#stteresaoftheandes — Public Fediverse posts

Quote of the day, 21 March: St. Teresa of the Andes

Pray, Rev. Mother, for this poor exile that she may become a holy Carmelite soon.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Teresa of the Andes—Teresa of Jesus, a Discalced Carmelite and the first flowering of holiness from the Teresian Carmel in Latin America—is a light of Christ for the whole Church in Chile. Today she is inscribed among the saints of the universal Church.

As in the first reading we have heard from the book of Samuel, Teresa’s greatness does not lie in “her appearance or her stature.” “The Lord’s gaze,” Sacred Scripture tells us, “is not like that of man: man looks at appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Thus, in her young life of just over nineteen years, and in her eleven months as a Carmelite, God caused the light of His Son Jesus Christ to shine forth in her in a remarkable way, so that she might serve as a beacon and guide for a world that seems to be blinded by what only appears to be divine.

To a secularized society that lives turned away from God, this Chilean Carmelite—whom I present with great joy as a model of the perennial youth of the Gospel—offers the clear witness of a life that proclaims to the men and women of today that in loving, adoring, and serving God are found the greatness and joy, the freedom and the full realization of the human person. From within the cloister, the life of the blessed Teresa cries out in silence: “God alone suffices!”

And she proclaims this especially to the young, who hunger for truth and seek a light that gives meaning to their lives. To a youth surrounded by the constant messages and stimuli of an eroticized culture, and to a society that confuses genuine love—which is self-gift—with the hedonistic use of others, this young virgin of the Andes proclaims today the beauty and blessedness that radiate from pure hearts.

In her tender love for Christ, Teresa discovers the very essence of the Christian message: to love, to suffer, to pray, to serve. Within her family she learned to love God above all things. And in recognizing herself as the exclusive possession of her Creator, her love for neighbor became all the more intense and definitive. As she writes in one of her letters: “When I love, it’s forever. Especially, a Carmelite never forgets. From her cell, she accompanies souls she loved in the world.”

Saint John Paul II

Homily, Canonization of Claudine Thévenet and Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
Sunday, 21 March 1993

Note: On 21 March 1993, St. John Paul II presided at the canonization of Teresa of the Andes in St. Peter’s Basilica

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

John Paul II, 1993. Canonizzazione di Claudine Thévenet e di Teresa de Jesús de los Andes. Omelia di Giovanni Paolo II, Domenica, 21 marzo 1993. Vatican.va. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/homilies/1993/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19930321_thevenet.html (Accessed: 19 March 2026).

Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Detail from a photo of Saint Teresa that was taken a few months before she entered the Carmel of Los Andes. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by permission).

Quote of the day, 22 January: St. Teresa of the Andes

I’ve been in Carmel 6 months, Isabel, 6 months of heaven, undisturbed by anything on earth, 6 months of living hidden in my adored Word, listening to His Word of life, contemplating His infinite beauty.

If I could but explain to you the immense void in which I live as far as anything having to do with the world is concerned, you’d envy me.

It’s Jesus, my Isabel, who is the only attraction in my life. It’s He, with His charms and sweetness, who leads me to forget everything.

Still, there are times—believe me—when a person suffers. And don’t think that a Carmelite’s sufferings are of any ordinary type. And yet in her suffering it’s as though a Carmelite rejoices, isn’t that so, sister dear? Especially when it is Jesus Himself who crucifies us, who breaks us to pieces. We find ourselves happy to be His plaything.

You understand all too well the language of the cross; I don’t need to tell you to love the cross; for it is on the cross that our soul’s transformation in God is accomplished. But don’t think that because of this that I suffer, for believe me, I wish I could suffer much more.

The best thing of all is to love God’s will. It is there that we find the cross better than in any other place. It is there that this blessed tree grows correctly, without hindrance, for it is without our choice, without any personal satisfaction whatsoever.

Do you feel in your soul this love for God’s will?

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 149 to Elisa Valdes Ossa, November 1919 (excerpts)

Note: This lengthy, undated letter also reflects—especially in its later paragraphs—the spiritual influence of Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity on Teresa, the young Carmelite. On this date in 1986, Saint John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroicity of her virtues, by which she received the title Venerable.

