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They deceive themselves who believe that union with God consists in ecstasies or raptures, and in the enjoyment of Him. For it consists in nothing except the surrender and subjection of our will - with our thoughts, words and actions - to the will of God. -- Teresa Of Avila
Oh, my Lord! How true it is that whoever works for you is paid in troubles! And what a precious price to those who love you if we understand its value. -- Teresa Of Avila
Christ moves along the pots and pans. -- Teresa Of Avila
Desire to see God, be fearful of losing Him, and find joy in everything that can lead to Him. If you act in this way, you will always live in great peace. -- Teresa Of Avila
I am quite sure that if we could but once approach the Most Holy Sacrament with great faith and love, it would suffice to make us rich. How much more so if we approach it often! -- Teresa Of Avila
Let us not fail him; do not fear that he will fail you. And if some time he should fail you, it will be for a greater good. The -- Teresa Of Avila
How is it that there are not many who are led by sermons to forsake open sin? Do you know what I think? That is because preachers have too much worldly wisdom. -- Teresa Of Avila
I cannot think why we should be astonished at all the evils which exist in the Church, when those who ought to be models on which all may pattern their virtues are annulling the work wrought in the religious Orders by the spirit of the saints of old. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is presumptuous in me to wish to choose my path, because I cannot tell which path is best for me. I must leave it to the Lord, Who knows me, to lead me by the path which is best for me, so that in all things His will may be done. -- Teresa Of Avila
If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so many enemies. -- Teresa Of Avila
If this is the way You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few! -- Teresa Of Avila
The surest way to determine whether one possesses the love of God is to see whether he or she loves his or her neighbor. These two loves are never separated. Rest assured, the more you progress in love of neighbor the more your love of God will increase. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let us realize, my daughters, that true perfection consists in the love of God and of our neighbour, and the more nearly perfect is our observance of these two commandments, the nearer to perfection we shall be. Our -- Teresa Of Avila
Patient endurance / Attaineth to all things. -- Teresa Of Avila
All things must come to its roots from where it is planted. -- Teresa Of Avila
Christ has no body now but mine. He prays in me, works in me, looks through my eyes, speaks through my words, works through my hands, walks with my feet and loves with my heart. -- Teresa Of Avila
You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is no small pity, and should cause us no little shame, that, through our own fault, we do not understand ourselves, or know who we are. -- Teresa Of Avila
I only wish I could write with both hands, so as not to forget one thing while I am saying another. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is a great advantage for us to be able to consult someone who knows us, so that we may learn to know ourselves. -- Teresa Of Avila
Humility must always be doing its work like a bee making honey in the hive: without humility all will be lost. -- Teresa Of Avila
I believe we shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavouring to know God, for, beholding His greatness we are struck by our own baseness, His purity shows our foulness, and by meditating on His humility we find how very far we are from being humble. 11. -- Teresa Of Avila
Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience turns a very short time into a long one. -- Teresa Of Avila
His Majesty [the Lord] ... rewards great services with trials, and there can be no better reward, for out of trials springs love for God. -- Teresa Of Avila
Before prayer, endeavor to realize whose Presence you are approaching, and to whom you are about to speak. We can never fully understand how we ought to behave towards God, before whom the angels tremble. -- Teresa Of Avila
Do you know when people really become spiritual? It is when they become the slaves of God and are branded with His sign, which is the sign of the Cross, in token that they have given Him their freedom. -- Teresa Of Avila
Do you suppose, daughters, that He is alone when He comes to us? Do you not see that His most holy Son says: "Who art in the Heavens"? Surely such a King would not be abandoned by His courtiers. They stay with Him and pray to Him on our behalf and for our welfare, for they are full of charity. -- Teresa Of Avila
There was the torture of sermons, and that not a slight one, for I was very fond of them. -- Teresa Of Avila
To wish to act like angels while we are still in this world is nothing but folly. -- Teresa Of Avila
