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124-556: Teresa of Ávila , OCD ( Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada ; 28 March 1515 – 4 or 15 October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus , was a Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer . Active during the Counter-Reformation , Teresa became the central figure of a movement of spiritual and monastic renewal, reforming the Carmelite Orders of both women and men. The movement

248-524: A Jina . These austere practices are part of the monastic path in Jainism. The practice of body mortification is called kaya klesha in Jainism and is found in verse 9.19 of the Tattvartha Sutra by Umaswati , the most authoritative oldest surviving Jaina philosophical text. In Jain monastic practice, the monks and nuns take ascetic vows, after renouncing all relations and possessions. The vows include

372-570: A rule , which expressed their own intention and reflected the spirit of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land and of the early community of Jerusalem. They were also inspired by the prophet Elijah, who had been associated with Mount Carmel. The words of Elijah, "With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts" (IKg 19:10) appear on the Carmelite crest. Around 1238, within fifty years of receiving their rule,

496-457: A "constitution". Her plan was the revival of the earlier, stricter monastic rules, supplemented by new regulations including the three disciplines of ceremonial flagellation prescribed for the Divine Office every week, and the discalceation of the religious. For the first five years, Teresa remained in seclusion, mostly engaged in prayer and writing. In 1567, Teresa received a patent from

620-455: A "reformed" Carmelite convent, correcting the laxity which she had found at the Incarnation convent and elsewhere besides. Doña Guiomar of Ulloa, a friend, was granted permission for the project. The abject poverty of the new convent, established in 1562 and named St. Joseph's (San José) , at first caused a scandal among the citizens and authorities of Ávila, and the small house with its chapel

744-752: A Jew forced to convert to Christianity or emigrate. When Teresa's father was a child, Juan was condemned by the Spanish Inquisition for allegedly returning to Judaism , but he was later able to assume a Catholic identity. Her father, Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda , was a successful wool merchant and one of the wealthiest men in Ávila. He bought a knighthood and assimilated successfully into Christian society. Previously married to Catalina del Peso y Henao, with whom he had three children, in 1509, Sánchez de Cepeda married Teresa's mother, Beatriz de Ahumada y Cuevas, in Gotarrendura. A brother, Lorenzo de Cepeda y Ahumada,

868-570: A celebrity in her town dispensing wisdom from behind the convent grille, was known for her raptures, which sometimes involved levitation . It was a source of embarrassment to her and she bade her sisters hold her down when this occurred. Subsequently, historians, neurologists and psychiatrists like Peter Fenwick and Javier Álvarez-Rodríguez, among others, have taken an interest in her symptomatology. The fact that she wrote down virtually everything that happened to her during her religious life means that an invaluable and exceedingly rare medical record from

992-401: A complete commitment to nonviolence ( Ahimsa ). They travel from city to city, often crossing forests and deserts, and always barefoot. Jain ascetics do not stay in a single place for more than two months to prevent attachment to any place. However, during the four months of monsoon (rainy season) known as chaturmaas , they stay at a single place to avoid killing life forms that thrive during

1116-513: A contemplative life, also engage in the promotion of spirituality through their retreat centres, parishes and churches. Lay people, known as the Secular Order, follow their contemplative call in their everyday activities. Devotion to the Virgin Mary is a characteristic of Carmelites and is symbolised by wearing the brown scapular . Carmelites trace their roots and their name to Mount Carmel in

1240-462: A controversial movement within Spanish Franciscanism, proposed to found a monastery of an eremitical kind. With few resources and often bitter opposition, Teresa succeeded in 1562 in establishing a small monastery with the austerity of desert solitude within the heart of the city of Ávila , Spain , combining eremitical and community life. On 24 August 1562, the new Convent of St. Joseph

1364-576: A deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary as her spiritual mother. Teresa was also enamored of popular fiction, which at the time consisted primarily of medieval tales of knighthood and works about fashion, gardens and flowers. Teresa was sent to the Augustinian nuns' school in Ávila. After completing her education, she initially resisted the idea of a religious vocation, but after a stay with her uncle and other relatives, she relented. In 1534, aged 20, much to

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1488-467: A defense of her ecstatic mystical experiences, she discerns four stages in the ascent of the soul to God: mental prayer and meditation; the prayer of quiet; absorption-in-God; ecstatic consciousness. The Interior Castle , written as a spiritual guide for her Carmelite sisters, uses the illustration of seven mansions within the castle of the soul to describe the different states one's soul can be in during life. Forty years after her death, in 1622, Teresa

1612-627: A diverse spectrum of ascetic practices. Asceticism-like practices are hinted in the Vedas , but these hymns have been variously interpreted as referring to early Yogis and loner renouncers. One such mention is in the Kesin hymn of the Rigveda , where Keśins ("long-haired" ascetics) and Munis ("silent ones") are described. These Kesins of the Vedic era, are described as follows by Karel Werner: The Keśin does not live

1736-654: A formative influence upon many theologians of the following centuries, such as Francis of Sales , Fénelon , and the Port-Royalists . In 1670, her coffin was plated in silver. Teresa of Avila is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 15 October. In 1626, at the request of Philip IV of Spain , the Castilian parliament elected Teresa "without lacking one vote" as copatron saint of Castile. This status

1860-561: A great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it ... The account of this vision was the inspiration for one of Bernini 's most famous works, the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa at Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. Although based in part on Teresa's description of her mystical transverberation in her autobiography, Bernini's depiction of

1984-568: A meaning closer to asceticism in Hindu texts is Tapas , but it too spans a spectrum of meanings ranging from inner heat, to self-mortification and penance with austerities, to meditation and self-discipline. The 11th century literary work Yatidharmasamuccaya is a Vaishnava text that summarizes ascetic practices in Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. In Hindu traditions, as with other Indian religions, both men and women have historically participated in

2108-413: A metaphor for mystical prayer: The Interior Castle is divided into seven mansions (also called dwelling places), each level describing a step to get closer to God. In her work, Teresa already assumed entrance into the first mansions by prayer and meditation . The purgative stage, involving active prayer and asceticism : Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites , known officially as

2232-611: A more contemporary patron who understood those issues and could guide the Spanish nation. Santiago's supporters ( Santiaguistas ) fought back and eventually won the argument, but Teresa of Ávila remained far more popular at the local level. James the Great kept the title of patron saint for the Spanish people , and the most Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Immaculate Conception as the sole patroness for

