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Today we remember with thanksgiving a Doctor of the Church, St. Theresa of Avila, 1515-1582. During her life St. Theresa experienced serious misunderstandings, ridicule, and persecution. Perhaps these incidents in her life inspired her to pursue the development of an inner life of prayer, and an outer life of poverty and manual work. Her famous book, “The Interior Castle”, 1577, was written as a manual to help her sister nuns live a life of progressive prayer, both active and contemplative.

Here is a modern version of a prayer composed by St. Theresa of Avila.

Govern all by your wisdom, O Lord, so that my soul may always serve You according to your will, and not as I may choose. Do not punish me, I beseech You, by granting that which I wish or ask for, if it offends your love, which I would always have living in me. Let me die to myself, so that I may serve You: let me live only for You, in whom is the true Life. Amen.

Bible Reading: Luke 22:39-46