All things pass ... Patience attains all it strives for. -- Teresa Of Avila
God never changes; Patient endurance Attains to all things; Who God possesses In nothing is wanting; Alone God suffices. -- Teresa Of Avila
Patience attains All that it strives for. He who has God Finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices. -- Teresa Of Avila
But here the Lord asks only two things of us: love for His Majesty and love for our neighbour. It is for these two virtues that we must strive, and if we attain them perfectly we are doing His will and so shall be united with Him. -- Teresa Of Avila
But the fact is, things always seem to come slowly when you are longing for them. -- Teresa Of Avila
Be gentle to all, and stern with yourself. -- Teresa Of Avila
May I not come before You with empty hands, since we are rewarded according to our deeds. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let nothing disturb thee, let nothing affright thee. All things are passing. Patience obtains all things. He who has God has everything - God alone suffices. -- Teresa Of Avila
For if the will has nothing to employ it and love has no present object with which to busy itself, the soul finds itself without either support or occupation, its solitude and aridity cause it great distress and its thoughts involve it in the severest conflict. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is a great folly to be willing to violate the friendship of God, rather than the law of human friendship. -- Teresa Of Avila
For at times it happens that some trifle will cause as much suffering to one as a great trial will to another; little things can bring much distress to persons who have sensitive natures. If you are not like them, do not fail to be compassionate. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let us look at our own faults, and not other people's. We ought not to insist on everyone following in our footsteps, nor to take upon ourselves to give instructions in spirituality when, perhaps, we do not even know what it is. -- Teresa Of Avila
I would never want any prayer that would not make the virtues grow within me. -- Teresa Of Avila
All the troubles of the Church, all the evils in the world, flow from this source: that men do not by clear and sound knowledge and serious consideration penetrate into the truths of Sacred Scripture. -- Teresa Of Avila
Our soul can find in the Blessed Sacrament all the joys and consolations it desires. -- Teresa Of Avila
Who God possesseth
In nothing is wanting;
Alone God sufficeth. -- Teresa Of Avila
In the presence of Jesus in the Holy Sacrament we ought to be like the Blessed in heaven before the Divine Essence -- Teresa Of Avila
But to get to know God's friends is a very good way of "having" Him; -- Teresa Of Avila
Let us live in such a way as not to be afraid to die. -- Teresa Of Avila
Their heart does not allow them to practise duplicity: if they see their friend straying from the road, or committing any faults, they will speak to her about it; they cannot allow themselves to do anything else. -- Teresa Of Avila
Holy church-that mother who is also a queen because she is a king's bride. -- Teresa Of Avila
A slight failing in one virtue is enough to put all the others to sleep. -- Teresa Of Avila
It constantly happens that the Lord permits a soul to fall so that it may grow humbler. -- Teresa Of Avila
Do you suppose that God has any need of our works? What God needs is the resoluteness of our will. -- Teresa Of Avila
The hour I have long wished for is now come. -- Teresa Of Avila
I fully realize that this gratitude of mine is not in the least a sign of perfection: it must be my nature - I could be suborned with a sardine ... -- Teresa Of Avila
When we accept what happens to us and make the best of it, we are praising God. -- Teresa Of Avila
I would write a thousand foolish things that one might be to the point, if only it might make us praise God more. -- Teresa Of Avila
We need no wings to go in search of Him, but have only to look upon Him present within us. -- Teresa Of Avila
I often thought my constitution would never endure the work I had to do, (but) the Lord said to me: 'Daughter, obedience gives strength.' -- Teresa Of Avila
So dearly does His Majesty love us that He will reward our love for our neighbor by increasing the love which we bear to Himself, and that in a thousand ways. -- Teresa Of Avila
I believe, unless I had a new book, I was never happy. -- Teresa Of Avila
We may speak of love and humility as the true flowers of spiritual growth; and they give off a wonderful scent, which benefits all those who come near. -- Teresa Of Avila
The devil frequently fills our thoughts with great schemes, so that instead of putting our hands to what work we can do to serve our Lord, we may rest satisfied with wishing to perform impossibilities. -- Teresa Of Avila
Humility, however deep it be, neither disquiets nor troubles nor disturbs the soul; it is accompanied by peace, joy and tranquillity. -- Teresa Of Avila