2356-503: A more moderated version, the " Middle Way ." According to Hajime Nakamura and other scholars, some early Buddhist texts suggest that asceticism was a part of Buddhist practice in its early days. Further, in practice, records from about the start of the common era through the 19th century suggest that asceticism has been a part of Buddhism, both in Theravada and Mahayana traditions. Textual evidence suggests that ascetic practices were

2480-516: A most beautiful crystal globe, made in the shape of a castle, and containing seven mansions, in the seventh and innermost of which was the King of Glory, in the greatest splendour, illumining and beautifying them all. The nearer one got to the centre, the stronger was the light; outside the palace limits everything was foul, dark and infested with toads, vipers and other venomous creatures." Christia Mercer , Columbia University philosophy professor, claims that

2604-688: A mystical, somewhat hidden tradition in the mainstream Sunni and Shia denominations of Islam, state Eric Hanson and Karen Armstrong , likely in reaction to "the growing worldliness of Umayyad and Abbasid societies". Acceptance of asceticism emerged in Sufism slowly because it was contrary to the sunnah , states Nile Green , and early Sufis condemned "ascetic practices as unnecessary public displays of what amounted to false piety". The ascetic Sufis were hunted and persecuted both by Sunni and Shia rulers, in various centuries. Sufis were highly influential and greatly successful in spreading Islam between

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2728-626: A noblewoman travelling to Prague . The age of the statue dates to approximately the same time as Teresa. It has been thought that Teresa carried a portable statue of the Child Jesus wherever she went; the idea circulated by the early 1700s. The autobiography La Vida de la Santa Madre Teresa de Jesús ( The Life of the Holy Mother Teresa of Jesus ) was written at Avila between 1562 and 1565, but published posthumously. Editions include: The Way of Perfection ( Spanish : Camino de Perfección )

2852-470: A normal life of convention. His hair and beard grow longer, he spends long periods of time in absorption, musing and meditating and therefore he is called "sage" (muni). They wear clothes made of yellow rags fluttering in the wind, or perhaps more likely, they go naked, clad only in the yellow dust of the Indian soil. But their personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind when

2976-462: A number of resolutions adopted at the general chapter at Piacenza , the governing body of the order forbade all further founding of reformed convents. The general chapter instructed her to go into "voluntary" retirement at one of her institutions. She obeyed and chose St. Joseph's at Toledo. Meanwhile, her friends and associates were subjected to further attacks. Several years later, her appeals by letter to King Philip II of Spain secured relief. As

3100-795: A part of the Buddhist tradition in Sri Lanka by the third century BC, and this tradition continued through the medieval era in parallel to sangha style monastic tradition. In the Theravada tradition of Thailand , medieval texts report of ascetic monks who wander and dwell in the forest or crematory alone, do austere practices, and these came to be known as Thudong . Ascetic Buddhist monks have been and continue to be found in Myanmar , and as in Thailand, they are known to pursue their own version of Buddhism, resisting

3224-576: A portion with other living beings, sprinkling the remainder with water he should eat it as if it were a medicine. Similarly, the Nirvana Upanishad asserts that the Hindu ascetic should hold, according to Patrick Olivelle , that "the sky is his belief, his knowledge is of the absolute, union is his initiation, compassion alone is his pastime, bliss is his garland, the cave of solitude is his fellowship", and so on, as he proceeds in his effort to gain self-knowledge (or soul-knowledge) and its identity with

3348-805: A result, in 1579, the cases before the inquisition against her, Gracián and others, were dropped. This allowed the reform to resume. An edict from Pope Gregory XIII allowed the appointment of a special provincial for the newer branch of the Carmelite religious, and a royal decree created a "protective" board of four assessors for the reform. During the last three years of her life, Teresa founded convents at Villanueva de la Jara in northern Andalusia (1580), Palencia (1580), Soria (1581), Burgos , and Granada (1582). In total, seventeen convents, all but one founded by her, and as many men's monasteries, were owed to her reforms over twenty years. Her final illness overtook her on one of her journeys from Burgos to Alba de Tormes. She died in 1582, just as Catholic Europe

3472-568: A single meal a day. Neither group will beg for food, but a Jain ascetic may accept a meal from a householder, provided that the latter is pure of mind and body and offers the food of his own volition and in the prescribed manner. During such an encounter, the monk remains standing and eats only a measured amount. A routine feature of Jain asceticism are fasting periods, where adherents abstain from consuming food, and sometimes water, only during daylight hours, for up to 30 days. Some monks avoid (or limit) medicine and/or hospitalization out of disregard for

3596-482: A specific work, but the Carmelite Order tries to respond to what it sees as the needs of the church and the world - which differ according to time and place. Many friars work in such institutions as parishes, schools, universities, retreat centres, prisons and hospitals. Each individual friar will serve in roles depending on the perceived needs of the people with whom he lives and his own particular talents. Each day

3720-745: A spectrum of diverse practices, ranging from the mild self-discipline, self-imposed poverty and simple living typical of Buddhism and Hinduism , to more severe austerities and self-mortification practices of monks in Jainism and now extinct Ajivikas in the pursuit of salvation. Some ascetics live as hermits relying on whatever food they can find in the forests, then sleep and meditate in caves; others travel from one holy site to another while sustaining their body by begging for food; yet others live in monasteries as monks or nuns. Some ascetics live like priests and preachers, other ascetics are armed and militant, to resist any persecution—a phenomenon that emerged after

3844-487: A strong Advaita Vedanta outlook. Most of the Sannyasa Upanishads present a Yoga and nondualism ( Advaita ) Vedanta philosophy. The 12th-century Shatyayaniya Upanishad is a significant exception, which presents qualified dualistic and Vaishnavism ( Vishishtadvaita Vedanta) philosophy. These texts mention a simple, ethical lifestyle but do not mention self-torture or body mortification. For example: These are

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3968-595: A tradition of asceticism, but its Sufi groups have cherished their own ascetic tradition for several centuries. Islamic literary sources and historians report that during the early Muslim conquests of the Middle East and North Africa (7th–10th centuries), some of the Muslim warriors guarding the frontier settlements were also ascetics; numerous historical accounts also report of some Christian monks that apostatized from Christianity , converted to Islam , and joined

