Let’s read St Teresa of Avila’s “The Way of Perfection”.
Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD.
A Study Edition Prepared by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD.
ICS Publications, ISBN 978-0-935216-70-7
Chapter 40
- In this chapter, St Teresa focuses her concern on not being deceived in “this dangerous war.” She posits love of God and fear of Sin as the two guides. But this begs the question, how do you know you are loving and fearing correctly? If you possess love, you are in a state of grace, but how can you be certain? You can’t be completely certain, but “there are some signs that even the blind … see.” St Teresa elaborates on these signs:
“Those who truly love God, love every good, desire every good, favor every good, praise every good. They always join, favor, and defend good people. … Do you think it is possible for a person who really loves God to love vanities? No, indeed, he cannot; nor can he love riches, or worldly things, or delights, or honors, or strife, or envy. … These persons go about dying so that their Beloved might love them, and thus they dedicate their lives to learning how they might please Him more.”
- Love of God has all the signs of bing “love sickness” which cannot be hidden in its intensity:
“Hide itself? Oh, with regard to the love of God — if it is genuine love — this is impossible. … Within three days [St Paul] began to realize that he was sick with love … The Magdalene knew from the first day. … Thus, the love makes itself known according to its intensity. … But, where there is love of God, whether little or great, it is always recognized.”
- Contemplatives are already great lovers of God, else they should question their vocation, and the deception the devil brings are not few. So St Teresa adds more specific advise:
“[A contemplative’s love] is a great fire; it cannot but shine brightly. And if this splendor is not present, they should walk with serious misgivings. … But if one proceeds with humility, strives to know the truth, is subject to a confessor, and communicates with him openly and truthfully … [then] the things by which the devil intends to cause death will cause life, however many the haunting illusions he wants to scare you with.”
- She also warns that the devil might make us fear that God doesn’t grant favors:
“In order to disturb your soul so that you will not enjoy these wonderful blessings the devil will set a thousand false fears before you and strive that others do so. Since he cannot win us over, he can at least try to make us lose something. … First, those who listen to him are struck with a terror of approaching prayer, for they think they will be deceived. Second, if it were not for these fears many more would come closer to God in seeing that He is so good … and that it is possible for Him now to communicate so much with sinners.”
- St Teresa further argues that when it comes to worldly love, “the more we do to hide it the more it is revealed”. Then how much more so is this the case with love for God which always increases as it is always being repaid?”
“This other love can no longer be doubted since it was shown so openly and with so many sufferings and trials, and with the shedding of blood even to the point of death in order that we might have no doubt about it. Oh, God help me, how different must the love of God be from the love of creatures for whoever has experienced the former!”
- Nonetheless, we should never presume that anyone is safe “in the dangers of this tempestuous sea.” Backsliding is always possible.
- St Teresa ends the chapter meditating on fear, the other pillar keeping us from delusion. She reminds us of the Four Last Things. For those who love God:
“[I]t will be a great thing at the hour of death to see that we are going to be judged by the One whom we have loved above all things. We shall be able to proceed securely with the judgment concerning our debts. It will not be like going to a foreign country but like going to our own, because it is the country of one whom we love so much and who loves us.”
- But for those who have not loved God:
“What will become of the poor soul … How mangled as it goes to hell! … If it is hard for a self-indulgent person … to spend one night in a bad inn, what do you think that sad soul will feel at being in this kind of inn forever, without end?”
- So she concludes that we should ask God that if we are to receive sufferings, we receive them here “with the hope of being freed from them”, and “beseech Him to give us His grace in this life so that we will not walk unawares into temptation.”
Chapter 41
- St Teresa begins the chapter by contrasting love of God for love of the world. The latter is a childish delusion which can only lead to weariness:
“I laugh to myself when I hear it said: “That person repaid me badly.” “This other one doesn’t love me.” What does anyone have to repay you for, or why should anyone love you? This experience will show you what the world is, for your very love for it will afterward punish you. And this is what wears you down: you realize you have let your affection become involved like children in their games.”
- She next turns to fear of God, which develops over time, and becomes recognizable as one begins to turn away from sin, its occasions and bad companions. It is readily manifest in contemplatives:
“For no matter how long we observe them, the Lord keeps them in such a way that even if a thing very much to their own interest come along, they will not advertently commit a venial sin; mortal sins they fear like fire.”
- Nonetheless, contemplatives may have illusions about their ability to resist sin. So, St Teresa prays God that He keep us from temptation on His part, and we strive never to offend him for our part:
“Let us beseech God always that the temptation may not be so strong as to make us offend Him, that its strength might not outweigh the fortitude He gives us to conquer it. This fear is what is important; it is what I desire may never be taken from us, for it is what will help us.”
“Oh, what a great thing it is to have resisted offending the Lord so that His slaves and servants in hell may be bound …”
- St Teresa eleborates on this, and warns against committing any deliberate sin, even venial ones. We must avert them deliberately if we do not first avert them out of habit; but, under no circumstances should we commit them deliberately!
