Remembering St Teresa of Avila - Being honest with God

We are still listening to Paul in his letter to the Galatians (5:1-6) where he talks about freeing oneself from those traditions, practices and laws, like circumcision, which we tend to adhere to because we think this is what God expects of us. What an awful image of God who is made to appear like a slave-driver. Paul says at the end of this passage “what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love”. This is the God of Jesus Christ, the God of love and true freedom. This brings me to the gospel from Luke 11:37-41 which tells of the occasion when Jesus was invited to a meal at a Pharisee’s place. When Jesus didn’t wash his hands before the meal and the Pharisee noticed it, Jesus spoke up and said, “You Pharisees clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside … you are filled with extortion and wickedness.” This is strong stuff. But Jesus gently ends by saying “Care for those around you and everything will be clean for you.” In the past, and possibly still in some circles today, we Catholics tended to be like the Pharisees, worried about whether we eat meat on Fridays or touched the eucharist – the Body of Christ – with our teeth when we went to communion, etc. There were so many laws and then there was the dark confessional box. We were enslaved to fear of God and condemnation to the everlasting fires of hell. I think we’ve come a long way. But I know I sometimes struggle to free myself from the image of God as the judge sitting on the cloud of heaven. That’s why I like the story about the saint whose feast it is today – St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582). She was a remarkable woman who sought to reform the Carmelite order. She wrote about contemplative prayer. There is a story about Teresa when her horse threw her into a river as she was traveling on one of her many journeys across Spain. As she got out of the water soaked to the skin, she looked up to heaven and said, “If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them!” She was so at home with God she could also bring her reproaches to God. Don’t be afraid. Feel at ease in the embrace of God’s love. That’s what true prayer and the freedom of the Spirit is all about. I can imagine God chuckling at Teresa’s outburst.