4092-776: A year and a month wore clothes; after that time he walked about naked, and accepted the alms in the hollow of his hand. For more than twelve years the Venerable Ascetic Mahivira neglected his body and abandoned the care of it; he with equanimity bore, underwent, and suffered all pleasant or unpleasant occurrences arising from divine powers, men, or animals. Both Mahavira and his ancient Jaina followers are described in Jainism texts as practicing body mortification and being abused by animals as well as people, but never retaliating and never initiating harm or injury ( ahimsa ) to any other being. With such ascetic practices, he burnt off his past Karma , gained spiritual knowledge, and became

4216-562: Is associated particularly with monks, nuns, and fakirs in Abrahamic religions, and bhikkhus , munis , sannyasis , vairagis, goswamis, and yogis in Indian religions. In the Baháʼí Faith , according to Shoghi Effendi , the maintenance of a high standard of moral conduct is neither to be associated or confused with any form of extreme asceticism, nor of excessive and bigoted puritanism. The religious standard set by Baháʼu'lláh , founder of

4340-544: Is attributed to Teresa, having been found within her breviary: Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing make you afraid. All things are passing. God alone never changes. Patience gains all things. If you have God you will want for nothing. God alone suffices. The ultimate preoccupation of Teresa's mystical thought, as consistently reflected in her writings, is the ascent of the soul to God. Aumann notes that, "the grades of prayer described in The Life do not correspond to

4464-413: Is called Sannyasa , and this is not the same as asceticism—which typically connotes severe self-denial and self-mortification. Sannyasa often involved a simple life, one with minimal or no material possessions, study, meditation and ethical living. Those who undertook this lifestyle were called Sannyasi , Sadhu , Yati , Bhiksu , Pravrajita/Pravrajitā and Parivrajaka in Hindu texts. The term with

4588-2727: Is marked by silence for prayer. In addition to the daily celebration of the full Liturgy of the Hours , two hours (one in the morning, one in the evening) are set aside for silent prayer. Communities should not have more than 21 members. The friars practice a broadly-based discipline of study. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] President of Scandinavian Bishops Conference (2005–2015) Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria degli Angeli (2017-Incumbent) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of Maracaibo (2007–2012) [REDACTED] Archbishop of Baghdad (1983–1999) [REDACTED] Military Bishop of Bolivia (2000–2012) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of La Paz (1983–2000) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux (1987–2005) [REDACTED] Bishop of Meaux (1986–1987) [REDACTED] Vicar Apostolic of Tumaco (1990–1999) [REDACTED] Vicar Apostolic of San Miguel de Sucumbíos (1984–2010) [REDACTED] Apostolic prefect of San Miguel de Sucumbíos (1970–1984) [REDACTED] Metropolitan Archbishop of Cuenca (1981–2000) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of Quito (1977–1981) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of Guayaquil (2006–2009) [REDACTED] Bishop of Oruro (1991–2003) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of Oruro (1987–1991) [REDACTED] Bishop of Székesfehérvár (1991–2003) [REDACTED] Coadjutor Bishop of Székesfehérvár (1990–1991) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of Székesfehérvár (1988–1990) [REDACTED] Territorial Prelate of Infanta (2003–2012) [REDACTED] Bishop of Malolos (1996–2003) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of Manila (1994–1996) [REDACTED] Vicar Apostolic of Kuwait (1981–2005) [REDACTED] Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria sopra Minerva (1979–1998) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] President of Italian Episcopal Conference (1979–1985) [REDACTED] Metropolitan Archbishop of Turin (1977–1989) [REDACTED] Metropolitan Archbishop of Bari-Canosa (1973–1977) [REDACTED] Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria della Scala pro hac vice Title (1895–1916) [REDACTED] Prefect of Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars (1899–1902) [REDACTED] Prefect of Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Sacred Relics (1896–1899) [REDACTED] Camerlengo of

4712-420: Is unclear if self-immolation was limited primarily to Chinese asceticism tradition, and strong evidence of it being a part of a large scale, comprehensive ascetic program among Chinese Buddhists is lacking. Renunciation from the worldly life, and a pursuit of spiritual life either as a part of monastic community or a hermit, has been a historic tradition of Hinduism since ancient times. The renunciation tradition

4836-488: The Tractatus de oratione et meditatione of Peter of Alcantara . Her zeal for mortification caused her to become ill again and she spent almost a year in bed, causing huge worry to her community and family. She nearly died but she recovered, attributing her recovery to the miraculous intercession of Saint Joseph. She began to experience bouts of religious ecstasy . She reported that, during her illness, she had progressed from

4960-551: The jihad , as well as of several Muslim warriors that repudiated Islam , converted to Christianity , and became Christian monks . Monasticism is forbidden in Islam. Scholars in the field of Islamic studies have argued that asceticism ( zuhd ) served as a precursor to the later doctrinal formations of Sufis that began to emerge in the tenth century through the works of individuals such as al-Junayd , al-Qushayrī , al-Sarrāj, al-Hujwīrī and others. Sufism emerged and grew as

5084-710: The Bhagavad Gita , verse 17.5 criticize a form of asceticism that diverges from scriptural guidance and is driven by pride, ego, or attachment, rather than for genuine spiritual growth. Verse 17.6 extends the criticism of such ascetic practices, noting that they are considered harmful to both the practitioner's body and the divine within. With these two verses, Krishna emphasizes that true ascetic practices should align with scriptural teachings and aim towards higher spiritual goals. Some people who undertake acts of austerity perform ferocious deeds not sanctioned by scripture. They are motivated by hypocrisy and egotism, and are beset by

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5208-557: The Biblical texts within a highly asceticized religious environment. Scriptural examples of asceticism could be found in the lives of John the Baptist , Jesus Christ , the twelve apostles , and Paul the Apostle . The Dead Sea Scrolls revealed ascetic practices of the ancient Jewish sect of Essenes who took vows of abstinence to prepare for a holy war. An emphasis on an ascetic religious life

5332-554: The Essenes . According to Allan Nadler, two most significant examples of medieval Jewish asceticism have been Havoth ha-Levavoth and Hasidei Ashkenaz. Pious self-deprivation was a part of the dualism and mysticism in these ascetic groups. This voluntary separation from the world was called Perishuth , and the Jewish society widely accepted this tradition in late medieval era. Extreme forms of ascetic practices have been opposed or controversial in

5456-548: The German Dominican Mystics . She is intensely personal, her system going exactly as far as her experiences, but not a step further." Teresa describes in the Interior Castle that the treasure of heaven lies buried within our hearts, and that there is an interior part of the heart which is the centre of the soul. In her autobiography she describes four stages, in which she uses the image of watering one's garden as

