you won't find it here.