The feast of St Teresa of Avila

The 1st of October was the feast of St Therese of Lisieux and today we celebrate another Teresa, St Teresa of Avila. Both with the same name, both born in pious families and both Carmelites, but their lives were very different. St Therese of Lisieux was only 24 when she died in 1897. She became a saint during the 9 years she spent in Carmel by doing ordinary things with extraordinary love. St Teresa of Avila was born in 1515, and died when she was 67 after achieving many extraordinary things. She received visions of Jesus and reached a level of prayer that seemed to take her out of this world. But she was disillusioned with the laxness of life in the convents and set about reforming them. Although often criticized and attacked, she succeeded in established many new convents based on the strict observance of poverty and prayer. Her style of prayer may seem beyond our possibilities but she says, ''Contemplative prayer, in my opinion, is nothing other than a close sharing between friends. It means frequently taking time to be alone with him whom we know loves us.'' Pope Francis writes that we are not meant to copy the saints for that could lead us astray from the path the Lord has in mind for us. ''The important thing is that each believer discern his or her own path, that we bring out the best in ourselves. We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves.'' (Gaudete et Exsultate, 11,14).