5580-602: The Gnostikos ( Ancient Greek : γνωστικός , gnōstikos , "learned", from γνῶσις, gnōsis , "knowledge"), also known as The Gnostic: To the One Made Worthy of Gnosis . The Gnostikos is the second volume of a trilogy containing the Praktikos , intended for young monks to achieve apatheia , i.e., "a state of calm which is the prerequisite for love and knowledge", in order to purify their intellect and make it impassible, to reveal

5704-633: The Mourning of Muharram . Asceticism has not been a dominant theme within Judaism , but minor to significant ascetic traditions have been a part of Jewish spirituality. The history of Jewish asceticism is traceable to first millennium BCE era with the references of the Nazirite (or Nazorean, Nazarene, Naziruta, Nazir), whose rules of practice are found in Book of Numbers 6:1–21. The ascetic practices included not cutting

5828-579: The Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( Latin : Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo ) or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (Latin: Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum ; abbrev. : OCD ; sometimes called in earlier times, Latin : Ordo Carmelitarum Excalceatorum ), is a Catholic mendicant order with roots in

5952-692: The eremitic tradition of the Desert Fathers . The order was established in the 16th century, pursuant to the reform of the Carmelite Order by two Spanish saints , Teresa of Ávila (foundress) and John of the Cross (co-founder). Discalced is derived from Latin, meaning "without shoes". The Carmelite Order, from which the Discalced Carmelites branched off, is also referred to as the Carmelites of

6076-694: The 10th and 19th centuries, particularly to the furthest outposts of the Muslim world in the Middle East and North Africa , the Balkans and Caucasus , the Indian subcontinent , and finally Central , Eastern , and Southeast Asia . Some scholars have argued that Sufi Muslim ascetics and mystics played a decisive role in converting the Turkic peoples to Islam between the 10th and 12th centuries and Mongol invaders in Persia during

6200-915: The 13th and 14th centuries, mainly because of the similarities between the extreme, ascetic Sufis ( fakirs and dervishes ) and the Shamans of the traditional Turco-Mongol religion . Sufism was adopted and then grew particularly in the frontier areas of Islamic states , where the asceticism of its fakirs and dervishes appealed to populations already used to the monastic traditions of Hinduism , Buddhism , and medieval Christianity . Ascetic practices of Sufi fakirs have included celibacy , fasting , and self-mortification . Sufi ascetics also participated in mobilizing Muslim warriors for holy wars , helping travelers, dispensing blessings through their perceived magical powers , and in helping settle disputes. Ritual ascetic practices, such as self-flagellation ( Tatbir ), have been practiced by Shia Muslims annually at

6324-550: The 16th century has been preserved. Examination of this record has led to the speculative conclusion that she may have suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy . Over time, Teresa found herself increasingly at odds with the spiritual malaise prevailing in her convent of the Incarnation. Among the 150 nuns living there, the observance of cloister , designed to protect and strengthen spiritual practice and prayer, became so lax that it appeared to lose its purpose. The daily invasion of visitors, many of high social and political rank, disturbed

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6448-535: The Ancient Observance to distinguish them from their discalced offshoot. The third order affiliated to the Discalced Carmelites is the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites . The Discalced Carmelites are friars and nuns who dedicate themselves to a life of prayer. The Carmelite nuns live in cloistered (enclosed) monasteries and follow a completely contemplative life. The Carmelite friars, while following

6572-504: The Baháʼí Faith, seeks under no circumstances to deny anyone the legitimate right and privilege to derive the fullest advantage and benefit from the manifold joys, beauties, and pleasures with which the world has been so plentifully enriched by God , which Baháʼís regard as an all-loving creator. Notable Christian authors of Late Antiquity such as Origen , St Jerome , John Chrysostom , and Augustine of Hippo , interpreted meanings of

6696-499: The Carmelite General, Rubeo de Ravenna, to establish further houses of the new order . This process required many visitations and long journeys across nearly all the provinces of Spain. She left a record of the arduous project in her Libro de las Fundaciones . Between 1567 and 1571, reformed convents were established at Medina del Campo , Malagón , Valladolid , Toledo , Pastrana , Salamanca , and Alba de Tormes . As part of

6820-465: The Carmelite Order in Rome, but were otherwise distinct from the Carmelites in that they could elect their own superiors and author their own constitutions for their common life. The following Discalced Carmelite Chapter at Alcala de Henares , Spain in March 1581 established the constitutions of the Discalced Carmelites and elected the first provincial of the Discalced Carmelites, Jerome Gratian . This office

6944-809: The Carmelite hermits were forced by the Saracens to leave Mount Carmel and to settle in Europe. A combination of political and social conditions that prevailed in Europe in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries – the Hundred Years' War , Black Plague , the Reformation and the Humanist revival – adversely affected the Order. Many Carmelites and even whole communities succumbed to contemporary attitudes and conditions diametrically opposed to their original vocation. To meet this situation

7068-509: The Church") with a diploma in her lifetime, but that title is distinct from the papal honour of Doctor of the Church , which is always conferred posthumously. The latter was finally bestowed upon her by Pope Paul VI on 27 September 1970, along with Catherine of Siena , making them the first women to be awarded the distinction. Teresa is revered as the Doctor of Prayer. The mysticism in her works exerted

7192-448: The Cross , Père Jacques and the sixteen Martyrs of Compiegne . Fraternity, service, and contemplation are essential values for all Carmelites. When the Carmelites were forced to leave Mount Carmel, they changed their practice from being hermits to friars. The major difference is that friars are called to serve the People of God in some active apostolate. Some congregations were founded for

7316-508: The Hasidic movement. The Ashkenazi Hasidim ( Hebrew : חסידי אשכנז , romanized :  Chassidei Ashkenaz ) were a Jewish mystical, ascetic movement in the German Rhineland whose practices are documented in the texts of the 12th and 13th centuries. Peter Meister states that this Jewish asceticism emerged in the tenth century, grew much wider with prevalence in southern Europe and

7440-511: The Hindu metaphysical concept of Brahman . Other behavioral characteristics of the Sannyasi include: ahimsa (non-violence), akrodha (not become angry even if you are abused by others), disarmament (no weapons), chastity, bachelorhood (no marriage), avyati (non-desirous), amati (poverty), self-restraint, truthfulness, sarvabhutahita (kindness to all creatures), asteya (non-stealing), aparigraha (non-acceptance of gifts, non-possessiveness) and shaucha (purity of body speech and mind). In

