For a long time, the only thing I knew about St. Teresa of Avila was the famous story:
Once, when Teresa was travelling mounted on a donkey, she slipped off, and fell into the mud. Shaking her fist at God, she asked, "why did this happen to me, Lord?!" to which Our Lord answered, "I always treat my friends this way." A petulant Teresa retorted, "then, no wonder you have so few!"
That was enough to make me like her, but I wanted to know more, and watched the wonderful series on EWTN about her life, which is showing this month. She reformed the Carmelites in Spain, which of course, made her very unpopular, as the nuns lived very comfortably and actually entertained outside guests in luxury in the convent! St. John of the Cross was her friend, having been imprisoned by his brothers as a reward for reforming his order.
These stories give me courage by reminding me that the Church has had bad times before, and that God will send us saints to see us through. Today in Rome, the Holy Father is canonizing several saints, including Theodore Guerin. Again, see the coverage on EWTN (click on the link above to watch streaming video in case your cable system, like mine, doesn't carry EWTN).
Let 's answer the universal call to holiness, and get the most important initials in the world, the St., in front of our names!
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