Life of Saint Teresa.

Front matter

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Preface

TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.

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The Life of St. Teresa, written by herself, is now, for the first time, presented in the English language to the American readers. The preface by the translator, Rev. John Dalton, of London, and which is here given, leaves but little to be said by the American publisher.

Among the lives of so many eminent servants of God, few have been autobiographies. St. Augustine, perhaps alone, in his confessions, has preceded St. Teresa. This difference, how- . ever, exists between those holy writers, that whilst the great Bishop of Hippo has left us his Confessions, as a testimony of God’s wonderful mercies towards himself, the blessed Teresa wrote her life in obedience to the commands of her confessor, and to explain the marvels of God’s providence in her regard.

If the sixteenth century was marked by the fearful heresies of Luther, Calvin, Munzer,

John of Leyden, and so many others, whose ili iv -_ PREFACE.

shoreless doctrines inundated society with so many evils—during that very period, the church seemed more than ordinarily fruitful with holy and learned men, and institutions of the most beneficial character sprang up in every direction. In that eventful century, arose the institute of St. Ignatius, giving to the church her brightest, and most learned children, the Jesuits. Then were seen in England, Sir Thomas Moore, Bishop Fisher, and Cardinal Pole. In Italy; St. Charles Borromeo, St. Philip Neri, and Leo the Tenth, the patron of learning, and the fine arts. Whilst Spain gave to the church the great Ximenes, Sts. Ignatius, and Zavier, Borgio, St. John of the Cross, and the no less wonderful St. ‘Teresa.

Seldom is the holy recluse an interesting writer, or a pleasing author. Those virtues which withdraw one from the world, and forbid its enjoyments, seem not always the best calculated to form literary habits. St. Teresa, however, affords an exception. Her writings evidence talents of a high order, and her numerous letters attest a command of feeling and expressions not only interesting, but instructive. Her great power, however, lay in her wonderful capacity for prayer, and the

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PREFACE. v facility with which she explains its gradation and efficacy.

We must not expect, in a work of this exalted character, in which the mysterious dealings of God with his Saints are so familiarly treated, to be able to understand or fully appreciate her sublime, and, at times, supernatural language ; but we can admire her piety and humility, and learn to adore the providence of that God whose wonders and mercies are so great. Her constitution, naturally weak, and her body so taxed by physical suffering, still endured beyond the ordinary range of human life. This great servant of God lived sixty-seven years, forty-seven of which she spent in the severest exercises of penitence and prayer. Her long and severely exercised life in the service of her God, should tend to correct that overweening anxiety on the part of so many modern Christians, that will not suffer the slightest encroachment upon those gratifications which are now deemed so lawful by a deceitful world.

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TO THE MOST EMINENT AND MOST REVEREND NICHOLAS,

CARDINAL OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH, ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER, &c.

My Lorp CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP,—

Your kindness in allowing me the honor of dedicating this translation to your Eminence, calls for the expression of my sincere gratitude. It seems fitting that a translation of St. Teresa’s Life should, in some way, have the approbation of your Eminence, who was born in the same noble and Catholic land that gave birth to the Saint, whose wondrous ‘ Life is now presented to the public.

Seville was one of the cities in which St. Teresa founded one of her convents, where, no doubt, the spirit of the holy Foundress still lives among her loving and devoted Daughters.

And your Eminence can well testify how, in spite of wars, revolutions, and the insidious attacks of infidelity, Religion has still maintained her ground, while, in the midst of the deepest poverty, and of innumerable snares and temptations, the bishops, clergy, and Religious, have exhibited to the world models of the most enduring patience, and of the most exalted virtues.

Deeply, too, has Spain sympathized with our late afflic- _tions and persecutions, and with your Eminence in particular, for all the insults and calumnies which you have had to

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endure, but which have been borne with such fortitude and meekness.

And just as days of joy and gladness are now beginning to dawn upon Spain, even so do we rejoice that your Eminence has lived to see the long-wished-for day, when our own beloved Land has at length been restored to her ancient and sacred Hierarchy, which we are confident no ‘‘ penal Laws’? will ever be able again to overthrow.