We cannot be sure if we are loving God, although we may have good reasons for believing that we are, but we can know quite well if we are loving our neighbor. And be certain that, the farther advanced you find you are in this, the greater the love you will have for God ... -- Teresa Of Avila
We bloomed in Spring. Our bodies are the leaves of God. The apparent seasons of life and death our eyes can suffer; but our souls, dear, I will just say this forthright: they are God Himself, we will never perish until He does. -- Teresa Of Avila
That is how His Majesty [the Lord] rewards our good works
I mean, by predisposing us to perform better ones. -- Teresa Of Avila
For pity's sake, don't start meeting troubles halfway. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is of great importance, when we begin to practise prayer, not to let ourselves be frightened by our own thoughts. -- Teresa Of Avila
Reflect carefully on this, for it is so important that I can hardly lay too much stress on it. Fix your eyes on the Crucified and nothing else will be of much importance to you. -- Teresa Of Avila
He has borne with thousands of foul and abominable sins which you have committed against Him, yet even they have not been enough to make Him cease looking upon you. Is it such a great matter, then, for you to avert the eyes of your soul from the outward things and sometimes to look at Him? -- Teresa Of Avila
Strive to close the eyes of the body and open those of the soul and look into your own heart. -- Teresa Of Avila
For, as I said a little way back, perfect souls are in no way repelled by trials, but rather desire them and pray for them and love them. They are like soldiers: the more wars there are, the better they are pleased, because they hope to emerge from them with the greater riches. -- Teresa Of Avila
God, deliver me from sullen saints. -- Teresa Of Avila
Each of us has a soul, but we forget to value it. We don't remember that we are creatures made in the image of God. We don't understand the great secrets hidden inside of us. -- Teresa Of Avila
How friendly we should all be with one another if nobody were interested in money and honor. -- Teresa Of Avila
The life of prayer is just love to God, and the custom of being ever with Him. -- Teresa Of Avila
Give me, if you will, prayers;
Or let me know dryness,
An abudance of devotion,
Or if not, then barrenness.
In you alone, Sovereign Majesty,
I find my peace,
What do you want of me?
Yours I am, fo ryou I was born:
What do you want of me? -- Teresa Of Avila
Ah, how true it is that we love ourselves too much and proceed with too much human prudence, that we may not lose an atom of our consideration! Oh, what a great mistake that is! The Saints did not act thus. -- Teresa Of Avila
From heaven even the most miserable life will look like one bad night at an inconvenient hotel. -- Teresa Of Avila
Life is to life in such a way that we are not afraid to die. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let us look at our own shortcomings and leave other people's alone; for those who live carefully ordered lives are apt to be shocked at everything and we might well learn very important lessons from the persons who shock us. Our -- Teresa Of Avila
From silly devotions and from sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us. -- Teresa Of Avila
[On her father:] ... in losing him I lost my greatest blessing and comfort, for he was always that to me ... -- Teresa Of Avila
Let us desire that not our wills, but His will, be done.74 If we have not progressed as far as this, then, as I have said, let us practise humility, which is the ointment for our wounds; if we are truly humble, God, the Physician,75 will come in due course, even though He tarry, to heal us. -- Teresa Of Avila
But always when I was without a book, my soul would at once become disturbed, and my thoughts wandered. As I read, I began to call them together again and, as it were, laid a bait for my soul -- Teresa Of Avila
Union is as if in a room there were two large windows through which the light streamed in it enters in diffrent places but it all becomes one. -- Teresa Of Avila
Untilled ground, however rich, will bring forth thistles and thorns; so also the mind of man. -- Teresa Of Avila
Nothing is small if God accepts it. -- Teresa Of Avila
Do not try to get so much that you achieve nothing. Look -- Teresa Of Avila
If we practice love of neighbor with great perfection, we will have done everything. -- Teresa Of Avila
How is it, Lord, that we are cowards in everything save in opposing thee? -- Teresa Of Avila
With all this wide and beautiful creation before me, the restless soul longs to enjoy its liberty and rest beyond its bound. -- Teresa Of Avila
Love draws forth love. -- Teresa Of Avila
If you seek to carry no other crosses but those whose reason you understand, perfection is not for you. -- Teresa Of Avila
