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St. Teresa of Avila
The Way of Perfection
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The Way of Perfection
CHAPTER 1 - Of the reason which moved me to found this convent in such strict observance.
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The
Way
of
Perfection
CHAPTER
1
- Of the
reason
which
moved
me to found this
convent
in such
strict
observance
.
When this
convent
was
originally
founded
, for the
reasons
set
down in the
book
which, as I
say
, I have already
written
, and also because of
certain
wonderful
revelations
by which the
Lord
showed
me how well He would be
served
in this
house
, it was not my
intention
that there should be so much
austerity
in
external
matters
, nor that it should have no
regular
income
: on the
contrary
, I should have
liked
there to be no
possibility
of
want
. I
acted
, in
short
, like the
weak
and
wretched
woman
that I am, although I did so with
good
intentions
and not out of
consideration
for my own
comfort
.
At about this
time
there
came
to my
notice
the
harm
and
havoc
that were
being
wrought
in
France
by these
Lutherans
and the
way
in which their
unhappy
sect
was
increasing
.
11
This
troubled
me very much, and, as though I could do anything, or be of any
help
in the
matter
, I
wept
before the
Lord
and
entreated
Him to
remedy
this
great
evil
. I
felt
that I would have
laid
down a
thousand
lives
to
save
a
single
one of all the
souls
that were
being
lost
there. And,
seeing
that I was a
woman
, and a
sinner
,
12
and
incapable
of
doing
all I should like in the
Lord
's
service
, and as my whole
yearning
was, and still is, that, as He has so many
enemies
and so few
friends
, these last should be
trusty
ones
, I
determined
to do the
little
that was in me -- namely, to
follow
the
evangelical
counsels
as
perfectly
as I could, and to
see
that these few
nuns
who are here should do the same,
confiding
in the
great
goodness
of
God
, Who never
fails
to
help
those who
resolve
to
forsake
everything for His
sake
. As they are all that I have ever
painted
them as
being
in my
desires
, I
hoped
that their
virtues
would more than
counteract
my
defects
, and I should thus be
able
to
give
the
Lord
some
pleasure
, and all of us, by
busying
ourselves in
prayer
for those who are
defenders
of the
Church
, and for the
preachers
and
learned
men
who
defend
her, should do everything we could to
aid
this
Lord
of
mine
Who is so much
oppressed
by those to whom He has
shown
so much
good
that it seems as though these
traitors
would
send
Him to the
Cross
again and that He would have nowhere to
lay
His
head
.
Oh
, my
Redeemer
, my
heart
cannot
conceive
this without
being
sorely
distressed
! What has become of
Christians
now? Must those who
owe
Thee most always be those who
distress
Thee? Those to whom Thou
doest
the
greatest
kindnesses
, whom Thou
dost
choose
for Thy
friends
, among whom Thou
dost
move
,
communicating
Thyself
to them through the
Sacraments
? Do they not
think
,
Lord
of my
soul
, that they have made Thee
endure
more than
sufficient
torments
?
It is
certain
, my
Lord
, that in these
days
withdrawal
from the
world
means
no
sacrifice
at all. Since
worldly
people
have so
little
respect
for Thee, what can we
expect
them to have for us? Can it be that we
deserve
that they should
treat
us any
better
than they have
treated
Thee? Have we done more for them than Thou hast done that they should be
friendly
to us? What then? What can we
expect
-- we who, through the
goodness
of the
Lord
, are
free
from that
pestilential
infection
, and do not, like those others,
belong
to the
devil
? They have
won
severe
punishment
at his
hands
and their
pleasures
have
richly
earned
them
eternal
fire
. So to
eternal
fire
they will have to
go
,
13
though none the less it
breaks
my
heart
to
see
so many
souls
travelling
to
perdition
. I would the
evil
were not so
great
and I did not
see
more
being
lost
every
day
.
Oh
, my
sisters
in
Christ
!
Help
me to
entreat
this of the
Lord
, Who has
brought
you together here for that very
purpose
. This is your
vocation
; this must be your
business
; these must be your
desires
; these your
tears
; these your
petitions
. Let us not
pray
for
worldly
things
, my
sisters
. It makes me
laugh
, and yet it makes me
sad
, when I
hear
of the
things
which
people
come
here to
beg
us to
pray
to
God
for; we are to
ask
His
Majesty
to
give
them
money
and to
provide
them with
incomes
-- I
wish
that some of these
people
would
entreat
God
to
enable
them to
trample
all such
things
beneath
their
feet
. Their
intentions
are
quite
good
, and I do as they
ask
because I
see
that they are
really
devout
people
, though I do not myself
believe
that
God
ever
hears
me when I
pray
for such
things
. The
world
is on
fire
.
Men
try
to
condemn
Christ
once again, as it were, for they
bring
a
thousand
false
witnesses
against Him. They would
raze
His
Church
to the
ground
-- and are we to
waste
our
time
upon
things
which, if
God
were to
grant
them, would perhaps
bring
one
soul
less to
Heaven
? No, my
sisters
, this is no
time
to
treat
with
God
for
things
of
little
importance
.
Were it not
necessary
to
consider
human
frailty
, which
finds
satisfaction
in every
kind
of
help
-- and it is always a
good
thing
if we can be of any
help
to
people
-- I should like it to be
understood
that it is not for
things
like these that
God
should be
importuned
with such
anxiety
.
11
French
Protestantism
which had been
repressed
during the
reigns
of
Francis
I and
Henry
II
,
increased
after the latter's
death
in
1559
, and was still
doing
so at the
time
of the
foundation
of
St
.
Joseph
's.
12
Lit
.: "and
bad
."
13
All‡
se
lo
hayan
. "And
serve
them
right
!" would, in most
contexts
, be a more
exact
rendering
of this
colloquial
phrase
, but there is no
suspicion
of
Schadenfreude
here.
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