May St. Teresa, whose noble soul so often sighed for the conversion of heretical lands, intercede for our own distracted country, so long separated from the See of Peter. May she intercede for your Eminence also, that length of days may be granted you to labor amongst us, with fruit a hundred fold.

I have the honor to be, my Lord Cardinal, your Eminence’s most humble and respectful Servant,

JOHN DALTON.

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Contents

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Chapter I

The Saint mentions how our Lord began to excite her soul, in her childhood, to virtuous actions, and what great a Ae her pious parents were to her, : ‘ . °

CHAPTER II. She relates how she began to be fond of reading romances, and

how necessary it is for youth to keep good company, , CHAPTER, IIT.

She mentions how good company was the means of re-awakening virtuous desires within her, and how our Lord began to give her light to discover her errors, ‘ : ‘ ‘

Chapter IV

She relates how our Lord assisted her in forcing herself to take the religious habit, and with how many infirmities His Divine Majestv began to afflict her, . , . , ' .

CHAPTER V. She continues to relate the painful infirmities she endured, and

the patience our Lord gave her, etc., : : : CHAPTER VI.

She mentions how much she owed our Lord for giving her conformity to His will in such great afflictions; and how she also chose the glorious St. Joseph for her patron, etc.,

CHAPTER VII. She shows by what degrees she went on losing the favors which

our Lord had shown her, and how wicked her life began to be, CHAPTER VIII.

She mentions what great good her soul received by not having entirely given up her method of prayer; also, what an excellent remedy prayer is for gaining what we have lost,

Chapter IX

She declares by what means our Lord began to awaken her soul,

and to enlighten her in such great darkness, . . ‘ CHAPTER X.

The Saint begins to mention the favors our Lord bestowed upon her in prayer, and she speaks of the manner in which we may help ourselves, etc., in ae a Sie

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Chapter XI

She declares in what the fault consists of not loving God with perfection in a short time; this she begins to declare by a comparison, containing four degrees of prayer, ; ane Gh

Chapter XIII

She continues the first degree of prayer, and gives advice against certain temptations, which are sometimes brought on by the devil, . ‘ \ ° , : ; ‘ 32) jae

- CHAPTER XIV.

The Saint begins to explain the second degree of prayer, . 184

Chapter XIX

The Saint begins to declare the effects which this beet of prayer produces in the soul, etc., . 167 “ CHAPTER XX.

The Saint treats of the difference which exists between union and rapture, etc., . : h : A : ! Paki ef)

Chapter XXI

The Saint continues and finishes this last degree of prayer, 190.

Chapter XXII

The Saint shows how secure a way it is for those who give themselves to contemplation, not to raise their minds to high things unless our Lord raise them himself, and how the humanity of Christ may serve as a means of reaching the highest degree of contemplation, . . . . 0 0 296

CONTENTS. xi Page.

CHAPTER XXIII. ; The Saint resumes the history of her life, and tells us how she began to aim at greater eno and the means she employed for this purpose, ; ; ‘ en ee ALL CHAPTER XXIV.

The Saint continues the history of her life, and tells us how her

soul was improved after she began to obey her confessor, 216 CHAPTER XXV.

She treats of the way how those words and speeches are to be understood, which God communicates to the soul without any voice or sound being heard, ‘ , ‘ . 220

CHAPTER XXVI.

The same subject is continued. The Saint mentions many _. things which happened to her, ; ' api . 282 CHAPTER XXVII.

The Saint mentions another way by which our Lord instructs a soul, and makes her understand His will. She speaks also of a wonderful vision she had, etc. : , : . 286

CHAPTER XXVIII.

The Saint speaks of the great favors our Lord bestowed upon

- her, and how he appeared to her for the first time, . 247 CHAPTER XXIX.

The Saint continues the same subject, and mentions certain great favors which our Lord showed tae and what He said

_ to comfort and console her, etc., ; : ( ge 2bF.

CHAPTER XXX.

She resumes the history of her life, and mentions how our Lord remedied many of her troubles by means of St. Peter of Alcantara, etc., . : ; : ; . ‘ 2 260

CHAPTER XXXtI.

She treats of certain exterior boat tices and Seed ae

of the devil, etc., . 3 ; mek CHAPTER XXXII.

