Thursday 15th October 2020 is the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila (also called St. Teresa of Jesus). Born in Avila, Spain, in 1515, she is regarded as a central figure in the history of the Church, her spiritual writings such as 'The Interior Castle' offering an insight into the intimate and the transformative presence of God in our lives. She once famously remarked that we can discover God 'among the pots and pans' just as easily as we can on our knees in prayer. She was also the originator of key reforms within the Carmelite Tradition examining the essence of contemplative practice and tackling openly human complexities and human psychology in such a way that has broadened interest in Carmelite spirituality throughout the years.
Over the next five days (12/10/20-16/10/2020), the AECI will run a series of reflections entitled 'Energy, Authenticity and Freedom'. These will consist of a short quotation by St. Teresa of Avila followed by an AECI commentary and a passage from author Wayne Simsic, Lecturer at the Department of Religious Studies at Ursuline College, Ohio.
DAY ONE: Monday 12th October 2020 - 'Energy, Authenticity and Freedom'
'I have been very afflicted at times in the midst of this turmoil of mind … Ordinarily the mind flies about quickly’ (St Teresa of Avila)
Who can say that they have not felt troubled by events throughout the year 2020? The global 'coronavirus pandemic' has impacted on people across communities, across nations and continents. We are still coming to terms with new patterns of life, where we must remain vigilant around our hygiene and our behaviours and live with the threat that 'Covid 19' still poses. With this backdrop to our lives we might come to feel as though 'the mind' is rampant - the layers of natural anxiety and concern heightened by the social and environmental context in which we find ourselves. 'Ordinarily the mind flies about...', writes Teresa of Avila, and this is no 'ordinary time'.
If we were to take a minute (....and take a breath!) and begin to 'group' our energies or exertions together - be they mental, emotional, physical, etc - recognising that some are indeed positive and necessary, but some are perhaps counter productive and harmful, then we could glimpse what lies beyond 'this turmoil of mind'. How we come to act or behave could be as a result of our misplaced focus, our attachments or our conditioning over the years. Separating the 'virtuous' from the 'wayward' need not be some irrelevant task of high academic theology. Our natural energy must find its proper home. (AECI)
Wayne Simsic writes .....'According to Teresa, some distractions arise from a disordered will. They are messengers from the ego that we have cultivated for most of our lives. Because we lack self-knowledge, we have to engage in an inner struggle in which we hear noise and deal with confusion that we have created through all our attachments. Teresa writes that ‘for the most part all the trials and disturbances come from our not understanding ourselves’. She advises that we keep our conscience pure because anything that binds the heart will become an issue during prayer. Rather than stopping distractions,we should put our energy into practicing the virtues of love, detachment, and humility'
(Wayne Simsic – ‘The Inward Path to God’)
DAY TWO: Tuesday 13th October 2020 - 'Energy, Authenticity and Freedom'
‘Let us exert ourselves …. for the love of the Lord: let’s abandon our reason and our fears into His hands; let’s forget this natural weakness’ (St Teresa of Avila)
Yesterday we considered how our desires and attachments in this life can fuel an 'energy' that is disproportionate and occasionally harmful in terms of how we come to understand ourselves. The 'ego', the mind's version of oneself let's say, can 'fly about' in ways that overlook other aspects of our moral and spiritual nature. Here, it is perhaps worth reflecting a little on what happens outside of our immediate surroundings - outside of 'the I' and 'the conscious'. The natural world unfolds in a unique way through the seasons. Love binds people together in new and profound ways. Children learn and grow as they discover their own place in the world (...confusing though that may be at times!). What we thought about an individual might in fact turn out to be false. Our fears can be displaced in an instant - through stillness, kindness and trust.
The passage below (by author Wayne Simsic) introduces the idea of the 'authentic self'. We shall look at this in more detail over the next two days, but for the moment consider some small ways in which you can be 'honest' and authentic' about the influences on your life and the direction in which you feel life is heading, and yes....even about the hold of the 'ego' upon' us. (AECI)
Wayne Simsic writes ....‘Of course, such a radical transformation will be both unnerving and painful because it means displacing the ego that we have cultivated from early on. Though ego development is necessary, it eventually has to give way to a deeper authentic self, the self in Christ. However, this is not our work, but the work of the Spirit in which we participate. We are being called to a new freedom in love. Certainly, we have experienced a degree of freedom up to this point, but now we are invited to an even greater freedom, one that creates space for the gifts of the Spirit and releases a hunger for true intimacy with God.’
(Wayne Simsic – ‘The Inward Path to God’)
DAY THREE: Wednesday 14th October 2020 - 'Energy, Authenticity and Freedom'
‘How many times, my Lord, have you freed me from so dark a prison, and how often have I put myself in it again against Your will!’ (St Teresa of Avila)
Teresa is clearly not afraid of exploring fields of 'human psychology' in order to discover more about our intimate relationship with the divine. Nor does she shy away from scrutiny of those 'negative energies' that obscure the 'authentic' person from blossoming. 'How friendly all men would be one with another, if no regard were paid to honour and money! I believe it would be a remedy for everything', she once remarked. It is this lack of 'humility', the single drive to reach our personal ideals above all else, that constrains the 'true' person within. To restore balance and to seek transformation does, for Teresa, inevitably mean that we shall also encounter periods of 'darkness' and 'struggle' as we move out of the the 'ego', the illusory self, away from the dominant discourse.