For only the body would die, whereas the loss of a soul is a great loss which is apparently without end; -- Teresa Of Avila
Teach by works more than words. -- Teresa Of Avila
Happy the heart where love has come to birth. -- Teresa Of Avila
For the devil does not allow a single bad habit to disappear and the very weakness of our mortal nature destroys the virtues in us. -- Teresa Of Avila
God has no hands or feet or voice except ours and through these He works. -- Teresa Of Avila
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. -- Teresa Of Avila
I made you, dear, and all I make is perfect. Please come close, for I desire you. -- Teresa Of Avila
Many people are good at talking and bad at understanding, -- Teresa Of Avila
The saints rejoiced at injuries and persecutions, because in forgiving them they had something to present to God when they prayed to Him. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is quite important to withdraw from all unnecessary cares and business, as far as compatible with the duties of one's state of life, in order to enter the second mansion. -- Teresa Of Avila
As I see it, we shall never succeed in knowing ourselves unless we seek to know God: let -- Teresa Of Avila
Let there be no disappointment when obedience keeps you busy in outward tasks. If it sends you to the kitchen, remember that the Lord walks among the pots and pans ... -- Teresa Of Avila
Let us remember that within us there is a palace of immense magnificence. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices. -- Teresa Of Avila
At first it may cause a good deal of trouble, for the body insists on its rights, not understanding that if it refuses to admit defeat it is, as it were, cutting off its own head. -- Teresa Of Avila
Never do anything which you could not do in the sight of all. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is the nature of love to work in a thousand different ways. -- Teresa Of Avila
May nothing wind you up, nothing affright you; everything comes and goes. God, still, just there; through patience all will be achieved. If you have God, you lack nothing: God alone will do. -- Teresa Of Avila
Souls without prayer are like bodies, palsied and lame, having hands and feet they cannot use. -- Teresa Of Avila
Whenever conscience commands anything, there is only one thing to fear, and that is fear. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything. -- Teresa Of Avila
The happy result of detachment is inner freedom, freedom from worry about bodily comfort, honor, and wealth. Considering -- Teresa Of Avila
After you die, you wear what you are. -- Teresa Of Avila
Either we are the brides of this great King or we are not. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is true that we cannot be free from sin, but at least let our sins not always be the same. -- Teresa Of Avila
Prayer is a friendly conversation with the One we know loves us. -- Teresa Of Avila
Be kind to all and severe to thyself. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is a dangerous thing to be satisfied with ourselves. -- Teresa Of Avila
He who has God finds he is lacking nothing. -- Teresa Of Avila
Truth suffers, but never dies. -- Teresa Of Avila
Those who in fact risk all for God will find that they have both lost all and gained all. -- Teresa Of Avila
You ought to make every effort to free yourselves even from venial sin, and to do what is most perfect. -- Teresa Of Avila
However much we do to avoid them, we shall never lack crosses in this life if we are in the ranks of the Crucified. -- Teresa Of Avila
If you fall sometimes, you must not be discouraged. -- Teresa Of Avila
There is no reason why we should expect everyone else to travel by our own road, and -- Teresa Of Avila
Mental prayer is, as I see it, simply a friendly intercourse and frequent solitary conversation with Him who, as we know, loves us. -- Teresa Of Avila
We should pray most regularly for those who give us light. -- Teresa Of Avila
Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul. -- Teresa Of Avila
Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end. -- Teresa Of Avila
It should be observed that perfect love of God consists not in those delights, tears and sentiments of devotion that we generally seek, but in a strong determination and keen desire to please God in all things, and to promote His glory. -- Teresa Of Avila
Always think of yourself as everyone's servant; look for Christ Our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for them all. -- Teresa Of Avila
What a miserable life is this! There is no happiness that is secure and nothing that does not change. -- Teresa Of Avila
God's will is that no bounds should be set to His works. -- Teresa Of Avila
For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God. -- Teresa Of Avila
If we learn to love the earth, we will find labyrinths, gardens, fountains and precious jewels! A whole new world will open itself to us. We will discover what it means to be truly alive. -- Teresa Of Avila