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Saint John Paul II waves farewell to the faithful at the conclusion of the Mass of Beatification of Teresa of Jesus of the Andes in Parque O’Higgins, Santiago, Chile, 3 April 1987. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites (by permission).

#cross #JesusChrist #StTeresaOfTheAndes #suffering #willOfGod

Quote of the day, 15 April: St. Teresa of the Andes

I want you to know that I’d give anything to preach to the whole world blind abandonment into God’s hands.

Believe me, I’ve felt Him within me as I work along, since I’ve asked Him for nothing but what He wants and nothing more.

I’ve told my Jesus that He’s the Captain. Let Him give the orders. His soldier will follow Him to death, as long as He helps me with His grace.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 86 to Mother Angelica Teresa of the Blessed Sacrament, O.C.D. (excerpt)
20 April 1919

Note: Father Michael Griffin, O.C.D.—translator and editor of the Letters of St. Teresa of the Andes—comments on her correspondence with the prioress of the Carmel of the Holy Spirit at Los Andes, Mother Angelica Teresa:

At age seventeen, Juanita began corresponding with Mother Angelica Teresa in hopes of being admitted to the Carmel of Los Andes. All in all, she wrote Mother Angelica Teresa twenty letters. These letters shed great light on Juanita’s understanding of the Carmelite vocation and show how earnestly she wanted to become “the perfect friend and bride of the Lord’s heart” (L 51).

One is especially struck by the complete honesty and sincerity with which the aspirant allowed Mother Angelica “to read her soul” to the point that she can say, “Rev. Mother, you can’t complain that your little daughter doesn’t talk to you heart-to-heart” (L 30).

Assuring Mother Angelica of her great desire to enter the Order and to “be able to wear the habit of Carmel with honor” (L 36), she never hesitated to manifest her faults, some of which she felt could disqualify her from this beautiful vocation.

What were these possible impediments to her vocation? For one thing, Juanita did not feel she was holy enough. Furthermore, she was afraid she might not have the health required for such an austere vocation.

There is no doubt but that Mother Angelica was powerfully impressed with Juanita’s letters. In fact, she told Juanita she was a “born Carmelite.” Just how impressed she was can be garnered from a reading of the outstanding Circular Letter Mother Angelica wrote to the other Carmels immediately after Sister Teresa’s death. Mother Angelica was fully convinced “that her knowledge of the Carmelite vocation did not come from her intelligence and reflection alone. These thoughts came, she said, from an understanding which God put in her soul concerning the vocation to which He was calling her.”

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: This striking image of Christ Pantocrator—inspired by the style of Viktor Vasnetsov—shows Jesus blessing with His right hand while holding the Gospel open in His left. The Slavonic text and iconographic details suggest it originates from a Russian or Serbian Orthodox church. Image credit: oleg_ru / Adobe Stock (Used under license).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
What helps you trust Jesus as your Captain—even when you don’t know where He’s leading?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#abandonment #CarmeliteSpirituality #grace #SequelaChristi #soldier #StTeresaOfTheAndes #willOfGod

Quote of the day, 7 April: St. John Paul II

“I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12)

Sister Teresa of the Andes—Teresa of Jesus, a Discalced Carmelite—is a light of Christ for the entire Church in Chile. She is the first canonized saint of the Teresian Carmel in Latin America and is now enrolled among the saints of the universal Church.

As in the first reading from the Book of Samuel, Teresa does not stand out because of her appearance or stature. The sacred text reminds us: “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). And so, in a short life of just over 19 years—and in only eleven months as a Carmelite—God allowed the light of his Son, Jesus Christ, to shine through her in an extraordinary way. She now serves as a beacon and guide for a world that has grown blind to divine radiance.

To a secularized society that lives turned away from God, this young Carmelite from Chile—whom I joyfully present as a model of the Gospel’s enduring youth—offers the clear testimony of a life that proclaims to today’s men and women: in loving, adoring, and serving God, we find human greatness and joy, true freedom, and the fullness of our calling. From the silence of the cloister, the life of Blessed Teresa quietly cries out: “God alone suffices!”