The Saint mentions how our Lord was pleased to show her, in spirit, the place which had been prepared for her in hell, and which she had deserved by her sins, : - 290

CHAPTER XXXIII.

The Saint continues the pee of the foundation of St. Joseph’s Monastery, etc., ‘i ‘ 299

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CHAPTER XXXIV.

She mentions how she was obliged to leave Avila, and the reason thereof, being commanded to go by her superior to comfort a lady there, who was much afflicted, : ‘ . 808 CHAPTER XXXV.

The Saint continues the history of the foundation of St. Joseph’s Monastery, etc., . : ¥ 819 CHAPTER XXXVL The Saint, continuing the same subject, informs us how the Monastery of St. Joseph was at last founded, . 826 CHAPTER XXXVII.

The Saint mentions the great benefit she received from other heavenly favors.—Many (ulna ath are ne nica his her ecstasies and revelations, 4 . 841

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

The Saint mentions some great favors which our Lord was pleased to show her, in acquainting her with certain secrets of Heaven, and by giving her visions and revelations, etc., 348

CHAPTER XXXIX.

The Saint gives an account of other miraculous graces and sublime visions with which she was favored by our Lord, WO Ge CHAPTER XL.

The Saint continues the same discourse, and relates some more of the great favors our Lord showed her; she then finishes the account of her life, ; ‘ 4 am ¥ e

APPENDIX. 1. Historical notice of Sir Tobie Mathews, Knt. : BST 11. Notice of Mr. Abraham Woodhead, ‘ . 894 mi. Canonizatio Sancte Theresie Virginis, : : of OE tv. Hymn of Saint Teresa, ; : : : . 419 v. Canticle of Saint Teresa after Cousin: . 426 vi. Letter to Father Pedro Ibanez, . ‘ . 480

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PREFACE

TO THE SECOND EDITION.

Iz is with an humble diffidence, united with a sincere desire to make the works of the glorious St. Teresa more and more known in this country, that I now present the public with a Second edition of the Saint’s Life written by herself.

To some persons, whose judgment demands respect, the translation of such a life into English may appear quite un~ called-for, ‘‘ How few,” it may be said, “can understand it! It is too dry, too extraordinary, too mystical for the generality of readers. It may do a great deal of harm to some persons. We want something more simple, practicable, and intelligible.” Such is the substance of the objections which I have sometimes heard urged against St. Teresa’s Life. This is not now the place to answer them, though how far the translation of such and such lives of the saints may or may not be desirable, is certainly a subject which requires much consideration. Every one is entitled to hold and maintain his own opinion on the matter.

In my humbie judgment, I consider—at least I earnestly hope—that the translation of St. Teresa’s life will doa great deal more good to many soulsthan harm. This Second Hdition being called for by the public, shows an increasing desire to become acquainted with the means whereby she arrived at such a height of perfection. Those means are within the reach of all, when aided by God’s powerful grace. St. Teresa was no enthusiast. Amidst all her visions and raptures—(which she never desired or sought after) —she perpetually and emphatically inculeated humility, poverty, obedience, mortification, cheerfulness, purity, aacaa ae to the Divine will, and an ardent love of God, &. Her judgment and common sense were wonderful. _ Harnestly do I hope, then, that my readers may derive profit and delight from the perusal of this wondrous life. The works of St. Teresa, we all know, are highly prized and extensively read in Catholic countries. Year after year they are becoming more and more dear to every devout soul. And here I cannot too strongly recommend the new French translation of the saint’s works, lately undertaken by the Rey. Father Bouix, of the Society of Jesus.* It is certainly most admirable. The good father visited all those places in Spain that are consecrated by St. Teresa; and above all, he had the happiness of inspecting the autograph manuscripts of the Saint’s writings, and of comparing the printed editions with them.

The notes in the body of the translation are exceedingly valuable and interesting. To have embodied only a part of them in the present volume was found impossible, without at the same time increasing the price of the work, which the publisher did not wish to risk.

I trust D’Andilly’s Jansenistical translation will now be superseded altogether by that of Father Bouix’s.

JOHN DALTON.

* Four volumes have already appeared—“ The Life,” “The Foundations,” The “ Way of Perfection,” and “The Letters.”

