Jos Huls, O.Carm.,
The Spanish Inquisition had banned many spiritual books for the general public, and especially for women, and so the Sisters of the newly founded Convent of Saint Joseph in Avila asked St Teresa whether she herself would write something on prayer or the spiritual life (Morgain, 1997). For Teresa this was the go-ahead to start writing a new book of a practical nature. She gave the book the title “The Way of Perfection” (Camino de perfección), an introduction to the contemplative life. She begins her book, however, with the “disasters” that were then occurring in northern Europe as a consequence of the Reformation. She wants to do something against this “evil”, but must acknowledge her limited role as a woman in a highly male-dominated society (Álvarez, 2006):
I realized I was a woman and wretched and incapable of doing any of the useful things I desired to do in the service of the Lord. All my longing was and still is that since He has so many enemies and so few friends that these few friends be good ones. As a result I resolved to do the little that was in my power; that is, to follow the evangelical counsels as perfectly as I could and strive that these few persons who live here do the same. I did this trusting in the great goodness of God, who never fails to help anyone who is determined to give up everything for Him.
Camino de perfección 1:2[1]
Teresa’s stance with regard to this discrimination is not neutral and she is of the opinion that it goes against the spirit of the Christian faith. Jesus clearly made a stand for women and gave them a prominent role. Thus we read in a passage which was removed by a censor:
Nor did You, Lord, when You walked in the world, despise women; rather, You always, with great compassion, helped them. And You found as much love and more faith in them than You did in men. Among them was Your most blessed Mother, and through her merits – and because we wear her habit – we merit what, because of our offences, we do not deserve. Is it not enough, Lord, that the world has intimidated us... so that we may not do anything worthwhile for You in public or dare speak some truths that we lament over in secret, without Your also failing to hear so just a petition? I do not believe, Lord, that this could be true of Your goodness and justice, for You are a just judge and not like those of the world. Since the world’s judges are sons of Adam and all of them men, there is no virtue in women that they do not hold suspect. Yes, indeed, the day will come, my King, when everyone will be known for what he is. I do not speak for myself, because the world already knows my wickedness – and I have rejoiced that this wickedness is known publicly – but because I see that these are times in which it would be wrong to undervalue virtuous and strong souls, even though they are women.
Camino de perfección 3:7
Despite this clear protest against a policy which drives women further and further into the margins of public life, Teresa is not a champion of women’s rights before the term existed. Her protest mainly concerns the attitude of the Church of her time, which considers women suspect from the start. She opposes this attitude, because it is not in accordance with the Gospel and so goes against the will of God. Jesus acknowledges women and gives them their rightful place. And so Teresa is of the opinion that, in her time also, women can be important to combat the crisis in the Church. They may lead a (compulsorily) hidden life, but their share in the battle the Church has to fight against “evil” is no less for all that.
The danger of such a statement is that it remains nothing but a hollow phrase. For Teresa, however, it expressly has to do with the life she is called to as a Carmelite nun and which she rightfully calls a daring venture. There may be external attacks on the church, but the greatest danger comes from within and has to do with what Teresa calls offending Christ. Christ is not seen in His unimaginable offer of love. Instead people concern themselves with outward affairs that for the “world” may seem important, but do not touch the core of our existence. This is why the Sisters, as true soldiers of Christ, must defend the inside of the city and in so doing support the other soldiers who have to hold their own in the world (Camino de perfección 3:1). This inward movement is essential for Teresa and it evokes a battle that does not end at the boundaries of the convent. There, too, there is a continual tension between inside and outside, between that which is avowed and the true confrontation with God.
The Carmelite life, as it is advocated by Teresa, can best be described as a life lived purely out of the love of Christ or God. The Sisters have abandoned everything to entrust themselves with all their soul to this love. The “perfection” the Carmelite nuns have to strive for is therefore not to be sought in faultless conduct, but in the unconditionality of their surrender to this divine love. Although the “Way of Perfection” is primarily directed towards prayer (De Pablo Maroto, 1973; Herraiz Garcia, 1981), in the first chapters of the book Teresa mainly emphasizes the material expression of this in the Sisters’ life. In doing this she seems to want to express that the spiritual cannot be abstracted from the material. Prayer remains empty when it is not put into practice in life as it is concretely lived. Thus, as early as the second chapter of her book, Teresa indicates how important it is to be unconcerned and not to worry about material needs:
Don’t think, my Sisters, that because you do not strive to please those who are in the world you will lack food. I assure you that such will not be the case. Never seek sustenance through human schemes for you would die of hunger – and rightly so. Your eyes on your Spouse! He will sustain you. Once He is pleased, those least devoted to you will give you food even though they may not want to, as you have seen through experience. If in following this advice you should die of hunger, blessed be the nuns of St Joseph’s! For the love of the Lord, do not forget this. Since you have given up an income, give up worry about food. If you don’t, everything will be lost.
Camino de perfección 2:1
For Teresa, trust in God is not something abstract. We cannot say that we trust God, and at the same time cover ourselves on other levels. He who gives himself, gives himself completely, or his gift means nothing. The same is true of the three most important virtues of the Carmelite life – charity, detachment and humility – which are all directed towards easing us away from our self-absorption, trusting that we are in everything the Other’s concern.
Camino de perfección 5:15
Jos Huls, O.Carm., is a member of the Dutch Province of the Order and senior researcher at the Titus Brandsma Institute at Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
[1] The English edition used is Volume II of The Collected Works of St Teresa of Avila: The way of perfection. Meditations on the Song of Songs. The Interior Castle translated by Kieran Kavanaugh & Otilio Rodriguez. Washington: Institute of Carmelite Studies. 1980.