One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying. He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off, and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is prayer. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let nothing disturb you, / Nothing dismay you; / All things are passing: / God never changes. -- Teresa Of Avila
There seem to me a great many blessings which come from true poverty and I should be sorry to be deprived of them. -- Teresa Of Avila
Our greatest gain is to lose the wealth that is of such brief duration and, by comparison with eternal things, of such little worth; yet we get upset about it and our gain turns to loss. -- Teresa Of Avila
God aids the valiant ... both to you and to me He will give the help needed. -- Teresa Of Avila
I have always had this failing - that I cannot explain myself, as I have said, except at the cost of many words. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you, all things are passing, God is unchanging. Patience gains all; nothing is lacking to those who have God: God alone is sufficient. -- Teresa Of Avila
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. -- Teresa Of Avila
All times are dangerous times. -- Teresa Of Avila
We shall advance more by contemplating the Divinity than by keeping our eyes fixed on ourselves, -- Teresa Of Avila
Humility does not disturb or disquiet or agitate, however great it may be; it comes with peace, delight, and calm ... The pain of genuine humility doesn't agitate or afflict the soul; rather, this humility expands it and enables it to serve God more. -- Teresa Of Avila
Oh, how everything that is suffered with love is healed again! -- Teresa Of Avila
[Last words:] My Lord, it is time to move on. Well then, may your will be done. O my Lord and my Spouse, the hour that I have longed for has come. It is time to meet one another. -- Teresa Of Avila
Lord, how you afflict your lovers! But everything is small in comparison to what you give them afterwards. -- Teresa Of Avila
I cannot understand how humility exists, or can exist, without love, or love without humility, -- Teresa Of Avila
No one should think or say anything of another which he would not wish thought or said of himself. -- Teresa Of Avila
In all created things discern the providence and wisdom of God, and in all things give Him thanks. -- Teresa Of Avila
Christ does not force our will, He only takes what we give Him. But He does not give Himself entirely until He sees that we yield ourselves entirely to Him. -- Teresa Of Avila
What peace can we hope to find elsewhere if we have none within us -- Teresa Of Avila
We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble. -- Teresa Of Avila
Of the good things they do many will pass unnoticed, or will even not be considered good at all; but they need not fear that any evil or imperfect thing they do will be overlooked. -- Teresa Of Avila
Vocal prayer ... must be accompanied by reflection. A prayer in which a person is not aware of Whom he is speaking to, what he is asking, who it is who is asking and of Whom, I don't call prayer-however much the lips may move. -- Teresa Of Avila
Never exaggerate, but express your feelings with moderation. -- Teresa Of Avila
The mind's continual keeping in the presence of God 8 and the concentration of its thoughts on Him would so enrage the fiend that, although he might try the experiment once, he -- Teresa Of Avila
Love makes labour light. Love alone gives value to all things. -- Teresa Of Avila
Never affirm anything unless you are sure it is true. -- Teresa Of Avila
Any real ecstasy is a sign you are moving in the right direction. -- Teresa Of Avila
Christ has no body on Earth but ours. -- Teresa Of Avila
Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. -- Teresa Of Avila
I am quite sure I am more afraid of people who are themselves terrified of the devil than I am of the devil himself. -- Teresa Of Avila
However softly we speak, God is near enough to hear us. -- Teresa Of Avila
About the injunction of the Apostle Paul that women should keep silent in church? Don't go by one text only. -- Teresa Of Avila
God prefers your health, and your obedience, to your penance. -- Teresa Of Avila
The more we see that any action springs not from the motive of obedience, the more evident is it that it is a temptation of the enemy; for when God sends an inspiration, the very first effect of it is to infuse a spirit of docility. -- Teresa Of Avila
That name
my conception of Him
extended to me
a hand that led to a place
where even His divine name could not exist.
Why? -- Teresa Of Avila
Life is a night spent in an uncomfortable inn. -- Teresa Of Avila
You must not build upon foundations of prayer and contemplation alone, for, unless you strive after the virtues and practice them, you will never grow to be more than dwarfs. -- Teresa Of Avila
At night a hooded monk passed by where there were no lamps.
I could not see his face. I only heard these words he kept repeating:
"Teach me, dear Lord, all that you know."
