13th July - St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

'A Carmelite sanctifies herself in order to make all the Church's members holy ... Let's live intimately united with Him, since one who loves tends to be united with the one loved. The fusing of two souls is done through love.'

~ St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Juanita Fernandez Solar was born in Santiago, Chile, on July 13^th, 1900. From her adolescence, she was devoted to Christ. She entered the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns at Los Andes on May 7^th, 1919 where she was given the name of Teresa of Jesus. She died on April 12^th of the following year after having made her religious profession. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 3^rd, 1987 in Santiago, Chile, canonised on March 21^st, 1993 in St. Peter’s Basilica and proposed as a model for young people. She was the first Chilean and first member of the Teresian Carmel in Latin America to be canonised.

From the spiritual writings of Saint Teresa of Jesus

(Diario y Cartas, Los Andes, 1983: 373, 359, 376)

Jesus alone is beautiful; he is my only joy. I call for him, I cry after him, I search for him within my heart. I long for Jesus to grind me interiorly so that I may become a pure host where he can find his rest. I want to be athirst with love so that other souls may possess this love. I would die to creatures and to myself, so that he may live in me.

Is there anything good, beautiful or true that we can think of that would not be in Jesus? Wisdom, from which nothing can be secret. Power, for which nothing would be impossible. Justice, which made him take on flesh in order to make satisfaction for sin. Providence, which always watches over and sustains us. Mercy, which never ceases to pardon. Goodness, which forgets the offences of his creatures. Love, which unites all the tendernesses of a mother, of a brother, of a spouse and which, drawing him out of the abyss of his greatness, binds him closely to his creatures. Beauty which enraptures … What can you think of that would not be found in this Man-God?

Are you perhaps afraid that the abyss of greatness of God and that of your nothingness cannot be united? There is love in him. His passionate love made him take flesh in order that by seeing a Man-God we would not be afraid to draw near him. This passionate love made him become bread in order to assimilate our nothingness and make it disappear into his infinite being. This passionate love made him give his life by dying on the Cross.

Are you perhaps afraid to draw near him? Look at him, surrounded by little children. He caresses them, he presses them to his heart. Look at him in the midst of his faithful flock, bearing the faithless lamb on his shoulders. Look at him at the tomb of Lazarus. And listen to what he says to the Magdalene: ‘Much has been forgiven her, because she has loved much.’ What do you discover in these flashes from the Gospel except a heart that is good, gentle, tender, compassionate; in other words, the Heart of a God?

He is my unending wealth, my bliss, my heaven.

'Perfection of life consists in drawing close to God'

~ St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Prayer:

God of mercy, joy of the saints

you set the young heart of Saint Teresa

ablaze with the fire of virginal love

for Christ and for his Church;

and even in suffering made her a cheerful witness to charity.

Through her intercession,

fill us with the delights of your Spirit,

so that we may proclaim by word and deed

the joyful message of your love to the world.

We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.