Preface To The First Edition

To many it may seem presumption in me to have attempted a translation of the Life of St. Teresa. I candidly acknowledge that I myself have had the same opinion, for I know nothing whatever about “‘ Mystical Theology ;” and though I have read several writers on the subject, such as Scaramelli, Cardinal Bona, St. John of the Cross, Father Baker, the Life of Balthasar Alvarez, &c.; yet I must confess, that after all, I have very imperfect notions of the matter. ‘ How then,” I often asked myself, “ can yout venture to translate a Life which is so difficult, so sublime, so extraordinary, so different from the ordinary lives of the saints?” Such were my thoughts; and so far did they prevail on me, that I often resolved to abandon the intention of translating the Life, hoping that some one else, more competent than myself, might, perhaps, sooner or later, undertake the work. Still, with all my diffidence, I felt a secret desire not to abandon the intention altogether; and I was encouraged therein, by the very kind manner in which both Bishop Wareing and Bishop Ullathorne, as well as several priests, whose judgment I valued, spoke of my intention to give a translation of the Saint’s Life.

I accordingly commenced, and was highly delighted with the novelty of the undertaking. The edifying and interesting account the Saint gives of her early years, and of the means employed by God gradually to draw her from the vanities of the world, quite enchanted me, especially as the first ten Chapters are so very easy to translate. But when I was led into the inmost sanctuary of the Saint, and heard words uttered, “* Arcana verba, que non licet homini leas Oy secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter; when visions, and raptures, and divine colloquies, and all the wonders of the supernatural life came before me, and were related in abstruse words, and in a language I had never been accustomed to, then I was indeed strougly tempted to stop: and yet I did not. And why not? Because, in spite of the many difficulties I met with, there was a something so charming, though so sublime, in the Saint’s narration ; the heroic sentiments with which her Life abounds; the heavenly virtues of obedience, mortification, humility, self-denial, and divine love, which the Saint inculcates in almost every page; the admirable rules she lays down for the guidance of souls in the way of perfection; the excellent maxims of a spiritual life, which her holy mouth so frequently uttered; these, and many other advantages, induced me to persevere. I could not resist the attractions by which I was surrounded.

But many imagine there is nothing ‘practical’ in the Life of St. Teresa, or in any of her other works; that it is next to impossible to understand her account of the different degrees of supernatural prayer, to which she was raised ; that being continually absorbed in the contemplation of Him whom her soul loved, she wings her flight too high for ordinary mortals to follow ; that she hardly speaks of anything but visions and raptures ; and hence, that her works are useful and intelligible only to persons who have attained an eminent spirit of prayer, and of these there must be a very small number, even in religious communities.*

Such are some of the prejudices and objections which we sometimes hear urged, and which we know are entertained by many against the works of St. Teresa: but nothing can be more unfounded and erroneous. There is hardly any modern ; saint who displays more solid judgment and common sense than St. Teresa. She is eminently practical. She is all for action, “either to die or to suffer,”? were the noble words ‘that were always on her lips. “‘ Do you see Teresa of Jesus?” exclaimed F. Balthasar Alvarez, “‘ what sublime graces has

* See these objections refuted in “ L’Esprit de Sainte Thérése,” par M. Eméry, (Pref. xii.)

‘she not received of God, and yet she is like the most tractable little child, with regard to everything I can say to her!” To speak here of her practical piety, and of those virtues which every one may imitate by the Divine assistance, would be too tedious. Those who have not the opportunity of reading the high eulogium passed upon her by Ribera, Yepes, Palafox, Villefore, Boucher, the Venerable John of Avila, S. Antonio,* and the learned writers of the last magnificent volume of the Bollandists, may form some idea of those virtues which adorned her soul, from the interesting life our own Alban Butler has written of her. Father Faber very justly says, “That she represents the common sense, the discreet enthusiasm of devotion, and the interior life which | distinguishes Catholic asceticism and the mysticism of the saints from the fanatical vagaries of the heretics.”+ As to the works of the saint, let us hear the illustrious Bishop Milner speak: .... “I will venture to assert, that as far as we can pronounce on the opinion of the Church, where no formal decision has taken place, there are, perhaps, no writings that have been more pointedly or more strongly approved of by this unerring judgment, than those of St. Teresa. Her spirit of prayer, and the character of her ascetical works, were not only examined and approved of by the most eminent divines of the age, but also by a constellation of her holy contemporaries, such as St. F. Borgia, St. Peter of Alcantara, St. John of the Cross, and St. Lewis Bertrand, who were the best, because they were experimental judges of the excellency of her ‘heavenly doctrine,’ t for so it is styled by the Church in the prayer iserted in her public liturgy, after a second examination of our Saint’s spirit and writings had taken place,’’} &c.

