The ShinsungHwa of Saint Teresa of Avila (2019)

Teresa of Avila Low
“This ShinsungHwa image was posted on ‘Tistory Blog’ in 2019 and is being uploaded for data integration and organization purposes.”

Among Catholic saints, who attained mystical union with God?
Saint Teresa of Avila deserves to be reimagined through the lens of new ShinsungHwa.

Brief description of Saint Teresa of Avila’s ShinsungHwa painted in 2019

A cross-shaped energy symbol emerges from her spiritual core. While the cross carries multiple meanings, in ShinsungHwa it primarily represents purification. Light envelops her entire body, and spiritual energy radiates outward from her head.

Teresa of Avila: The Spanish Saint Who Changed Everything

When Teresa of Avila was seven years old, she and her brother decided to sneak out of their house and walk to Africa. Their goal was to become martyrs for their faith so they could go to heaven and see God. Luckily, their uncle found them just outside the town and brought them back home. This adventurous little girl would later become one of the most important figures in Christian history.

Teresa was a Spanish nun who made significant changes to religious life in the 1500s.

A Privileged Start with Grand Dreams

Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada was born March 28, 1515, in Avila, Spain. Her wealthy family enjoyed every comfort, but young Teresa craved something far greater. She devoured saints’ stories and martyrs’ tales, dreaming of epic adventures for God.

At fourteen, Teresa lost her mother, leaving her devastated. This tragedy drove her to seek comfort in the Virgin Mary, whom she asked to become her spiritual mother. But teenage life soon offered other distractions. She discovered romance novels, fashion, and jewelry – typical teenage pursuits that alarmed her father.

Worried about his daughter’s new interests, Teresa’s father sent her to live with Augustinian nuns for schooling. There, something shifted. Teresa began seriously considering religious life, though it took time to commit.

Behind Convent Walls

At twenty, Teresa secretly entered the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation in Avila, taking the name Teresa of Jesus. Her father hadn’t approved, but Teresa followed her heart.

Convent life immediately proved difficult. Teresa’s health failed, confining her to bed for three years. During this struggle, she discovered mental prayer – a practice that would shape her entire spiritual path. After recovering, however, she spent fifteen years feeling spiritually distant.

The convent wasn’t particularly strict either. Nuns kept private apartments, wore jewelry, had pets, and entertained regular visitors. Teresa enjoyed the social life but gradually realized these distractions pulled her from God.

The Reform Revolution

Everything shifted in 1555 when forty-year-old Teresa experienced a profound awakening. She became convinced Carmelite life needed to return to its original simplicity and prayer focus.

Teresa envisioned convents where nuns lived in complete withdrawal from worldly concerns, dedicating themselves entirely to contemplation and penance. This meant no visitors, no luxuries, and embracing poverty – radical ideas that sparked fierce resistance.

In 1562, with Pope Pius IV’s blessing, Teresa opened her first reformed convent, St. Joseph’s. The nuns became known as “Discalced Carmelites” because they went barefoot or wore simple sandals. This launched a movement that would sweep across Spain and beyond.

Creating a Spiritual Network

Despite constant poor health, Teresa spent the next twenty years crisscrossing Spain, founding convents wherever she traveled. She crossed mountains and rivers on awful roads, slept in rough accommodations, and survived on basic food – all while managing construction projects and navigating Church politics.

Teresa became an organizational powerhouse, often working from 5 AM past midnight. She negotiated with royalty, managed difficult Church relationships, and even faced Spanish Inquisition investigations. When someone suggested she needed rest, Teresa famously replied, “Rest? I don’t need rest! I need crosses!”

Her partnership with young priest Juan de Yepes (later St. John of the Cross) proved essential. Together, they established the first reformed Carmelite monastery for men in 1568. By Teresa’s death, she had founded seventeen convents and helped establish numerous monasteries.

Mystical Encounters and Lasting Literature

Teresa’s reform work impressed, but her mystical experiences and spiritual writings truly distinguished her. She described profound encounters with God including visions, inner conversations, and physical phenomena.

Her most famous mystical experience involved an angel piercing her heart with a golden arrow, filling her with divine love. This became so renowned that sculptor Bernini created a stunning statue depicting it in Rome.

Teresa documented these experiences in books that remain influential today. Her masterpiece, “The Interior Castle,” uses a crystal castle metaphor with many rooms to describe the soul’s journey toward God. She also wrote her autobiography and “The Way of Perfection,” among other works.

What distinguished Teresa’s writing was its accessibility and honest, conversational style. She wrote as she spoke, with humor and wordplay that made complex spiritual concepts understandable to ordinary readers.

Eternal Union with God

Teresa died October 4, 1582, while traveling to establish another convent. Nine months later, her followers reported her body showed no decay – launching her path to sainthood.

Pope Gregory XV canonized Teresa in 1622, just forty years after her death. In 1970, Pope Paul VI made her the first woman “Doctor of the Church,” recognizing her writings as having special authority in Christian teaching.

Teresa of Avila embodies the perfect fusion of contemplative spirituality and practical action. She proved mystical experiences and administrative excellence could coexist. Her October 15 feast day celebrates not just a saint, but a woman who dared dream big and transform the world through determination, prayer, and unwavering belief that ordinary people could reach extraordinary spiritual heights.

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