Wise Words from St. Theresa of Avila

Escuela del Cuzco: La Segunda Conversión de Santa Teresa circa 1694

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He always gives us more than we ask him for. Always.

There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.

I know that many persons who say vocal prayers are raised by God to high contemplation without their knowing how.

It is our prayer that the Lord gives light to understanding His truths.

From silly devotions and from sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us.

Our prayer must, therefore, be very earnest for those who give us light. What should we be without them in the midst of these violent storms which now disturb the Church.

Take care not to miss this wonderful opportunity. Say the 'Our Father' slowly without rushing. He is listening very closely to you. This is the best way to praise and honor His name.

Granting that we are always in the presence of God, yet it seems to me that those who pray are in His presence in a very different sense; for they, as it were, see that He is looking upon them, while others may go for days on end without even once recollecting that God sees them.

We have to become men and women of prayer, people who know how to deal personally with the one who loves us above everything.

There is no greater cause of straying from the path of faithful perseverance than letting up in prayer.

Recollection is nothing else, in my opinion, but being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him, who we know loves us.

To argue over who is the more noble is nothing more than to dispute whether dirt is better for making bricks or for making mortar.

Whenever I read in the lives of Saints of how they converted souls, I seem to feel much more devout, more tender, and more envious of them than when I read of all the martyrdoms that they suffered. This is an inclination given me by Our Lord; and I think He prizes one soul, which by His mercy and through our diligence and prayer we have gained, for him, more than all the other services we can render Him.

Don't be curious of matters that don't concern you; never speak of them, and don't ask about them.

To wish to act like angels while we are still in this world is nothing but folly.

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Shared by Sue Cifelli