Diego de Yepes says of her works: ‘ That they are written with such simplicity and sublimity, with such sweetness and

* “Vita di Santa Teresa.” (Roma, 1837.) This lifeof the Saint is very valuable, and ably drawn up.

T Preface to “Catholic Hymns.” (Burns, 1849.) “ Coelestis ejus doctrine pabulo nutriamur,” &c. Preface to the translation of St. Teresa’s “Exclamations.” (Lendon, 1790.) '

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beauliy of style; and that what she says penerates the heart s0 easily, that it is evident she learnt her doctrine from Heaven, and wrote her works by the particular assistance of the Holy Spirit.” This testimony is confirmed by St. Teresa herself in many passages which I might quote; one, however, will be sufficient :—‘‘ As our Lord said to me on one occasion, that many of the things I have mentioned here were not my own invention, but that He, my heavenly Master, told them to me.”? Lewis de Leon, to whom the Saint’s works had been given for examination, and who wasa very learned and prudent Father of the Order of St. Dominie, thus speaks of them, in a letter addressed to the Carmelite Nuns of Madrid: “I never saw nor knew the Blessed Mother Teresa of Jesus, while she lived in this world; but now, when she lives in Heaven, I know her, and do in reality see her continually in two living images of herself, which she left amongst us, viz., her daughters and her books,” &c.

How highly does St. Francis of Sales speak of our glorious Saint, in the preface to his treatise on the “ Love of God.” Bishop Palafox, in a letter to F. Didacus, uses the following remarkable words: “I never knew a person who was devout to St. Teresa, that did not become a spiritual man; nor did I ever know a spiritual man who read her works, that did not become more spiritual, and most devoted to the Saint.” S. Antonio, in the fourth volume of his Life of St. Teresa, gives many proofs of the great advantage the works of the Saint are to the faithful.

But it would be superfluous to enter into more details on this part of the subject. Every one knows that St. Teresa’s works, and especially her Life, have always been eagerly sought after by the learned and devout, not only among Catholics, but also among Protestants. The many editions which have appeared in Spanish and French prove this truth.

I had at first intended to say something (in this Preface) by way of explanation, respecting those sublime degrees of supernatural prayer to which our Lord was pleased to raise St Teresa. But when I attempted to clothe my imperfect ideas in words, I found how incompetent I was for such a task. Being immediately convinced of my utter inability to do justice to the subject, I wrote to one of our beloved bishops, who I am sure is quite competent to write a valuable treatise on Mental prayer ; but he declined, through want of time. No other alternative, therefore, was left, but to give, in a few words, the substance of what St. Teresa herself has said on prayer, and to refer the reader to some standard works on the subject. St. Teresa commences, in the tenth Chapter of her Life, to speak of prayer. She says that she began to consider Christ as present in her soul, in the same manner as she had been accustomed to do after communion. From the twentieth year after she had first applied herself to this exercise, she made little use of interior discoursing or reasoning, to inflame her affections, for the intuitive consideration of any object immediately excited in her soul the most ardent acts of divine love, praise, thanksgiving, and compunction. The tenderness of her love, and the deep sense of her own sins and miseries,” constituted her prayer, without her being obliged to have recourse to studied words, or to long reflections in her meditations. <‘‘This prayer suspends the soul,” she says, “in such a way, that she seems to be wholly out of herself. The will is in the act of loving; the memory seems to be in a manner lost, and the understanding reasons not.” The Saint distinguishes four degrees of Mental prayer, comprising the prayer of Quiet, and that of Union. In the former, she represents a soul so perfectly shut up within herself, as to receive no impressions from without, the avenues of the senses and imagination, by which external objects press upon her, being at that time stopped, so that she then converses entirely with God alone. “He who begins this way of prayer (says our Saint, chap. xi.) must imagine that he is beginning to make a garden, for the pleasure aud delight of his Lord, though it may be in a very unfruitful soil, full of weeds. It is His Majesty who must now be pleased to plant good herbs, and root up the bad ones. ... . But, by the help of our Lord, we also must

