In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother,

St. Joseph, my Father and Lord, my guardian angel intercede for me.

Well today we want to pray about the feast of St. Teresa of Avala, which is October 15th.

She is an extraordinary saint that has been given to the church, a woman of great humanity,

of great personality, of impeccable character.

We could say that she was a woman of big desires with a big heart.

And she really has helped a lot of people in the church to learn how to pray. She ultimately became a doctor of the church.

She was named Doctor of the Church by Paul VI in 1970. But all her human qualities, her personality,

her character, her desires, everything, what did

she do with all that? She put it at the service of God to help the church at a time when

it needed reform and a new beginning. She was born in 1515 in Avila, Spain, which is outside of Madrid to the north, northwest.

And she was born into a Christian family, and eventually she joined the Carmelites in the convent of the incarnation

right outside the walls of Avalas, Spain. And that convent at that time was in need of reform.

And eventually she carried out that reform along with St. John of the Cross whom she later met and worked with

to begin the disgust carmelites, I suppose the branch of the order that wears no shoes and goes barefoot.

And St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross were instrumental in also giving, I would say Spain, but the whole world as well, the whole church,

a true spirituality of mysticism and prayer.

And we could say that so many people have been taught by her.

A big part of the world has been affected by her so that they too, we too, can become contemplative souls.

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