This article is the final in a series on the spiritual life commemorating the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila. From the moment of her conversion, a wellspring of joy sprang up in Teresa’s heart from its most inner “dwelling place,” and she wanted to share this wellspring with others. She proposes the image of two large basins of water in a garden to explain the essential feature in her new life of prayer, source of this wellspring: With one, the water comes from far away through many aqueducts and the use of much ingenuity;... Read more
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Articles Under: Saints and Holy Men & Women
Noëlle Le Duc, a member of the Carmelite secular institute Notre Dame de Vie , was a pre-school and kindergarten teacher who worked with three to seven-year old children, in order to awaken their faith. Her work with children formed a foundation for the later development of the Come Follow Me program. She believed that even very young children can enter into a lively personal relationship with God and live this out through prayer, as well as in all the dimensions of human life. This relationship grounds catechesis and allows it to bear lasting fruit. In this article, [i] we... Read more
This year marks the 200 th anniversary of the birth of St. John Bosco. This great saint’s insights into forming young people remain vitally important and relevant today. In 1988, St. John Paul II wrote a letter to the head of the Salesian Order to commemorate the centenary of the death of St. John Bosco. It was titled, Iuvenum Patris , or “Father of Youth.” Only the Italian version is available on the Vatican website—perhaps that is why few English speaking people have heard of it. [1] It is a beautiful document that looks at the educational spirituality of St... Read more
At the beginning of her consecrated life, St. Teresa experienced a “surprising” joy: “I was filled with a joy so great, that it has never failed me to this day…I was filled with a new joy that surprised me, nor could I understand whence it came.” [i] At the same time, though, she was also attracted by worldly vanities, which tempted her even in the cloister. [ii] How did she become able to sacrifice immediate “vain” joys for lasting joy? She needed to experience a true conversion, a kind of liberation. Like Mary Magdalene, she reached joy through the experience... Read more
In this year dedicated by Pope Francis to the consecrated life, Saint Teresa of Avila is a vivid icon of the joy given by the “sequela Christi.” She followed the steps of Christ , his way of life, through obedience, poverty, and chastity. Teresa was a joyful woman, full of the light of her Lord. She was gifted for relationship and many people were fond of her company, but these very gifts could become traps in her search for happiness. Thus her way to reach true joy—that is to say, joy that remains in the depths of the heart even... Read more
Living and Proclaiming the Joy of the Gospel This department begins with a series focused on the insights of St. Teresa of Avila into the joy and desire to evangelize which comes from communion with God. In this first article, the author shows how St. Teresa was a woman of deep joy, who was responsive to her profound desire for God, which was a divine gift in itself. 2015 is the five-hundredth anniversary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila. [1] This is a time of thanksgiving for the whole Church because St. Teresa, as a doctor of the... Read more
None of the apostles seems to have the slightest interest in perpetuating his own memory. Their whole being was centered on their Master, Christ, and on spreading the Good News that everlasting life was to be found through a personal commitment to Him. [i] +++ In the past few issues of The Sower , I have looked at the apostles as catechetical saints. Of course they are obviously catechists, personally chosen and sent by Christ to evangelize the world. I usually pray about which saint I will write about and then I do some research. Repeatedly Simon and Jude came... Read more
When he was 16, the future Pope Francis visited a church before celebrating Student’s Day, a national holiday in Argentina. Something very profound happened to him. “For me, this was an experience of encounter: I found that Someone was waiting for me. Yet I do not know what happened. I can’t remember. I do not know why that particular priest was there, whom I did not know, or why I felt this desire to confess. But the truth is that Someone was waiting for me. He had been waiting for me for some time. After making my confession, I felt... Read more
[In Andrew’s crucifixion], as can be seen, is a very profound Christian spirituality. It does not view the Cross as an instrument of torture but rather as the incomparable means for perfect configuration to the Redeemer, to the grain of wheat that fell into the earth. Here we have a very important lesson to learn: our own crosses acquire value if we consider them and accept them as a part of the Cross of Christ, if a reflection of his light illuminates them. It is by that Cross alone that our sufferings too are ennobled and acquire their true meaning... Read more
Time magazine may have named both Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II “Man of the Year” during their respective pontificates, but this April 27, 2014—the day on which the Church celebrates Jesus’ Divine Mercy—the Church will proclaim that these holy men are saints for all time ! These two popes of the 20 th century certainly provide us with stellar examples of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Pope John XXIII is often noted for his jolliness and his ability to make people laugh. This is true; however, he is not being canonized simply... Read more