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St. Teresa of Avila
The Way of Perfection
IntraText CT - Text
The Way of Perfection
CHAPTER 5 - Continues speaking of confessors. Explains why it is important that they should be learned men.
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CHAPTER
5
-
Continues
speaking
of
confessors
.
Explains
why it is
important
that they should be
learned
men
.
May
the
Lord
grant
, for His
Majesty
's own
sake
, that no one in this
house
shall
experience
the
trials
that have been
described
, or
find
herself
oppressed
in this
way
in
soul
and
body
. I
hope
the
superior
will never be so
intimate
with the
confessor
that no one will
dare
to
say
anything about him to her or about her to him. For this will
tempt
unfortunate
penitents
to
leave
very
grave
sins
unconfessed
because they will
feel
uncomfortable
about
confessing
them.
God
help
me! What
trouble
the
devil
can make here and how
dearly
people
have to
pay
for their
miserable
worries
and
concern
about
honour
! If they
consult
only one
confessor
, they
think
they are
acting
in the
interests
of their
Order
and for the
greater
honour
of their
convent
: and that is the
way
the
devil
lays
his
snares
for
souls
when he can
find
no other. If the
poor
sisters
ask
for another
confessor
, they are
told
that this would
mean
the
complete
end of all
discipline
in the
convent
; and, if he is not a
priest
of their
Order
, even though he be a
saint
, they are
led
to
believe
that they would be
disgracing
their
entire
Order
by
consulting
him.
Give
great
praise
to
God
,
Daughters
, for this
liberty
that you have, for, though there are not a
great
many
priests
whom you can
consult
, there are a few, other than your
ordinary
confessors
, who can
give
you
light
upon everything. I
beg
every
superior
,
26
for the
love
of the
Lord
, to
allow
a
holy
liberty
here: let the
Bishop
or
Provincial
be
approached
for
leave
for the
sisters
to
go
from
time
to
time
beyond their
ordinary
confessors
and
talk
about their
souls
with
persons
of
learning
,
especially
if the
confessors
, though
good
men
, have no
learning
; for
learning
is a
great
help
in
giving
light
upon everything. It should be
possible
to
find
a
number
of
people
who
combine
both
learning
and
spirituality
, and the more
favours
the
Lord
grants
you in
prayer
, the more
needful
is it that your
good
works
and your
prayers
should have a
sure
foundation
.
You already
know
that the first
stone
of this
foundation
must be a
good
conscience
and that you must make every
effort
to
free
yourselves from even
venial
sins
and
follow
the
greatest
possible
perfection
. You might
suppose
that any
confessor
would
know
this, but you would be
wrong
: it
happened
that I had to
go
about
matters
of
consciences
to a
man
who had
taken
a
complete
course
in
theology
; and he did me a
great
deal
of
mischief
by
telling
me that
certain
things
were of no
importance
. I
know
that he had no
intention
of
deceiving
me, or any
reason
for
doing
so: it was
simply
that he
knew
no
better
. And in
addition
to this
instance
I have
met
with
two
or
three
similar
ones
.
Everything
depends
on our
having
true
light
to
keep
the
law
of
God
perfectly
. This is a
firm
basis
for
prayer
; but without this
strong
foundation
the whole
building
will
go
awry
. In
making
their
confessions
, then, the
nuns
must be
free
to
discuss
spiritual
matters
with such
persons
as I have
described
. I will even
go
farther
and
say
that they should sometimes do as I have
said
even if their
confessor
has all these
good
qualities
, for he
may
quite
easily
make
mistakes
and it is a
pity
that he should be the
cause
of their
going
astray
. They must
try
, however, never to
act
in any
way
against
obedience
, for they will
find
ways
of
getting
all the
help
they
need
: it is of
great
importance
to them that they should, and so they must make every
possible
effort
to do so.
All this that I have
said
has to do with the
superior
. Since there are no
consolations
but
spiritual
ones
to be had here, I would
beg
her once again to
see
that the
sisters
get
these
consolations
, for
God
leads
[His
handmaidens
] by
different
ways
and it is
impossible
that one
confessor
should be
acquainted
with them all. I
assure
you that, if your
souls
are as they
ought
to be, there is no
lack
of
holy
persons
who will be
glad
to
advise
and
console
you, even though you are
poor
. For He Who
sustains
our
bodies
will
awaken
and
encourage
someone to
give
light
to our
souls
, and thus this
evil
of which I am so much
afraid
will be
remedied
. For if the
devil
should
tempt
the
confessor
, with the
result
that he
leads
you
astray
on any
point
of
doctrine
he will
go
slowly
and be more
careful
about all he is
doing
when he
knows
that the
penitent
is also
consulting
others.
If the
devil
is
prevented
from
entering
convents
in this
way
, I
hope
in
God
that he will never
get
into this
house
at all; so, for
love
of the
Lord
, I
beg
whoever is
Bishop
to
allow
the
sisters
this
liberty
and not to
withdraw
it so
long
as the
confessors
are
persons
both of
learning
and of
good
lives
, a
fact
which will
soon
come
to be
known
in a
little
place
like this.
In what I have
said
here, I am
speaking
from
experience
of
things
that I have
seen
and
heard
in many
convents
and
gathered
from
conversation
with
learned
and
holy
people
who have
considered
what is most
fitting
for this
house
, so that it
may
advance
in
perfection
. Among the
perils
which
exist
everywhere, for as
long
as
life
lasts
, we shall
find
that this is the least. No
vicar
should be
free
to
go
in and out of the
convent
, and no
confessor
should have this
freedom
either. They are there to
watch
over the
recollectedness
and
good
living
of the
house
and its
progress
in both
interior
and
exterior
matters
, so that they
may
report
to the
superior
whenever
needful
, but they are never to be
superiors
themselves. As I
say
,
excellent
reasons
have been found why, everything
considered
, this is the
best
course
, and why, if any
priest
hears
confessions
frequently
, it should be the
chaplain
; but, if the
nuns
think
it
necessary
, they can make their
confessions
to such
persons
as have been
described
,
provided
the
superior
is
informed
of it, and the
prioress
is such that the
Bishop
can
trust
her
discretion
. As there are very few
nuns
here, this will not
take
up much
time
.
This is our
present
practice
; and it is not
followed
merely
on my
advice
. Our
present
Bishop
,
Don
çlvaro
de
Mendoza
, under whose
obedience
we
live
(since for many
reasons
we have not been
placed
under the
jurisdiction
of the
Order
), is
greatly
attached
to
holiness
and the
religious
life
, and, besides
being
of most
noble
extraction
, is a
great
servant
of
God
. He is always very
glad
to
help
this
house
in every
way
, and to this very end he
brought
together
persons
of
learning
,
spirituality
and
experience
, and this
decision
was then
come
to. It will be only
right
that
future
superiors
should
conform
to his
opinion
, since it has been
decided
on by such
good
men
, and after so many
prayers
to the
Lord
that He would
enlighten
them in every
possible
way
, which, so
far
as we can at
present
see
, He has
certainly
done.
May
the
Lord
be
pleased
to
promote
the
advancement
of this to His
greater
glory
.
Amen
.
26
Lit
.: "I
beg
her who is in the
position
of a
senior
(
mayor
)."
Mayor
was the
title
given
to the
superior
at the
Incarnation
,
çvila
, and many other
convents
in
Spain
, at that
time
.
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