7564-408: The Holy Land. There, in the 13th century, a band of European men gathered together to live a simple life of prayer. Their first chapel was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and they called themselves the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. The Muhraka monastery on the top of Mount Carmel near Haifa in Israel is a historic Carmelite monastery. The monastery stands on the place where

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7688-647: The Jataka tales wherein the Buddha in his earlier lives immolates himself to assist other living beings, or by the Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabhārāja -related teachings in the Lotus Sutra . Historical records suggest that the self-immolation practices were observed by nuns in Chinese Buddhism as well. The Chinese Buddhist asceticism practices, states James Benn, were not an adaptation or import of Indian ascetic practices, but an invention of Chinese Buddhists, based on their unique interpretations of Saddharmapuṇḍarīka or Lotus Sūtra . It may be an adoption of more ancient pre-Buddhist Chinese practices, or from Taoism . It

7812-454: The Jews returned from the Babylonian exile and the Mosaic institution was done away with, a different form of asceticism arose when Antiochus IV Epiphanes threatened the Jewish religion in 167 BCE. The Essene tradition of the second Temple period is described as one of the movements within historic Jewish asceticism between second century BCE and first century CE. Ascetic Jewish sects existed in ancient and medieval era times, most notably

7936-400: The Middle East through the Jewish pietistic movement. According to Shimon Shokek, these ascetic practices were the result of an influence of medieval Christianity on Ashkenazi Hasidism. The Jewish faithful of this Hasidic tradition practiced the punishment of body, self-torture by starvation, sitting in the open in freezing snow, or in the sun with fleas in summer, all with the goal of purifying

8060-445: The Middle East were at one time inhabited by thousands of male and female Christian ascetics, hermits and anchorites , including St. Anthony the Great (otherwise known as St. Anthony of the Desert), St. Mary of Egypt , and St. Simeon Stylites , collectively known as the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers . In 963 an association of monasteries called Lavra was formed on Mount Athos , in Eastern Orthodox tradition. This became

8184-427: The Order of Discalced Carmelites, Father Marco Chiesa, announced that those present at the scene were able to see that "it is in the same condition as when it was last opened in 1914." In 1622, forty years after her death, she was canonized by Pope Gregory XV . The Cortes exalted her to patroness of Spain in 1627. The University of Salamanca had granted her the title Doctor ecclesiae ( Latin for "Doctor of

8308-446: The Prophet . Ascetic practices were linked to the Christian concepts of sin and redemption . The Proto-Protestant Waldensian sect originated as an ascetic group within medieval Western Christianity , persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church . Evagrius Ponticus , also called Evagrius the Solitary (345–399 CE ), was a highly educated monastic teacher who produced a large theological body of work, mainly ascetic, including

8432-1384: The Sacred College of Cardinals (1896–1897) [REDACTED] Apostolic Internuncio of Brazil (1892–1895) [REDACTED] Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals (1743–1759) [REDACTED] Cardinal Vice-Dean of Sacred College of Cardinals (1756–1759) [REDACTED] Cardinal-Bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina (1756–1759) [REDACTED] Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati (1750–1756) [REDACTED] Cardinal-Priest of San Martino ai Monti (1731–1750) [REDACTED] Bishop of Arezzo (1896–1897) [REDACTED] Apostolic Administrator sede plena of Cochin (2008–2009) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of Porto Alegre (1971–2001) [REDACTED] Auxiliary Bishop of Santa Maria (1969–1971) [REDACTED] Vicar Apostolic of Beirut (1974–1999) Ascetic Asceticism has been historically observed in many religious and philosophic traditions, most notably among Ancient Greek philosophical schools ( Epicureanism , Gymnosophism , Stoicism , and Pythagoreanism ), Indian religions ( Buddhism , Hinduism , Jainism ), Abrahamic religions ( Christianity , Judaism , Islam ), and contemporary practices continue amongst some of their followers. Practitioners abandon sensual pleasures and lead an abstinent lifestyle, in

8556-413: The Teresian order, gave her powerful support in founding monasteries at Segovia (1571), Beas de Segura (1574), Seville (1575), and Caravaca de la Cruz ( Murcia , 1576). Meanwhile, John of the Cross promoted the inner life of the movement through his power as a teacher and preacher. In 1576, unreformed members of the Carmelite order began to persecute Teresa, her supporters and her reforms. Following

8680-507: The ability to resist potentially destructive temptations. Asceticism is seen in some ancient theologies as a journey towards spiritual transformation, where the simple is sufficient, the bliss is within, the frugal is plenty. Inversely, several ancient religious traditions, such as Zoroastrianism , Ancient Egyptian religion , the Dionysian Mysteries , vāmācāra , and the modern Western occult left-hand path traditions, abstain from ascetic practices and focus on various types of good deeds in

8804-428: The approval of the Holy Apostolic See . More broadly, the 1620s, the entirety of Spain (Castile and beyond) debated who should be the country's patron saint ; the choices were either the current patron, James Matamoros , or a pairing of him and the newly canonised Saint Teresa of Ávila. Teresa's promoters said Spain faced newer challenges, especially the threat of Protestantism and societal decline at home, thus needing

8928-601: The arrival of Islam in India. Self-torture is relatively uncommon practice but one that attracts public attention. In Indian traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, self-mortification is typically criticized. However, Indian mythologies also describe numerous ascetic gods or demons who pursued harsh austerities for decades or centuries that helped each gain special powers. The historical Siddhartha Gautama adopted an extreme ascetic life in search of enlightenment. However, after enlightenment he rejected extreme asceticism in favor of

9052-528: The ascetic thoughts in Christianity nevertheless, Finn states, have roots in Greek moral thought. Virtuous living is not possible when an individual is craving bodily pleasures with desire and passion. Morality is not seen in the ancient theology as a balancing act between right and wrong, but a form of spiritual transformation, where the simple is sufficient, the bliss is within, the frugal is plenty. The deserts of

9176-476: The atmosphere with frivolous concerns and vacuous conversation. Such intrusions in the solitude essential to develop and sustain contemplative prayer so grieved Teresa that she longed to intervene. The incentive to take the practical steps inspired by her inward motivation was supported by the Franciscan priest, Peter of Alcantara , who met her early in 1560 and became her spiritual adviser . She resolved to found