# Though St. Teresa represents herself, through her most wonderful humility, as the most base and wicked of creatures, yot all her confessors declared that she never committed a mortal sin.

be careful, like attentive gardeners, in seeing that these good herbs which are planted may grow, and we must not forget to water them, that so they may not wither, but bring forth sweet-smelling flowers, which may giye delight to our Lord, and induce Him often to come into this garden, and regale Himself with the virtues of our soul,” &c. She mentions how these plants may be watered in four ways: 1. By drawing water out of a well. 2. By means of a wheel, with little buckets attached to it. 38. Or, by turning a small stream into the garden. and, lastly, the garden is watered when a good shower of rain falls upon it, for then our Lord Himself waters it, without any labor at al of ours. The Saint explains, (in the eleventh Chapter,) these four ways more fully, to which I refer the reader.

In the twelfth Chapter, she says: ‘¢In Mystical Theology, the understanding ceases from working, because God suspends it, as I will explain afterwards, if I be able,” &c. By the term “suspends,” the Saint means, that God repre« sents to the intellect supernatural things in so clear a light, that the soul sees them by an intuitive view, without discoursing or reasoning upon them; and this, too, so strongly, that she is not able to turn her attentiou to any other object. But this operation is not confined to the intellect alone; it passes on to the will also, and inflames it. ‘The understanding becomes strongly fixed on the object which it sees, and is astonished at the clear sight it obtains. The Saint calls this suspension ‘ supernatural,” because in it the soul is passive much more than active, though she may at the same time produce acts of adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. The Saint tells us, that we mustnot desire these suspensions, nor use any efforts to obtain them, “because the devil may bring some illusion upon us.” (Chapter xii.)

In the thirteenth Chapter, she continues the explanation of the first degree, and gives excellent advice against certain temptations. ‘His Majesty,” she says, “is a very great friend of courageous souls, provided they proceed with humility, and not with any confidence in themselves.” Beginners, the Saint remarks, particularly require a learned and experienced director; “for I have met with certain souls,

- who have been afflicted and dejected, because he who had the instruction of them wanted experience, and | was very sorry for them.” Again, she remarks a little further on ;. «<I consider that a person who exercises prayer, and consults. learned men, will never be deceived by illusions of the devil, . if he have not a mind to deceive himself. I believe that the ' devil is greatly afraid of learning, whenever it is accompanied ; with humility, for he knows that he will be discovered in the: end,” &e.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth Chapters, the Saint explains still more at length the prayer of Quiet or Recollection, “which is easily perceived by the peace and satisfac~ tion which is felt, accompanied with very great contentment and calmness of the powers, and with the sweetest delight.’ In Chapter the eighteenth, she begins to speak of the prayer of Union. It would be too long to give here even the substance of what the Saint sayson this subline degree. Alban Butler has a very excellent note on this prayer of Union, which I will take the liberty of quoting at length: **The second, and more sublime prayer is that of Union. By this term is not meant a union of the presence or place, by which God is present toall creatures , nor that of sanctifying grace, by which every just man is a partaker of the friendship of God ; but this mystical union is that of the powers of the understanding and will, which, by their vital actions, are closely united to God The understanding, divested of all corporal images, is penetrated with the clear light and infinite brightness of the divine wisdom, while the will is closely jomed to God by the most ardent love, which, like a fire, consumes all earthly affections.”* But let us hear the great Saint herself: ‘“‘ The soul being in this state, finds herself almost sinking under a sweet and most excessive delight. She faints, and even the breath and all corporal strength _ begin to fail, so that the person is then not able so much as to move her hands without great pain. The eyes are also closed, though without there being any intention of shutting them; and when, by accident, they chance to open, the soul f