Teresa of Ávila Quotes

Sweet Love say
Where, how and when
What do you want of me?

Yours I am, for You I was born:
What do you want of me? . . .

But, as I know that strength arising from obedience has a way of simplifying things which seem impossible, my will very gladly resolves to attempt this task although the prospect seems to cause my physical nature great distress; for the Lord has not given me strength enough to enable me to wrestle continually both with sickness and with occupations of many kinds without feeling a great physical strain. May He Who has helped me by doing other and more difficult things for me help also in this: in His mercy I put my trust.

it has acquired prudence and discretion and orders its life well. Its limitations are those of vision: it has not yet experienced to the full the inspiring force of love. It has not made a full self-oblation, a total self-surrender. Its love is still governed by reason, and so its progress is slow.

Pain is never permanent.

Reading is of great service towards procuring recollection in any one who proceeds in this way; and it is even necessary for him, however little it may be that he reads, if only as a substitute for the mental prayer which is beyond his reach.

of the Lord, Who has13 brought you together here for that very purpose. This is your vocation; this must be your business; these must be your desires; these your tears; these your petitions. Let us not pray for worldly things, my sisters. It makes me laugh, and yet14 it makes me sad, when I hear of the things which people come here to beg us to pray to God for; we are to ask His Majesty to give them money and to provide them with incomes — I wish that some of these people would entreat15 God to enable them to trample all such things beneath their feet. Their intentions are quite good, and I do as they ask because I see that they are really devout people, though I do not myself believe that God ever hears me when I pray for such things.16 The

The truly humble person always walks in doubt about his own virtues, and usually those he sees in his neighbors seem more certain and more valuable.

Before we had this true fear of God worldly people would have been poisonous to us and would have helped to ruin our souls; but now they will often help us to love God more and to praise Him for having delivered us from what we see to be a notorious danger. And whereas we for our part may previously have helped to foster their weakness, we shall now be helping to repress them, because they will restrain themselves in our presence, and this is a compliment which they will pay us without our desiring it.

When I fear I have done wrong, when I look to those who are less wise, when I forget transcendence, and kneel in the meanings of colour and shadow, when I tell lies to my soul, I seek out water, I follow it's charm - a river, a steam, a lake with its springs and currents.
See how it offers life as it flawlessly flows and forms to the shape of this world, the contours of the land, the urge of earth, hear how it sings under the sun, of endless evaporation.

which we receive from God; and shows how the door of this castle is prayer.

Fixed your eyes on the Crucified One and all will seem easy.

Si el demonio supiera amar, dejaría de ser malvado

Never suppose that either the evil or the good that you do will remain secret, however strict may be your enclosure.

It is a most certain truth that the richer we see ourselves to be, confessing at the same time our poverty, the greater will be our progress, and the more real our humility.

Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.