9300-637: The charism is given for the whole world. Therefore, there is an emphasis in the order on the ministry of teaching prayer and giving spiritual direction. For a Carmelite, prayer is guided by the teachings and experience of Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross, as well as the saints who have followed in their steps, such as Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face , Elizabeth of the Trinity , Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes , and martyrs such as Teresa Benedicta of

9424-586: The disappointment of her pious and austere father, she decided to enter the local easy-going Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation , significantly built on top of land that had been used previously as a burial ground for Jews. She took up religious reading on contemplative prayer, especially Osuna 's Abecedario espiritual ("Third Spiritual Alphabet," 1527), a guide on examination of conscience and "spiritual self-concentration and inner contemplation, known in mystical nomenclature as oratio recollectionis ". She also dipped into other mystical ascetical works such as

9548-585: The division of prayer commonly given in the manuals of spiritual life", due to the fact that "St. Teresa did not write a systematic theology of prayer". According to Zimmerman, "In all her writings on this subject she deals with her personal experiences [...] there is no vestige in her writings of any influence of the Areopagite , the Patristic , or the Scholastic Mystical schools, as represented among others, by

9672-532: The entire Spanish Kingdom . The Spanish nuns who established Carmel in France brought a devotion to the Infant Jesus with them, and it became widespread in France. Though there are no written historical accounts establishing that Teresa of Ávila ever owned the famous Infant Jesus of Prague statue, according to tradition, such a statue is said to have been in her possession and Teresa is reputed to have given it to

9796-409: The event is considered by some to be highly eroticized, especially when compared to the entire preceding artistic Teresian tradition. The memory of this episode served as an inspiration throughout the rest of her life, and motivated her lifelong imitation of the life and suffering of Jesus, epitomized in the adage often associated with her: "Lord, either let me suffer or let me die" Teresa, who became

9920-495: The extreme ascetic practices of eating only pine needles, resins, seeds and ultimately self-mummification, while alive, or Sokushinbutsu ( miira ) in Japan. In Chinese Buddhism self-mummification ascetic practices were less common but recorded in the Ch'an (Zen Buddhism) tradition there. More ancient Chinese Buddhist asceticism, somewhat similar to Sokushinbutsu are also known, such as

10044-436: The famous transverberation , a seraph drove the fiery point of a golden lance repeatedly through her heart, causing her an ineffable spiritual and bodily pain: I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with

10168-527: The flesh and guarding the flesh (avoiding anything that is a source of temptation). Inner austerities include expiation, confession, respecting and assisting mendicants, studying, meditation and ignoring bodily wants in order to abandon the body. The Jain text of Kalpa Sūtra describes Mahavira's asceticism in detail, whose life is a source of guidance on most of the ascetic practices in Jainism: The Venerable Ascetic Mahavira for

10292-444: The floor without blankets, and sit on wooden platforms. Other austerities include meditation in seated or standing posture near riverbanks in the cold wind, or meditation atop hills and mountains, especially at noon when the sun is at its fiercest. Such austerities are undertaken according to the physical and mental limits of the individual ascetic. When death is imminent from an advanced age or terminal disease, many Jain ascetics take

10416-431: The gods enter them. He is someone lost in thoughts: he is miles away. The Vedic and Upanishadic texts of Hinduism, states Mariasusai Dhavamony, do not discuss self-inflicted pain, but do discuss self-restraint and self-control. The monastic tradition of Hinduism is evidenced in first millennium BCE, particularly in its Advaita Vedanta tradition. This is evidenced by the oldest Sannyasa Upanishads, because all of them have

10540-427: The hair, abstaining from eating meat or grapes, abstention from wine, or fasting and hermit style living conditions for a period of time. Literary evidence suggests that this tradition continued for a long time, well into the common era, and both Jewish men and women could follow the ascetic path, with examples such as the ascetic practices for fourteen years by Queen Helena of Adiabene , and by Miriam of Tadmor. After

10664-817: The hierarchical institutionalized sangha structure of monasteries in Buddhism. In the Mahayana tradition asceticism with esoteric and mystical meanings became an accepted practice, such as in the Tendai and Shingon schools of Japanese Buddhism. These Japanese practices included penance, austerities, ablutions under a waterfall, and rituals to purify oneself. Japanese records from the 12th century record stories of monks undertaking severe asceticism, while records suggest that 19th century Nichiren Buddhist monks woke up at midnight or 2:00 am daily, and performed ascetic water purification rituals under cold waterfalls. Other practices include

10788-565: The hour that I have longed for has come. It is time to meet one another." She was buried at the Convento de la Anunciación in Alba de Tormes . Nine months after her death the coffin was opened and her body was found to be intact but the clothing had rotted. Before the body was re-interred one of her hands was cut off, wrapped in a scarf and sent to Ávila. Gracián cut the little finger off the hand and – according to his own account – kept it with him until it

10912-502: The inherent nature of original sin . Around the same time, she received a copy of the full Spanish translation of Augustine of Hippo 's autobiographical work Confessions , which helped her resolve and to tend to her own bouts of religious scruples . The text helped her realize that holiness was indeed possible and she found solace in the idea that such a great saint was once an inveterate sinner. In her autobiography, she wrote that she "was very fond of St. Augustine   [...] for he

11036-464: The lowest stage of "recollection", to the "devotions of silence" and even to the "devotions of ecstasy", in which was one of perceived in "perfect union with God" (see § Mysticism ). She said she frequently experienced the rich "blessing of tears" during this final stage. As the Catholic distinction between mortal and venial sin became clear to her, she came to understand the awful horror of sin and

11160-754: The most important center of orthodox Christian ascetic groups in the centuries that followed. In the modern era, Mount Athos and Meteora have remained a significant center. Sexual abstinence such as those of the Encratites sect of Christians was only one aspect of ascetic renunciation, and both natural and unnatural asceticism have been part of Christian asceticism. The natural ascetic practices have included simple living, begging, fasting and ethical practices such as humility, compassion, meditation , patience and prayer . Evidence of extreme asceticism in Christianity appear in second century texts and thereafter, in both Eastern & Western Christian traditions, such as

11284-571: The original patent, Teresa was given permission to set up two houses for men who wished to adopt the reforms. She convinced two Carmelite friars, John of the Cross and Anthony of Jesus to help with this. They founded the first monastery of Discalced Carmelite brothers in November 1568 at Duruelo . Another friend of Teresa, Jerónimo Gracián , the Carmelite visitator of the older observance of Andalusia and apostolic commissioner, and later provincial of