And she proclaims this especially to young people, who are hungry for truth and searching for a light that gives meaning to life. To a generation bombarded by constant messages and the pressures of an eroticized culture—to a society that confuses real love, which is self-giving, with the hedonistic use of others—this young virgin of the Andes proclaims the beauty and joy that flow from hearts that are pure.

Now, from eternity, Saint Teresa of the Andes continues her intercession as an advocate for countless brothers and sisters. She who found her heaven on earth in espousing Jesus now beholds him face to face, and from that place of intimacy, she prays for all who seek the light of Christ.

Saint John Paul II

Canonization Homily for Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
Sunday, 21 March 1993

Translation from the Spanish text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Photographer Juan Jose Napuri captures this stunning image of Laguna Torres in Torres del Paine National Park, a famous landmark of Patagonia in southern Chile. Image credit: peruphotoart / Adobe Stock (Asset ID# 304107267)

💠 Appreciate these quotes from the Carmelites?
Subscribe for more Carmelite wisdom delivered straight to your inbox.

💠 Reflection question:
Where do you see Christ’s light shining in today’s world—and how are you called to reflect it?
Share your thoughts in the comments.

#canonization #Christ #contemplation #homily #light #purity #StJohnPaulII #StTeresaOfTheAndes #translation #youth

Quote of the day, 16 March: St. Teresa of the Andes

The Carmelite must ascend the Tabor of Carmel and be clothed with the garments of penance that will make her more like Jesus. And, as He, she wants to be transformed, to be transfigured in order to be converted into God.

The Carmelite must ascend Calvary. There she will immolate herself for souls. Love crucifies her; she dies to herself and to the world. She is buried, and her tomb is the Heart of Jesus; and from there she rises, is reborn to a new life and spiritually lives united to the whole world.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Her Intimate Spiritual Diary, 58

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The featured image is a detail from a stained glass window depicting the Transfiguration, located in the Church of Saint-Thurien in Plogonnec, Finistère, France. Created in the early 16th century, the window has undergone restorations in 1912 and 1956. Source details retrieved from pop.culture.gouv.fr. Image credit: Musée de Bretagne (Some rights reserved).

💜 Transformation comes through surrender. How is Christ calling you to be transfigured today?

#Calvary #Carmel #HeartOfJesus #immolation #penance #StTeresaOfTheAndes #Tabor #Transfiguration

Quote of the day, 14 March: St. Teresa of the Andes

Resolutions For 1917

1. To accept sacrifices interiorly without murmuring or being discouraged.
2. I must be more hidden.
3. I must strive to work for the happiness of others.
4. I will try to practice virtue in an amiable way for the sake of others. I must forget myself:
   • By uniting myself to Jesus;
   • In being charitable to my neighbor;
   • In not giving my opinion unless asked;
   • In suffering humiliations with joy by being nice to those who cause me humiliations;
   • By living with Jesus in the depths of my soul, which must be His little home where He can repose. I will adore Him and offer Him mortifications, sufferings and humiliations. To live with God, isn’t this heaven on earth?

To live with Him in unity of thoughts, sentiments, and actions so that in looking at me the Father will find the image of His Son. And the Holy Spirit, in seeing the Father and Son residing in me, will make me His bride, and the three Persons will come to make their abode in me.

I must contemplate Jesus Crucified in my soul. I will imitate Him and receive the Blood of my Jesus at the foot of the cross, which I will preserve in my soul and which I must communicate to the souls of my neighbors so that, through the Blood of Christ, they may be washed clean.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Her Intimate Spiritual Diary (excerpt)

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Discalced Carmelites bear witness to the virtue of charity each and every day. You can find this photo and others like it in our 2020 slideshow of scenes from daily life at Maryton Carmel at Liverpool, England. Image credit: Maryton Carmel Liverpool and the Association of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (by kind permission)

#charity #DiscalcedCarmelite #familyLife #love #monasticLife #nuns #reconciliation #sacrifice #StTeresaOfTheAndes

Quote of the day, 7 January: St. Teresa of the Andes

Mommy, there’s no need to worry, since I’m always on vacation with Jesus. Besides, from Christmas, the 25th until January 6, we had several recreation days which we might call a Carmelite’s vacation time.

