One of the most beloved Catholic mystics of all time, St. Teresa of Ávila is perhaps best known for her spiritual reflections in The Interior Castle. Throughout her life, she founded over a dozen monasteries, managed relations with local governments, and above all, sought to draw closer to Jesus.
As we celebrate the Memorial of St. Teresa of Ávila on October 15, we invite you to reflect on 10 of her most insightful quotes about prayer, perseverance, and faith.
On Prayer
“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.”
“Mental prayer is nothing else… but being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him.”
“The most potent and acceptable prayer is the prayer that leaves the best effects… those that are followed up by actions – when the soul not only desires the honor of God, but really strives for it.”
On Patience and Suffering
“It constantly happens that the Lord permits a soul to fall so that it may grow humbler. When it is honest, and realizes what it has done, and returns, it makes ever-increasing progress in our Lord’s service.”
“As to the aridity you are suffering from, it seems to me our Lord is treating you like someone He considers strong: He wants to test you and see if you love Him as much at times of aridity as when He sends you consolations. I think this is a very great favor for God to show you.”
“His Majesty [the Lord] … rewards great services with trials, and there can be no better reward, for out of trials springs love for God.”
“Patient endurance attains to all things. The one who possesses God is lacking in nothing; God alone is enough.”
On Having Faith
“You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him.”
“Only a person of very small faith could believe that so great a God doesn’t have the power to give food to those who serve Him.”
“If when He lived in this world, He healed the sick by the mere touch of His garments, what doubt is there but that He will perform miracles, since He is so intimately within us, if we have a lively faith; and that He will grant us what we ask of Him, while He is in our house?”
Sources:
A Dictionary of Quotes from the Saints, Dr. Paul Thigpen.
Butler’s Lives of Saints, ed. Bernard Bingley.
The Way of Saints, Dr. Tom Cowan.