She is the foundress of the Carmelite Order. Teresa was born at Avila (Spain) in 1515. As a member of the Carmelite Order she made great progress in perfection and received mystical revelations. Her contributions to spiritual life reflect her own experiences. She died at Alba in 1582.
All her books have become spiritual classics. St. Teresa in her first book—The Life, explains the grades of prayer by using the symbol of the “four waters,”. Following this experience she wrote, The Way of Perfection (1573), about the life of prayer. In The Way of Perfection, St. Teresa tries to distinguish between the prayer of active recollection and the prayer of infused recollection.
This was followed by The Interior Castle (1577). Using the symbol of a castle containing seven apartments, in The Interior Castle, St. Teresa identifies seven stages of prayer of which the first three are the prayer in the ascetical phase of the spiritual life. The last four stages of prayer, from the fourth to the seventh mansions, represent the various degrees of mystical prayer, which includes, the prayer of infused recollection, the prayer of simple union, the spiritual betrothal (mystical espousal) and the transforming union or mystical marriage which is the highest state of prayer that can be reached in this life on earth.
Carmelite spirituality is meant for all. It is a way of following Jesus Christ and walking the path of the gospel and characterised by a passionate thirst for an immediate and direct experience of God. It is a spirituality which is centered on prayer, understood as loving friendship with God, and contemplation as the free gift of God. So Carmelite spirituality stresses on one’s relationship with Jesus.
One of the sources of Carmelite Spirituality is the writings of foundress St. Teresa. Her writings mainly focuses on prayer which is mentioned above. As highlighted by St. Teresa, Apostolic service to the Church is also integral to Carmelite Spirituality. For St. Teresa, while prayer and contemplation are vital, they are not ends in themselves but are orientated to the support, welfare, and apostolic fruitfulness of all those engaged in the work of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
According to St. Teresa, one’s spiritual life can be identified by the grade of prayer that the person is experiencing. So one’s spiritual life is mainly to be identified with one’s union with God. The teacher of prayer in the Church is inviting all of us to strengthen our relationship with God. Are we ready to accept this invitation?
