St. Teresa of Avila devotion to the

Virgin Mother of God

..Good books, prayers, devotion to Our Lady, recitation of the Holy Rosary and to certain saints, awaken good desires in me when I was, six or seven years old.”

St Teresa of Avila Life1

Our Lady of Hope”, wooden statue, 17th century, Seville, Spain pinterest.com

“..When my mother died, I was twelve years of age or a little less.. I went in my distress to an image of Our Lady and with many tears besought her to be a mother to me.

Lady of Charity Agoo

“This Sovereign Virgin, ..she has drawn me to herself” St. Teresa of Avila, Life 1,7

Pietro Novelli Our Lady of Carmel and Saints.

"All of us who wear this holy habit of Carmel are called to prayer and contemplation. “ IC, V: 1:2.

In response to Teresa’s service to the Mother of God she saw Christ who thanked her for "what she had done for his Mother", and she saw the Virgin "in great glory, wearing a white mantle with which she seemed to enfold us all“ Life, 36:24

Sano di Pietro. Madonna of Mercy.1440s

"The Lord wills to enter into the womb of his most holy Mother. Such is the Lord, he brings liberty with him, and thus he loves to make himself like us" St. Teresa of AvilaTeresa contemplated with amazement the mystery of the Incarnation: Way, Escorial 48:22.

Devotion to Mary shows itself in works, and the works which are needed in the Philippines today are the works of justice and freedom from oppression. Cardinal Rosales, 1975

"Let us imitate the Virgin’s great humility “St. Teresa of Avila Way13,3

"My 'Prioress' (the Virgin Mary) is doing wonders".Teresa de Jesus, Prioress of the Incarnation in 1571 , Letter to Maria de Mendoza (7th March, 1572)

"And so my daughters, all belong to the Virgin and are sisters and should seek to love one another greatly“ Letter to the nuns of Seville, January 13th 1580: 6.

Our devotion to Mary should never lose sight of the .. poor and oppressed brethren of ours who are devotees of Mary, too, and they call out to her, their Mother, to ease their sufferings and free them from their chains.

Cardinal Rosales, 1975

O my Jesus! What a sight it is when You through your mercy return to offer your hand and raise up a soul that has fallen into sin…Here she becomes a devotee of the Queen of Heaven so that she might appease You…St.Teresa of Avila Life 19,5

Through you we drink from the wellsprings of salvation, O Blessed Virgin Mary,From the Sacred wounds of Christ.

Christian Prayer: Liturgy of the Hours Responsory Our Lady of Sorrows

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

My spirit rejoices in God my Savior

For He has looked with favor on His lowly servant.

Canticle of Mary

"We keep the Rule of Our Lady of Carmel ... To please God, all will be for his glory and praise and that of the glorious Virgin Mary, whose habit we wear” St Teresa of Avila Life 36:26,28.

“ Think of the Queen of the Angels..she suffered so much with the Child Jesus.. Thank Saint Joseph for the way he helped them. If anyone cannot find a master to teach him how to pray, let him take this glorious saint as his master and he will not go astray. “St Teresa of AvilaLife 6,8

Mary and Joseph with Jesus - Bernhard Strigel

Teresa’s devotion to the Rosary

.”. Holding in my hand the cross of a rosary, He (Jesus) put out His own hand and took it from me, and, when He gave it back to me, it had become four large stones, much more precious than diamonds “St Teresa of Avila, Life 29:7

To excuse myself from mental prayer, I took a rosary, so as to occupy myself in vocal prayer Life, 38:1. Virgin Mary, radiant dawn of our salvation, the Son of Justice, the light from on high rose from you. Liturgy of the Hours, Evening Prayer Ant. Our Lady of Lourdes

Saint Teresa and Mary

following Christ even to the foot of

the Cross

“The glorious virgin and Magdalene terribly suffered…But in the presence of another greater affliction they didn’t feel their own.” St Teresa of Avila WP 26,8 "She was up, and not sleeping, but suffering in her most holy soul, dying a cruel death” St Teresa of Avila, Concepts of Love

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Mary Model of total

adherence to the humanity of Christ and of

communion with him in his mysteries

Mary Model of

contemplation centered on the

sacred Humanity. Finding Jesus in the temple

Mary and Humility

“Humility drew the King from to the womb of the Virgin and with it, we will draw Him to our souls.”

St Teresa of Avila WP 16,2

"Let us imitate in someway the great humility of the most holy Virgin“ WP13,3

St Teresa inspired the attitude of humble contemplation and amazement before the wonders wrought by God and total assent to God’s will

Virgin of Humility by Sassetta, 1445www.backtoclassics.com

At the happy conclusion of the foundation of St Joseph's, Teresa set down her Marian sentiments in these words,

"As for me, it was like being in glory to see the Blessed Sacrament reserved.... and to have completed a work which I understood was for the service of the Lord and in honour of the habit of his glorious Mother“ Life 36:6.

St Teresa of Avila saw all the Foundations as a service done for the Virgin, who herself had collaborated in the work: "We rejoice to have been able to render some service to our Lady Mother and Patron... little by little things have been done for the honour and glory of this glorious Virgin and her Son“Foundations 29:23,28.

Raimundo da Costa e Silva. Our Lady of Mount Carmel. oil on canvas. mid 19th c. Museum of Art, Rio de Janiero, Brazil