“[T]here is an advertence [of sin] that is very deliberate; another that comes so quickly that committing the venial sin and adverting to it happen almost together in such a way that we don’t first realize what we are doing. But from any very deliberate sin, however small it be, may God deliver us.”
- Until we cultivate this fear and it becomes a virtue, we should avoid occasions and companions that don’t bring us closer to God.
“[I]t is very helpful to understand the seriousness of an offense against God … for it is worth our life and much more to have this virtue rooted in our souls. And until you have it, you must always proceed carefully and turn from every occasion and companion who does not help you come closer to God.”
- Once this virtue has been well established, its no longer necessary to be so tense since our confidence will be in God to protect us. We will be free to interact even with those who were previously a danger to our soul and will become a help to them:
“When we are more determined we are less confident of ourselves, for our confidence must be placed in God … [and] there will be no need to go about so tense and constrained; the Lord will protect us, and the habit acquired will now be a help against offending Him.”
“For those who, before you possessed this authentic fear of God, were a poison and a means of killing the soul will afterward often be a help to your loving and praising God more because He has freed you from that which you recognize as a glaring danger. If previously you played a part in contributing to their weaknesses, now by your mere presence you contribute to their restraint; this happens without their having any idea of paying you honor.”
- This fear of God, once it becomes a virtue, has an apostolic effect on others around us. Like how one avoids speaking ill of someone in front of their friend, our friendship with God causes others to refrain from sinful behavior.
“I often praised the Lord, thinking it comes about that often a servant of God, without uttering a word, prevents things from being said against God. This must happen for the same reason that something similar happens here below: there is always some restraint so as not to offend an absent person in the presence of someone known to be his friend.”
- This happens passively, and “without uttering a word,” so St Teresa warns against being overly tense since this discourages others even if they recognize the virtue of a godly life.
“So do not be tense … such a feeling will be very harmful to everything good … this constraint will be good for you but it will not bring many souls to God, because they will see so much repression and tenseness. Our nature is such that this constraint is frightening and oppressive to others, and they flee from following the road that you are taking, even though they know clearly that it is the more virtuous path.”
- Being overly tense can also lead to judging others, especially when they pursue holiness by a different path. If you do so, it can only be detrimental to others.
“Another harm derives from this attitude; it is that of judging others … There are those who advance with greater holiness [but] since they do not journey by your path they at once seem to you to be imperfect. … This constraint is a very dangerous [and] detrimental to your neighbor.”
- But be careful, because the opposite extreme is also a danger:
“And there is another harm: in some things of which you must speak, and it is right that you speak, you don’t dare do so for fear of going to extremes; rather, perhaps, you speak well of something that it would be very good for you to abhor.”
- But in general, a holy person should be affible to others to make his way of life appealing rather than repulsive.
“So .. strive … to be affable and understanding in such a way that everyone you talk to will love your conversation and desire your manner of living and acting, and not be frightened and intimidated by virtue. [E]ven … if [the] conversations do not go as you would like them to, never turn away …”
- God doesn’t look at trifles, so there’s no need to be tense, since this leads to losing many blessings, and don’t withdraw from the world.
“He doesn’t look at trifles … so don’t … allow your soul to be constrained, for many blessings could be lost. … Don’t let your soul withdraw into a corner, for instead of obtaining sanctity you will obtain many imperfections …”
- St Teresa concludes the chapter restating her thesis that love and fear of God are the two virtues that lead you forward calmly, and carefully.
Chapter 42
- St Teresa begins this chapter noting how life-weary Jesus was in anticipation of His Passion, but this was nothing compared to His suffering due to the offenses committed against the Father.
“[W]e already see how tired He was of this life when He said to His Apostles at the last supper; I have greatly desired to eat this supper with you … What was His whole life if not a continual death, in which He always saw beforehand that most cruel death they were going to inflict on Him? And this was the least of His sufferings; but how many offenses committed against His Father …”
- Turning to her own weariness, she tells us that she awaits the end of all things (as indicated by the word “amen”), when temptations, imperfections, and sin will cease. Although, not in this world, nor is it wise to be without them.
“Amen … all things come to an end … It is useless, Sisters, to think that while we live we can be free of many temptations and imperfections and even sins … if we turn to bodily ailments and hardships, who is without very many and in many ways? Nor is it good that we ask to be without them.”
- St Teresa feels this way because she knows she is a sinner.
“I am not speaking about the saints … but sinners like myself. I see myself closed in by weakness, lukewarmness, and a lack of mortification, and many other things. I see that it behooves me to ask the Lord for a remedy … [but] I do not find this remedy while living … What good do we find in this life, Sisters, since we lack so much good and are absent from Him?”
- And like Jesus, she prays for deliverance:
“Deliver me, Lord, from this shadow of death, deliver me from so many trials … that would tire anyone who can bear to live. This weariness must come to me because I have lived so badly … And what is unendurable, Lord, is not to know for certain that I love You or that my desires are acceptable before You.”
- It is a clear sign of contemplatives that they desire heavenly blessings. They want to leave this life so they can enjoy these goods without obstacles. However, St Teresa thinks that in her case, its because she has lived so badly and so she is wearied by life.