Nevertheless, Mommy, nothing seems to distract a soul that’s searching for God alone. I myself am shocked when I see my indifference over what had previously filled me with enthusiasm. My only happiness now is to live for my Jesus alone. In Him I find everything my soul desires in an infinite degree.

I never tire, Mommy dear, of thanking God for having chosen me for Himself, despite my sinfulness; and may the vocation of your Carmelite always help you to love and praise Him more.

Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes

Letter 157 to her mother
18 January 1920

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Andes mountains are always a stunning view in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. The Cuernos del Paine are one of the features that await tourists to the nation’s Southern Patagonia region. Image credit: Adobe Stock (Stock photo)

#Carmelite #Jesus #recreation #StTeresaOfTheAndes #vocation #monasticLife #happiness #GodAlone #Christmas

It is impossible to describe what took place between my soul and Jesus. I asked Jesus a thousand times that He would take me, and I experienced His dear voice for the first time. “Oh Jesus I love You, I adore You!”

I prayed to Him for everybody. I felt the Virgin near me. Oh, how my heart expanded! For the first time, I experienced a delicious peace.

From that time, the dear Jesus spoke to me, and I spent entire hours conversing with Him. That is the reason I enjoyed being alone. He went on teaching me how I should suffer and not complain and about intimate union with Him. Then He told me that He wanted me for Himself, that He would like me to become a Carmelite.

Ah! Mother, you cannot imagine what Jesus was doing in my soul. At that time, I did not live in myself. It was Jesus who was living in me.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

From her autobiographical writings at age 15

Note: St. Teresa of the Andes made her First Holy Communion on 11 September 1910 in the chapel of Sacred Heart private school in Santiago. Bishop Ramón Ángel Jara Ruz presided at Holy Mass.

of the Andes, T 2003, The Writings of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes: An Abridgement, translated from the Spanish by Father Michael D. Griffin, OCD, New Life Publishing Company.

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/09/10/andes-1commun/

#alone #FirstCommunion #Jesus #love #mysticalExperience #peace #soul #StTeresaOfTheAndes #suffer #union #voice

May we always live joyfully. God is infinite joy.

Saint Teresa of the Andes
Letter 101, 14 May 1919

Saint Teresa of the Andes, born as Juana Enriqueta Josefina de los Sagrados Corazones Fernández Solar, was affectionately known as Juanita. She was born in Santiago, Chile, on 13 July 1900. Growing up in a devout Christian family, she was the favorite among her siblings and cherished by her grandfather, Eulogio Solar, who was often seen with his rosary.

From a young age, Juanita attended Holy Mass almost daily and longed for Communion, which she received for the first time on 11 September 1910. Her spiritual life was profoundly influenced by her intense devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Juanita was educated at the Sacred Heart School from 1907 to 1918. Despite her deep affection for her family, she embraced the trial of boarding school as preparation for her vocation. On 7 May 1919, she entered the Discalced Carmelites of Los Andes and took the name Teresa of Jesus. She was clothed in the Carmelite habit on 14 October of the same year.

Inspired by God, Juanita knew she would die young, a reality she accepted with joy and serenity. She saw this as a continuation of her mission to make God known and loved. After much suffering from typhus, she made her religious profession in articulo mortis on 7 April 1920, and passed away on 12 April 1920, at the age of 19.

St. John Paul II, in his homily at her beatification, highlighted her “simple and accessible holiness, centered on the essentials of the Gospel: to love, suffer, pray, and serve.” He emphasized her deep familiarity with Christ and the Virgin Mary, noting, “Her love for Christ, by whom she felt fascinated, led her to consecrate herself to Him forever, and to participate in the mystery of His passion and resurrection.”

For Teresa, “God is infinite joy.” This joy permeated her short life and left a lasting legacy of love and devotion.

The beatification ceremony took place on 3 April 1987, in Santiago, Chile, and her canonization was celebrated on 21 March 1993, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Prayer:

God of mercy, joy of the saints,
you set the young heart of Saint Teresa ablaze
with the fire of virginal love for Christ and for His Church;
and even in suffering made her a cheerful witness to charity.
Through her intercession,
fill us with the delights of your Spirit,
so that we may proclaim by word and deed
the joyful message of your love to the world.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Spanish readers will find a wealth of information on the website santateresadelosandes.cl

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2023, The Letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Image credit for the photo of St. Teresa of the Andes goes to the Discalced Carmelites.