At the Last Supper, Christ offers the bread and the wine as 'gifts before God'. He recalls God's mercy. He gives thanks. In a similar manner the seeds of change are firmly planted when we begin to see our own authenticity as a 'gift'. We are touched by a profound sense of Love. We are aware of integrity and mercy at the core of our lives. We are inclined to offer thanks (....perhaps in prayer) because a 'childlike joy' feels close once again. Any 'prisons' encountered along the way are indeed forgotten. (AECI)
Wayne Simsic writes ....'We may find it difficult to relate to her experience, but it certainly brings to light an intuition that all of us have of a growing awareness of God’s love; it is both painful – because it reminds us of our true condition as human beings in need of God’s mercy – and, at the same time, delightful – because the wound of love has touched the very core of our being. Introducing it to the greatest happiness we have ever known. The darkness that tests faith may remind us of a time when we, too, experienced a lack of support from others, dryness in prayer, or a sense of our distance from God. Our experience may not compare to Teresa’s, but like her, we may have realized that our only option in the middle of this time of trial was ‘to wait for the mercy of God’.
(Wayne Simsic – ‘The Inward Path to God’)
DAY FOUR : Thursday 15th October 2020 'Energy, Authenticity and Freedom'
'May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.' (St.Teresa of Ávila)
Today is the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila. In the words attributed to her above we can detect something of her remarkable character. She reminds us of our resilience in the midst of any trials, the touch of 'inner peace' and the uplifting call to be refreshed once again - 'content' and 'authentic' as we go about our daily lives. The model of authenticity is always Christ for Teresa. It is Christ who unravels the complexities of the human mind and the human heart and who lays out before us a clearer and a simpler version of humanity before the Eternal. In line with the greatest commandment we enter 'a love of God' with all our faculties, because nothing 'external' is now 'troubling' or 'disturbing' us (AECI)
Wayne Simsic writes ...'The mindfulness of Christ's presence nurtured in times of prayer flows out into daily life, strengthening our desire to live more consciously in the presence of Jesus in every aspect of our lives. In other words, we grow in our trust that he walks at our side and supports us whether we are in times of quiet or crisis. For Teresa, to pray unceasingly does not involve applying a conventional form of prayer to our daily lives but of attuning ourselves to our heart's deepest desire and allowing it to surface into consciousness throughout the day. Teresa asks only that we turn away from our pre-occupations for a moment and give our attention to Christ and glance in his direction. Eventually. our gaze will become more consistent and our listening to the divine will be more sensitive, even in the midst of daily concerns'.
(Wayne Simsic – ‘The Inward Path to God’)
For more on the prayer above - attributed to St Teresa of Avila - please follow the AECI link:
https://www.aecinstitute.org/csg-forum/assumpta-newsletter/from-assumpta-spring-2020
DAY FIVE : Friday 16th October 2020 'Energy, Authenticity and Freedom'
'People must walk along this path in freedom. Placing themselves in the hands of God’ (St.Teresa of Avila)
In yesterday’s reflection we read, in the words attributed to St Teresa, her call to journey outside of the mind's furious activity and to recall the 'possibilities' of faith amidst the demands and pressures we frequently face :
'Let this presence settle into your bones and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love
It is both an invitation and a statement of joy. True freedom, for Teresa, is linked directly to the ‘presence’ of the Eternal, to a sense of ‘thankfulness’ for the pattern of our lives and to an 'openness' around the wondrous ways in which we can re-discover an inner peace. It is so difficult to set aside our preoccupations and worries and to find that level of trust at times. Silence can prove allusive! Teresa reminds us that it takes a readiness to part company from our own dominant 'will' and to enter genuine conversation or prayer with God so as to find fresh perspective, and to integrate our energies into the right occupations and the right activities. Our authentic self knows authentic relationship, and 'in Christ' our true selves are brought into a greater living reality and fulfillment. (AECI)
Wayne Simsic writes ....‘Encountering the God who is Truth, we are invited to leave behind our old lives and live according to a ‘new law’. This ‘new law’ involves a change in consciousness. , not a substitution of more laws and responsibilities for the ones we already have. Then we ask ourselves, ‘Do I want to be completely free or not?’ Our answer to this question does not come from outside of us, with the threat of punishment or the promise of reward, but from an inner imperative – from God, who is the source of our inner freedom.
In the silence, we are called to greater self-knowledge and fidelity to the truth. We are called to release all the lies in our lives. Teresa is clear that there is no room for evasion in our response to God: it is emotionally honest, or it is nothing. This flame of love grounds us in the truth of who we are, the person of God calls us to be, and charges us with the energy to share our gifts with others..’
(Wayne Simsic – ‘The Inward Path to God’)
Thank you for following this AECI reflection on 'Energy, Authenticity and Freedom' . If you would like further information about the 'Ami Elisabeth Catez Institute' please contact: aecinstitute3@gmail.com