“To ask for these blessings with great desire … is a clear sign for contemplatives … [But] In the case of my asking for these things the same is not true … [S]ince I have lived so badly, I fear living still longer; and so many trials weary me. It is no surprise that those who have a share in the consolations of God desire to be there … [and] they do not want to remain in a life where there are these many obstacles.”
- Life here would have to be very different for us to want to remain here! Our will wants the opposite of what God desires for us. So it is good to ask God to be freed from these dangers!
“Oh, how different this life would have to be in order for one not to desire death! … He wants us to love truth; we love the lie. He wants us to desire the eternal [the sublime, the secure] ; we, here below, lean toward what comes to an end [the base, the dubious]. Everything is a mockery … except … beseeching God to free us from these dangers forever … Even though our desire may not be perfect …”
- Harking back to her considerations on vocal prayer, St Teresa adds here that this is what it means to pray vocally with perfection. And even if not perfect, we should ask God to perfect it for us! An excellent entry into the spiritual life is the Our Father, a vocal prayer, which St Teresa meditated on in depth earlier in the Way of Perfection.
“[Praying] vocally with perfection … means that you be aware of and understand whom you are asking, who it is that is asking, and what you are asking for … [and] what you do not understand about prayer, beseech the Lord to teach you.”
“Now see, Sisters, how the Lord by giving me understanding of the great deal we ask for when reciting this evangelical prayer [The Our Father] has removed the difficulty involved in my teaching you and myself the path that I began to explain to you … for now you have seen the entire spiritual way contained in it.”
- At this point, St Teresa closes the work on a humble note, as one would expect. She asks forgiveness for her boldness in speaking on spiritual matters and says she doesn’t know what more to add. She refers her sisters to The Book of Her Life which is in the hands of her confessor, Fr Banez. He can make it available at his discretion.
“Sisters, beg this good Master to pardon me, for I have been bold to speak of such sublime things. … Well, Sisters, it now seems the Lord doesn’t want me to say any more, for I don’t know what to say … The Lord has taught you and me the path that I have described in the book I said I wrote, how one reaches this fount of living water, what the soul feels there, how God satisfies it, takes away thirst for earthly things, and makes it grow in the things pertaining to the service of God. … If he [Fr Banez] thinks this book will be helpful and gives it to you, I will be consoled that you are consoled.”
Closing Remarks: St. Teresa begins this section expressing concern about the dangers of spiritual deception, emphasizing the importance of love for God and fear of sin as two key guides. However, how one can be sure one is loving and fearing God correctly? While you can’t be absolutely certain, St. Teresa offers signs to help recognize love for God, likening it to “love sickness” that cannot be hidden due to its intensity. She advises contemplatives, who should already be great lovers of God, to be especially wary of the devil’s deceptions. He may try to incite fear that God does not grant favors, but she reassures us that God’s love grows as it is repaid. Nevertheless, backsliding is always a risk, and St. Teresa adds that fear of sin is as essential as love for God to avoid delusion.
Reflecting on this fear, St. Teresa emphasizes the Four Last Things and cautions that we should pray to receive sufferings in this life in reparation for our sins to avoid them in the next. She contrasts the love of God with worldly love, calling the latter a childish delusion that ultimately leads to weariness. Fear of God develops gradually and becomes evident as one avoids sin and bad companions that lead us astray. St. Teresa also emphasizes the importance of avoiding deliberate sin, even venial ones, stressing the need to cultivate fear of God and avoid dangerous occasions until this virtue is firmly established. Once fear of God becomes a virtue, one can engage more freely with those who were previously a danger, helping them instead. Their conversion to God occurs passively, as others refrain from sinful behavior in the presence of someone devoted to God. However, St. Teresa cautions against being overly tense, which can discourage others and lead to judgmental attitudes. Rather, she advises that holy persons should be affable to attract others to their way of life.
In reflecting on Jesus’ weariness in anticipation of His Passion, St. Teresa notes that His greatest suffering was due to the offenses committed against the Father. She mirrors this weariness herself, longing for the end of all things, when temptations, imperfections, and sin will cease, though she recognizes that this is not possible in this life. St. Teresa feels this way due to her awareness of her own sinfulness, and like Christ, she prays for deliverance. A clear sign of contemplatives is their desire for heavenly blessings and their longing to leave this life to enjoy these goods without obstacles. However, St. Teresa humbly attributes her own weariness to having lived poorly. She acknowledges the difference between God’s will and our own, explaining that we often desire the opposite of what God desires for us. It is, therefore, good to ask God for deliverance from these dangers. Returning to her earlier discussion of vocal prayer, St. Teresa concludes that this is what it means to pray vocally with perfection, and even if our prayer is not perfect, we should ask God to perfect it for us.
St. Teresa concludes the work humbly, asking forgiveness for her boldness in speaking on such spiritual matters. She directs her sisters to The Book of Her Life, available through her confessor, Fr.Banez, for further spiritual insights.