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/12/andes-ep09/

#biography #CarmelOfLosAndes #feastday #homily #love #Podcast #pray #serve #StJohnPaulII #StTeresaOfTheAndes #suffer #VirginMary

I’m in meditation. Our Lord told me I should meditate on the purity of the Virgin. She, without saying anything to me, began to speak. I didn’t recognize her voice and asked if it was Jesus. She answered me that Our Lord was within my soul, but that she was speaking to me. She told me I should write down what she was telling me about purity.

1. To be pure in thought: that is to say, I should reject any thought that’s not from God so I’d constantly be living in His presence. For this I must strive to have affection for no creature.
2. To be pure in my desires, in such a way that I desire only to belong to God more each day; to desire His glory and to be a saint and perform all my deeds with perfection. To this end, never to desire either honor or praise, but to be despised and undergo humiliations, since in this way I am pleasing to God. To desire no comforts or anything that flatters my senses. To desire neither to eat nor sleep but only to serve God better.
3. To be pure in my deeds. To abstain from all that can defile me and from all that is not permitted by God who seeks my sanctification. To do all things for God as best I can, not because creatures are looking at me. To avoid every word that’s not spoken for God and for His glory. In my conversations, always bring in something about God. I’m to look at nothing without necessity, but contemplate God in His works. To imagine that God is always looking at me. In my tastes to abstain from what is pleasing to self. If I eat anything I should take no delight in it, and I should offer it to God, because for me it is necessary to serve Him better. I should mortify my sense of touch by not touching myself without necessity, or any other person. In a word, my whole spirit should be immersed in God in such a way that I forget my body completely. Mary lived this way since she was born; but it was much easier for her since she was always full of grace. I should do all on my part to imitate her, since by so doing God will unite Himself intimately to me. I should pray to obtain this grace. In this way I’ll reflect God who is in my soul.

Saint Teresa of the Andes

Her Intimate Spiritual Diary, 22 February 1919

Griffin, M D & Teresa of the Andes, S 2021, God, The Joy of My Life: A Biography of Saint Teresa of the Andes With the Saint’s Spiritual Diary, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: The Virgin of the Annunciation is a sculpture carved from limestone in Paris ca. 1300-1310. Traces of paint can still be seen on the sculpture. The sculpture’s modest dimensions (16 11/16 × 11 5/8 × 7 3/8 in., 34 lb.) permit the delicate features of the sculpture to be clearly seen. This artwork is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Medieval Sculpture Hall in New York City. Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art (Public domain)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/05/26/mdj2024-ep27/

#BlessedVirginMary #contemplation #mysticalExperience #prayer #presenceOfGod #purity #selfDenial #StTeresaOfTheAndes

St. Teresa of the Andes called herself "a rebellious bit of dust," offering a heartfelt prayer to Jesus, clinging to his love, tenderness, and mercy: "forget my ungratefulness and take me to Yourself completely... May I live submerged in your love."

✝ On this Ash Wednesday, read her prayer:
https://carmelitequotes.blog/2023/02/21/andes-dust/

#ashwednesday #stteresaoftheandes #dust #ashes #prayer #jesus #love #tenderness #mercy #trust #carmelites #quotes

At her beatification, St John Paul II lifted up the example of Teresa of the Andes as a model for holiness for all the laity, especially the youth.

Visit our blog to read an excerpt from his homily:
http://carmelitequotes.blog/2023/01/28/jp2-andes/

#stteresaoftheandes #stjohnpaulii #beatitudes #joy #perfection #example #jesuschrist #homily #santiagodechile #beatification #mass #catholic #carmelite #quotes #inspiration

At her beatification, St John Paul II lifted up the example of Teresa of the Andes as a model for holiness for all the laity, especially the youth.

Visit our blog to read an excerpt from his homily:
http://carmelitequotes.blog/2023/01/28/jp2-andes/

#stteresaoftheandes #stjohnpaulii #beatitudes #joy #perfection #example #jesuschrist #homily #santiagodechile #beatification #mass #catholic #carmelite #quotes #inspiration