By Ann Schneible

On the 500th anniversary of St. Teresa of Avila's birth, Pope Francis praised the Spanish mystic and reformer for her witness of self-gift to God, as well as her particular relevance during this Year of Consecrated Life.

“How much goodness does the testimony of her consecration – born directly from the encounter with Christ, her experience of prayer as continuous dialogue with God, and her community life, rooted in the motherhood of the Church – do for us!” the Pope said, according to Vatican Radio's translation.

In a March 28 letter addressed to Fr Xavier Cannistrà, superior general of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, the pontiff wrote that it is providential that the anniversary of the saint's birth should coincide with the Year of Consecrated Life, which began late last year.

St. Teresa of Avila, the Holy Father said, “shines as a sure and attractive model of total self-giving to God.”

Born March 28, 1515 in Avila, Spain, St. Teresa is known as a mystic and reformer. Entering the Carmelite order in 1535, she became disillusioned by the laxity of monastic life within the cloister, and committed herself to reforming the order. She is considered one of the founders of the Discalced Carmelites.

During her lifetime, St. Teresa wrote several important works on the spiritual life, such as Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection. Canonized 40 years after her death in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV, she was declared as one of the first ever female doctors of the Church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

St. Teresa of Avila remains relevant for consecrated men and women, Pope Francis wrote, as demonstrated by her prayer life, her proclamation of the Gospel, and her understanding of the importance of community life.

Describing her as “primarily a teacher of prayer,” the pontiff said that “the discovery of Christ's humanity was central to her experience.”

For St. Teresa, prayer arose in all occasions, not simply in times and places of seclusion, the Pope said. Moreover, she believed that “continuous prayer” – even when it was imperfect – had value.

“The saint asks us to be steadfast, faithful, even in times of dryness, personal difficulties or urgent needs that call us.”

The “concrete proposals” and methods of prayer left by St. Teresa offers “us a great treasure to renew consecrated life today,” the Pope said.

“Far from closing us in on ourselves or leading us only to inner balance, (they) always make us start again from Jesus and constitute a genuine school to grow in love for God and neighbor.”

Pope Francis went on to describe St. Teresa as a “tireless communicator of the Gospel,” at a time when the Church was in the midst of difficulties. Instigator of the “Teresian reform” of the laxities demonstrated by the Carmelite cloister in which she lived, she demonstrated a “missionary and ecclesial dimension has always marked the Carmelites and Discalced Carmelites,” he said.

“Even today the saint opens new horizons for us, she calls us to a great undertaking, to see the world with the eyes of Christ, to seek what He seeks and to love what He loves.”

Finally, St. Teresa recognized the importance of “authentic community life” in sustaining both prayer and the evangelical mission, the Pope said.

Warning against “the danger of individualism in fraternal life,” he added, the saint commends those living in community to place themselves “at the service of others,” with a humility consisting “of self-acceptance, awareness of one’s own dignity, missionary courage, gratitude and trust in God.”

“Teresian communities are called to become houses of communion, capable of witnessing to fraternal love and to the motherhood of the Church, presenting to the Lord the needs of the world, torn by divisions and wars.”

Pope Francis concluded by imparting his Apostolic blessing, praying that the Carmelite community's “witness to life” would allow “the joy and beauty of living the Gospel to shine and attracts many young people to follow Christ closely.”

The worldwide Year for Consecrated life began November 30, 2014 and will continue until the World Day of Consecrated Life on February 2, 2016.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com

The Diocese of Metuchen in New Jersey on Monday May 20, 2009 opened an investigation into an alleged miracle believed to have been worked by Servant of God Mother Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, the foundress of the Germantown, New York-based Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm.

Mother McCrory spent her life caring for the elderly and ailing in long-term care facilities operated by the Carmelite Sisters, who now operate 17 elder-care facilities around the country and one in Ireland. Mother McCrory died in 1984 at the age of 91. "Sometimes you hear about somebody being an imposing figure," said Sister Kevin Patricia Lynch, a Carmelite sister who knew Mother McCrory, told MyCentralJersey.com. "She was very imposing, but very warm."

At a 20-minute ceremony at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Bishop of Metuchen Paul G. Bootkoski formally opened the diocese’s investigation into the alleged miracle, the details of which are not being made public.

However, Mother Mark Louis Randall, superior general of the Carmelite Sisters, told MyCentralJersey.com that the reputed miracle involves a family in the diocese’s general area that prayed to Mother McCrory to intercede with God after their unborn child was diagnosed with a genetic abnormality. When the child was born, the defect was not as severe as expected.

About twenty sisters from Carmelite elder care facilities attended the ceremony, where Bishop Bootkoski and a panel of investigators took oaths promising to put God and the Church first. They also promised to keep the details they learn in the investigation secret until the process is complete.

Lori Albanese, diocesan chancellor and notary of the investigation, said the process might take about four months. Officials will interview family and friends of the child, as well as medical experts. The medical experts will include two people who are independent of the Church and the case.

She explained that the investigative panel’s task is to collect evidence, not to determine whether the case is an actual miracle attributed to Mother McCrory.

Mother McCrory’s home diocese, the Diocese of Albany, has also extensively investigated her life.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints will decide on whether there was an actual miracle attributable to her. If the miracle is verified, Mother McCrory can be beatified. If a second miracle is then attributed to her, she may be canonized.

Those who believe their prayers for Mother McCrory’s intercession have resulted in a miracle are asked to contact the Carmelite Sisters.