I knew instantly a great treasure had entered my soul. -- Teresa Of Avila
Out of suffering comes the serious mind; out of salvation, the grateful heart; out of endurance, fortitude; out of deliverance faith. Patient endurance attends to all things. -- Teresa Of Avila
Be gentle and kind with every one, and severe with yourself. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is only mercenaries who expect to be paid by the day. -- Teresa Of Avila
Seldom or never is a poor man honored by the world; however worthy of honor he may be, he is apt rather to be despised by it. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let thy words be few when in the midst of many ... -- Teresa Of Avila
If we plant a flower or a shrub and water it daily it will grow so tall that in time we shall need a spade and a hoe to uproot it. It is just so, I think, when we commit a fault, however small, each day, and do not cure ourselves of it. -- Teresa Of Avila
We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is a good proof and test of our love if we can bear with such faults and not be shocked by them. Others, in their turn, will bear with your faults, which, if you include those of which you are not aware, must be much more numerous. -- Teresa Of Avila
Untilled soil, however fertile it may be, will bear thistles and thorns; so it is with man's mind. -- Teresa Of Avila
I am afraid that if we begin to put our trust in human help, some of our Divine help will fail us. -- Teresa Of Avila
To want to become angels while we are still on earth ... is ridiculous. -- Teresa Of Avila
True perfection consists in the love of God and our neighbor, and the better we keep both these commandments, the more perfect we shall be. -- Teresa Of Avila
The closer one approaches to God, the simpler one becomes. -- Teresa Of Avila
Remember, my sisters, that if we are not good we are much more to blame than others. -- Teresa Of Avila
This body of ours has one fault: the more you indulge it, the more things it discovers to be essential to it. It is extraordinary how it likes being indulged ... -- Teresa Of Avila
Jacob did not cease to be a Saint because he had to attend to his flocks. -- Teresa Of Avila
Much more is accomplished by a single word of the Our Father said, now and then, from our heart, than by the whole prayer repeated many times in haste and without attention. -- Teresa Of Avila
You will never lack so much of the water of comfort that your thirst will be intolerable; -- Teresa Of Avila
The best thing must be to flee from all to the All. -- Teresa Of Avila
One always goes on as one begins ... -- Teresa Of Avila
Since in the centre of the soul there is a mansion reserved for God Himself ... -- Teresa Of Avila
True love grows by sacrifice and the more thoroughly the soul rejects natural satisfaction the stronger and more detached its tenderness becomes ... -- Teresa Of Avila
We are weakness itself, and unless He guards the city, in vain shall we labor to defend it. -- Teresa Of Avila
The most potent and acceptable prayer is the prayer that leaves the best effects. I don't mean it must immediately fill the soul with desire ... The best effects are those that are followed up by actions-when the soul not only desires the honor of God, but really strives for it. -- Teresa Of Avila
What a great favor God does to those He places in the company of good people! -- Teresa Of Avila
All the trials we endure cannot be compared to these interior battles. -- Teresa Of Avila
Love turns work into rest. -- Teresa Of Avila
For the devil never slumbers. And the nearer we are to perfection, the more careful we must be, since his temptations are then much more cunning because there are no others that he dare send us; -- Teresa Of Avila
Since God has given it such great dignity, permitting it to wander at will through the rooms of the castle, from the lowest to the highest. Let it not force itself to remain for very long in the same mansion, even the one of self-knowledge. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is not so essential to think much as to love much. -- Teresa Of Avila
There is more value in a little study of humility and in a single act of it than in all the knowledge in the world. -- Teresa Of Avila
Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life ... If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is impossible for human tongue to exaggerate the riches which a vision from God brings to the soul: it even bestows health and refreshment on the body. -- Teresa Of Avila
Don't be curious of matters that don't concern you; never speak of them, and don't ask about them. -- Teresa Of Avila
Prayer and comfortable living are incompatible. -- Teresa Of Avila
Each partner, in fact, shares in the honor and dishonor of the other. -- Teresa Of Avila
There are people whose nature it is to be very much cast down by small things. -- Teresa Of Avila
There is more security in self-denial, mortification, and other like virtues, than in an abundance of tears. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is certain that the love of God does not consist in this sweetness and tenderness which we for the most part desire; but rather in serving Him in justice, fortitude, and humility. His Majesty seeks and loves courageous souls. -- Teresa Of Avila
Never suppose that either the evil or the good that you do will remain secret, however strict may be your enclosure. -- Teresa Of Avila