11408-427: The other micro organisms around the root. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be plucked only when ripe and ready to fall off, or ideally after they have fallen off the plant. In case they are plucked from the plants, only as much as required should be procured and consumed without waste. The monks of Śvetāmbara sub-tradition within Jainism do not cook food but solicit alms from householders. Digambara monks have only

11532-437: The perfect spiritual way of life. According to Clement of Alexandria , philosophy and Scriptures can be seen as "double expressions of one pattern of knowledge". According to Evagrius, "body and the soul are there to help the intellect and not to hinder it". The Arabic term for "asceticism" is zuhd . The Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers practiced asceticism. However, contemporary mainstream Islam has not had

11656-423: The physical body. Śvētāmbara monks and nuns wear only unstitched white robes (an upper and lower garment), and own one bowl they use for eating and collecting alms. Male Digambara sect monks do not wear any clothes, carry nothing with them except a soft broom made of shed peacock feathers ( pinchi ) to gently remove any insect or living creature in their way or bowl, and they eat with their hands. They sleep on

11780-453: The power of desire and passion. Asceticism in one of its most intense forms can be found in Jainism . Ascetic life may include nakedness symbolizing non-possession of even clothes, fasting, body mortification, penance and other austerities, in order to burn away past karma and stop producing new karma, both of which are believed in Jainism to be essential for reaching siddha and moksha (liberation from rebirths, salvation). In Jainism,

11904-416: The practice of chaining the body to rocks, eating only grass, praying seated on a pillar in the elements for decades such as by the monk Simeon Stylites , solitary confinement inside a cell, abandoning personal hygiene and adopting lifestyle of a beast, self-inflicted pain and voluntary suffering, however they were often rejected as beyond measure by other ascetics such as Barsanuphius of Gaza and John

12028-465: The prophet Elijah is said to have lived and fought the prophets of Baal. The first Carmelites were pilgrims to Mount Carmel who settled there in solitude. These early hermits were mostly laity, who lived a life of poverty, penance and prayer. Between 1206 and 1214, Albert Avogadro , the Patriarch of Jerusalem, brought the hermits on Mount Carmel together into community. At their request he wrote them

12152-414: The public self-immolation (self-cremation, as shaoshen 燒身 or zifen 自焚) practice, aimed at abandoning the impermanent body. The earliest-documented ascetic Buddhist monk biography is of Fayu (法羽) in 396 CE, followed by more than fifty documented cases in the centuries that followed including that of monk Daodu (道度). This was considered as evidence of a renunciant bodhisattva , and may have been inspired by

12276-548: The pursuit of redemption , salvation , and/or spirituality . Many ascetics believe the action of purifying the body helps to purify the soul, and that in doing so, they will obtain a greater connection with the Divine or find inner peace. This may take the form of rituals, the renunciation of pleasure, and/or self-mortification . However, ascetics maintain that self-imposed constraints bring them greater freedom in various areas of their lives, such as increased clarity of thought and

12400-401: The rains. Jain monks and nuns practice complete celibacy. They do not touch or share a sitting platform with a person of the opposite sex. Jain ascetics follow a strict vegetarian diet without root vegetables. Prof. Pushpendra K. Jain explains: Clearly enough, to procure such vegetables and fruits, one must pull out the plant from the root, thus destroying the entire plant, and with it all

12524-426: The rule was "mitigated" several times. Consequently, the Carmelites bore less and less resemblance to the first hermits of Mount Carmel . Teresa of Avila considered the surest way to prayer to be a return to Carmel's authentic vocation. A group of nuns assembled in her cell one September evening in 1560, taking their inspiration from the primitive tradition of Carmel and the discalced reform of Peter of Alcantara ,

12648-592: The seventeenth-century Frenchman René Descartes lifted some of his most influential ideas from Teresa of Ávila, who, fifty years before Descartes, wrote popular books about the role of philosophical reflection in intellectual growth. She describes a number of striking similarities between Descartes's seminal work Meditations on First Philosophy and Teresa's Interior Castle . St. Teresa's mystical experiences have inspired several authors in modern times, but not necessarily from Teresa's Christian theological perspective. The prayer Nada te turbe (Let nothing disturb you)

12772-402: The soul and turning one's attention away from the body unto the soul. Another significant school of Jewish asceticism appeared in the 16th century led from Safed . These mystics engaged in radical material abstentions and self-mortification with the belief that this helps them transcend the created material world, reach and exist in the mystical spiritual world. A studied example of this group

12896-439: The truth hidden in every being. The third book, Kephalaia Gnostika , was meant for meditation by advanced monks. Those writings made him one of the most recognized ascetic teachers and scriptural interpreters of his time, which include Clement of Alexandria and Origen . The ascetic literature of early Christianity was influenced by pre-Christian Greek philosophical traditions , especially Plato and Aristotle , looking for

13020-725: The ultimate goal of life is to achieve the liberation of soul from endless cycle of rebirths (moksha from samsara ), which requires ethical living and asceticism. Most of the austerities and ascetic practices can be traced back to Mahavira , the twenty-fourth Tirthankara who practiced 12 years of asceticism before reaching enlightenment. Jain texts such as Tattvartha Sutra and Uttaradhyayana Sutra discuss ascetic austerities to great lengths and formulations. Six outer and six inner practices are most common, and oft repeated in later Jain texts. According to John Cort, outer austerities include complete fasting, eating limited amounts, eating restricted items, abstaining from tasty foods, mortifying

13144-450: The vows a Sannyasi must keep: Abstention from injuring living beings, truthfulness, abstention from appropriating the property of others, abstention from sex, liberality (kindness, gentleness) are the major vows. There are five minor vows: abstention from anger, obedience towards the guru, avoidance of rashness, cleanliness, and purity in eating. He should beg (for food) without annoying others, any food he gets he must compassionately share

13268-663: The world and the importance of family life. The adjective "ascetic" derives from the ancient Greek term áskēsis , which means "training" or "exercise". The original usage did not refer to self-denial, but to the physical training required for athletic events. Its usage later extended to rigorous practices used in many major religious traditions, in varying degrees, to attain redemption and higher spirituality . Dom Cuthbert Butler classified asceticism into natural and unnatural forms: Self-discipline and abstinence in some form and degree are parts of religious practice within many religious and spiritual traditions. Ascetic lifestyle

