Reluctant Prayer Warrior

What a wonderful gift we have to be a friend of Jesus!  We all have this opportunity, but how many of us actually take the time to grow that relationship?  Well, today's saint, St. Theresa of Avila, truly felt Jesus in her life daily....but it took her well into her adulthood to see how wonderful this relationship could be.  I guess there is still help for all of us to find a better connection with God!

Created by another mother spring 2015

Feast day: October 15
Birth: March 28, 1515
Death: October 4, 1582
Ávila, Spain
Patron of Headache sufferers, Spanish Catholic Writers
Given name:  Teresa Ali Fatim Corella Sanchez de Capeda y Ahumada

From a very young age, Theresa had a desire to bring peace near upheaval.  When she was seven years old, she convinced her brother that they needed to go to the "land of the Moors and beg them, out of love of God, to cut off our heads there."  Her thought was that she would sacrifice herself to avoid others being hurt.

However, even with this sense of piety in her early childhood, Theresa became a rebellious youth.  Her father was so concerned that he sent her to a convent for discipline.  After a time of adjustment, she found that she liked the way she was able to grow closer to God.

But...STILL...she did not form the relationship she needed.  She gave into a worldly lifestyle within the walls of the convent as it was a place to send girls when they had no where else to go.  This did not provide the prayerful life that was needed to develop a religious.  She found excuses to prevent her from finding her way to God.

Teresa sympathizes with those who have a difficult time in prayer: "All the trials we endure cannot be compared to these interior battles."

"For mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us. The important thing is not to think much but to love much and so do that which best stirs you to love. Love is not great delight but desire to please God in everything."

She did find that union with God in her prayer life.  Once she had given herself fully to His will, she began a profound experience that would continue the rest of her life.  She was then asked to write a book about prayer.  Not sure what she should write...considering herself uneducated and unworthy...she did what she knew best...she prayed for help.  Out of this intercession, Theresa was given her most profound mystical experience which allowed her to write The Interior Castle.  She analyzed and dissected mystical experiences the way a scientist would in a lab.

Her journey was still not an easy one.  The closer she grew to God, the more other ridiculed her.  She was often left to dwell on her experiences alone because she was told that her experiences were not from God.  She realized that the environment of the convent needed to change.  At the age of 43, she became determined to found a new convent that went back to the basics of a contemplative order: a simple life of poverty devoted to prayer.  This should have been an easy task but the times were difficult and no one seemed to want Theresa in their town.

She would continue her effort for the next twenty years.  When dying she often repeated the words: "Lord, I am a daughter of the Church!"

She is the founder of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1970 she was declared a Doctor of the Church for her writing and teaching on prayer, one of two women to be honored in this way.

St. Theresa of Avila, pray for us!

Slave to the Slaves

I began my peg doll journey back in March of this year.  I did not know how much I was going to enjoy this project until the details of my canvas came to life before me and now I cannot get enough of these meaningful little dolls.

I was asked recently if I had a blog for my creations.  The thought never crossed my mind but since it has become such an important part of our family journey to grow closer to the saints, I decided I would try to at least recognize the saints on their feast days...at least the little saints I have created.

Today is the first of these tributes....a saint I have enjoyed learning about through stories my children learn in their schooling.

Peter Claver
Feast Day:  September 9th
Patron of negro missions
Birth: 1580
Death: 1654
Originally from Verdu, Catalonia, Spain
Peasant upbringing
Jesuit priest and missionary

Peter would arrive in the islands of Cartagena (modern Colombia) and was disgusted by what he saw.  Thousands of slaves came into the country daily and their well being was sorely overlooked as they were considered sub-human.

Eventually, he began renouncing the slave trade all together and ministered to their basic needs.  He would be known for taking care of their physical and spiritual needs...baptizing as many as possible and teaching them about the hope that could be found in Jesus Christ.  He would actually enter the slave ships upon their arrival in the harbor and give them whatever he was able as they were usually starving and quite ill.  Many of their companions would not even make it so far on the journey dying at sea and being thrown overboard with little recognition.

Peter fought for better conditions for these slaves until his death on the island where he served.  After working through multiple plagues, actively administering to the needs of the sick, he succumbed to the sickness.

Claver was beatified by Pope Pius IX on September 21, 1851. Along with his friend and spiritual mentor, Alphonsus Rodríguez, he was canonized by Leo XIII on January 15, 1888.

"We must speak to them with our hands by giving, before we try to speak to them with our lips."

Our little peg doll was humbly made the day before his feast day.  We were able to attend Mass on his feast day and the children showed it to Father on his way to the altar.  He immediately snatched the doll from their hands and placed him on the altar.  What a especially blessed 'saint' we have to enjoy.