The St. Austin Review

Sample Article St. Teresa of Avila: Meek Teacher of Mystic Love

St. Teresa of Avila’s autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus, completed in 1565, in addition to chronicling her own spiritual awakening, is a call to the reader to pursue a more virtuous life. The Carmelite nun’s memoir, much like St. Augustine’s Confessions, succeeds in not only sharing divine truth but inspiring rightful obedience to it. St. Teresa is a spiritual shepherdess who desires the conversion and rectification of as many souls as possible. Her autobiography reflects this—striving towards accessibility both theologically and linguistically. The Life’s focus on mystical experience, remarkably, does not detract from this accessibility, for Teresa shares her mystical encounters without excessive interpretation—in part because she feels unable to do so given their mysteriousness, but primarily because it complicates the simple purpose of The Life, which is to inspire fidelity to God. As Professor of Theology Peter Tyler states: “Teresa is a practical theologian who is not so concerned with debating obscure points of faith but in changing people’s lives.” Peter Tyler’s designation of St. Teresa as a “practical theologian” is apt. Her use of the autobiographical genre gives The Life an evangelistic potency not found in many systematic theological works. St. Teresa’s humility and honesty bridge the gap between her and her reader—inspiring the reader to reflect and echo truthfulness before God. The Life thus emerges as an exceptionally dynamic literary holy work in which St. Teresa triples as evangelist, confessor, and advisor.