13392-447: Was Hayyim ben Joseph Vital , and their rules of ascetic lifestyle ( Hanhagoth ) are documented. Asceticism is found in both non-theistic and theistic traditions within Indian religions . The origins of the practice are ancient, and a heritage shared by the major Indian religions: Buddhism , Hinduism , and Jainism . They are referred by many names such as Sadhu, Pravrajita, Bhikshu, Yati etc. Asceticism in Indian religions includes

13516-504: Was John of the Cross , who with Anthony of Jesus founded the first convent of Discalced Carmelite friars in Duruelo , Spain on 28 November 1568. The Discalced Carmelites were established as a separate province of the Carmelite Order by the decree Pia consideratione of Pope Gregory XIII on 22 June 1580. By this decree the Discalced Carmelites were still subject to the Prior General of

13640-420: Was canonized by Pope Gregory XV . On 27 September 1970 Pope Paul VI proclaimed Teresa the first female Doctor of the Church in recognition of her centuries-long spiritual legacy to Catholicism . Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada was born on 28 March 1515. Her birthplace was either Ávila or Gotarrendura . Her paternal grandfather, Juan Sánchez de Toledo, was a marrano or converso ,

13764-600: Was a sinner too". Around 1556, friends suggested that her newfound knowledge could be of diabolical rather than divine origin. She had begun to inflict mortifications of the flesh upon herself. But her confessor , the Jesuit Francis Borgia , reassured her of the divine inspiration of her thoughts. On St. Peter's Day in 1559, Teresa became firmly convinced that Jesus Christ had presented himself to her in bodily form, though invisible. These visions lasted almost uninterruptedly for more than two years. In another vision,

13888-511: Was affirmed by Pope Urban VIII in a brief issued on 21 July 1627 in which he stated: For these reasons [the king's and Cortes's elections] and for the great devotion which they have for Teresa, they elected her for patron and advocate of these kingdoms in the last Cortes of the aforementioned kingdoms ... And because ... the representatives in the Cortes desired it so greatly that their vote be firm and perpetual, we grant it our patronage and

14012-553: Was done without the approval of the Duke of Alba de Tormes and he brought the body back in 1586, with Pope Sixtus V ordering that it remain in Alba de Tormes on pain of excommunication. A grander tomb on the original site was raised in 1598 and the body was moved to a new chapel in 1616. The body still remains there, except for the following parts: On August 28, 2024, it was made the canonical recognition of Teresa's body. The postulator general of

14136-509: Was evident in both early Christian writings ( see : Philokalia ) and practices ( see : Hesychasm ). Other Christian practitioners of asceticism include saints such as Paul the Hermit , Simeon Stylites , David of Wales , John of Damascus , Peter Waldo , Tamar of Georgia , and Francis of Assisi . According to Richard Finn , much of early Christian asceticism has been traced to Judaism, but not to traditions within Greek asceticism. Some of

14260-408: Was founded. Teresa's rule, which retained a distinctively Marian character, contained exacting prescriptions for a life of continual prayer, safeguarded by strict enclosure and sustained by the asceticism of solitude, manual labor, perpetual abstinence, fasting, and fraternal charity. In addition to this, Teresa envisioned an order fully dedicated to poverty. Working in close collaboration with Teresa

14384-408: Was in peril of suppression. However, powerful patrons, including the local bishop, coupled with the impression of well ordered subsistence and purpose, turned animosity into approval. In March 1563, after Teresa had moved to the new convent house, she received papal sanction for her primary principles of absolute poverty and renunciation of ownership of property, which she proceeded to formulate into

14508-516: Was later joined by the younger Carmelite friar and mystic Saint John of the Cross , with whom she established the Discalced Carmelites . A formal papal decree adopting the split from the old order was issued in 1580. Her autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus , and her books The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection are prominent works on Christian mysticism and Christian meditation practice. In her autobiography, written as

14632-411: Was later translated into that of Superior General of the Discalced Carmelites. The heart of the Carmelite charism is prayer and contemplation. The quality of prayer determines the quality of the community life and the quality of the service which is offered to others. Prayer and contemplation for the Carmelite are not private matters between the individual and God but are to be shared with others since

14756-550: Was making the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar , which required the excision of the dates of 5–14 October from the calendar. She died either before midnight of 4 October or early in the morning of 15 October, which is celebrated as her feast day. According to the liturgical calendar then in use, she died on the 15th. Her last words were: "My Lord, it is time to move on. Well then, may your will be done. O my Lord and my Spouse,

14880-571: Was published in 1566. Teresa called this a "living book" and in it set out to teach her nuns how to progress through prayer and Christian meditation . She discusses the rationale for being a Carmelite, and the rest deals with the purpose of and approaches to spiritual life. The title was inspired by the devotional book The Imitation of Christ (1418) which had become a favourite expression of Teresa much before she wrote this work, as it appeared at several places in her autobiography, The Life of Teresa of Jesus . Like her other books, The Way of Perfection

15004-482: Was taken by the occupying Ottoman Turks , from whom he had to redeem it with a few rings and 20 reales. The body was exhumed again on 25 November 1585 to be moved to Ávila and found to be incorrupt. An arm was removed and left in Alba de Tormes at the nuns' request, to compensate for losing the main relic of Teresa, but the rest of the body was reburied in the Discalced Carmelite chapter house in Ávila. The removal

15128-502: Was the father of Teresa de Ahumada . Teresa's mother brought her up as a dedicated Christian. Fascinated by accounts of the lives of the saints, she ran away from home at age seven, with her brother Rodrigo, to seek martyrdom in the fight against the Moors . Her uncle brought them home, when he spotted them just outside the town walls. When Teresa was eleven years old, her mother died, leaving her grief-stricken. This prompted her to embrace

15252-556: Was written in 1577, and published in 1588. It contained the basis for what she felt should be the ideal journey of faith , comparing the contemplative soul to a castle with seven successive interior courts, or chambers, analogous to the seven mansions. The work was inspired by her vision of the soul as a diamond in the shape of a castle containing seven mansions, which she interpreted as the journey of faith through seven stages, ending with union with God. Fray Diego, one of Teresa's former confessors wrote that God revealed to Teresa: ...

15376-466: Was written on the advice of her counsellors to describe her experiences in prayer during the period when the Reformation was spreading through Europe. Herein she describes ways of attaining spiritual perfection through prayer and its four stages, as in meditation , quiet , repose of soul and finally perfect union with God , which she equates with rapture. The Interior Castle , or The Mansions , ( Spanish : El Castillo Interior or Las Moradas )

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