We should blush for shame to show so much resentment at what is done or said against us, knowing that so many injuries and affronts have been offered to our Redeemer and the saints. -- Teresa Of Avila
Consider seriously how quickly people change, and how little trust is to be had in them; and hold fast to God, Who does not change. -- Teresa Of Avila
Mental prayer is nothing else but being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him. -- Teresa Of Avila
Everything seems to me to pass so quickly that we must concentrate on how to die rather than on how to live. How sweet it is to die if one has lived on the Cross with Christ. -- Teresa Of Avila
All the way to heaven is heaven. -- Teresa Of Avila
Much harm may result from bad company and we are inclined by nature to follow what is worse rather than what is better. -- Teresa Of Avila
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. -- Teresa Of Avila
In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth will be seen to be no more serious than one night in an inconvenient hotel. -- Teresa Of Avila
To converse with You, O King of glory, no third person is needed, You are always ready in the Sacrament of the Altar to give audience to all. All who desire You always find You there, and converse with You face to face -- Teresa Of Avila
Every part of the journey is of importance to the whole. -- Teresa Of Avila
In order that love be fully satisfied, It is necessary that It lower Itself and that It lower Itself to nothingness and transform this nothingness into fire. -- Teresa Of Avila
How often I failed in my duty to God, because I was not leaning on the strong pillar of prayer. -- Teresa Of Avila
How poor is the wisdom of men, and how uncertain their forecast! -- Teresa Of Avila
The important thing is not to think much but to love much; and so do that which best stirs you to love. -- Teresa Of Avila
God deliver me from people who are so spiritual that they want to turn everything into perfect contemplation, come what may. -- Teresa Of Avila
Do not think you have gained a virtue unless you have first been tried by its opposite. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves. -- Teresa Of Avila
Let us consider what the glorious Virgin endured, and what the holy apostles suffered, and we shall find that they who were nearest to Jesus Christ were the most afflicted. -- Teresa Of Avila
For, under the Lord, I owe it to such persons that I am not in hell; I was always very fond of asking them to commend me to God, and so I prevailed upon them to do so. -- Teresa Of Avila
God save us from gloomy saints! -- Teresa Of Avila
Let the truth be in your hearts, as it will be if you practise meditation, and you will see clearly what love we are bound to have for our neighbors. -- Teresa Of Avila
Any true ecstast is a sign you are going in the right direction ... don't let any prude tell you otherwise -- Teresa Of Avila
It will be as well, I think, to explain these locutions of God, and to describe what the soul feels when it receives them. -- Teresa Of Avila
Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which to look out
Christ's compassion to the world
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about
doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now. -- Teresa Of Avila
God withholds Himself from no one who perseveres. -- Teresa Of Avila
As God's beloved, I live in the bliss knowing that my soul is never separated from Him, for I learn to know Her in all that I see. God dissolved my mind-my separation. I cannot describe now my intimacy with Him. -- Teresa Of Avila
Blessed be He, Who came into the world for no other purpose than to suffer. -- Teresa Of Avila
Never compare one person with another: comparisons are odious. -- Teresa Of Avila
May the Lord lay His hand on all that I do so that it may be in accordance with His holy will; this is always my desire, although my actions may be as imperfect as I myself am. -- Teresa Of Avila
Will tell you, for I am not sure if you properly understand as yet how much we owe to the Lord for bringing us to a place where we are so free from business matters, occasions of sin and the society of worldly people. -- Teresa Of Avila
It is love alone that gives worth to all things. -- Teresa Of Avila
Don't imagine that, if you had a great deal of time, you would spend more of it in prayer. Get rid of that idea; it is no hindrance to prayer to spend your time well. -- Teresa Of Avila
Praised be the Lord, who has redeemed me from myself. -- Teresa Of Avila
Suffering is a great favor. Remember that everything soon comes to an end ... and take courage. Think of how our gain is eternal. -- Teresa Of Avila
To reach something good, it is useful to have gone astray. -- Teresa Of Avila
Alas, O Lord, to what a state dost Thou bring those who love Thee! -- Teresa Of Avila
God is even kinder than you think. -- Teresa Of Avila
Souls who do not practice prayer are like people whose limbs are paralyzed. -- Teresa Of Avila
Thank God for the things that I do not own. -- Teresa Of Avila
The life of the spirit is not our life, but the life of God within us. -- Teresa Of Avila
For, as I have already said, it is the ecclesiastical and not the secular arm which must defend us. -- Teresa Of Avila
From moment to moment one can bear much. -- Teresa Of Avila
