Happy Feast of St. Teresa of Avila! Over the past couple of months, I've posted pictures from Avila a few times, but here is another:

Irish Mom Writer is on the left, with my husband on the right. :) I wish my hand was not on top of the statue's writing hand (see her quill pen?) -- I should have her hand over mine, that she may guide me!

Here is the door through which she entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation at Avila to become a nun:

Here is the block of wood she used as a pillow. Would it be disrespectful to comment, "No wonder she was subject to headaches?" Makes me feel like quite a sissy!

This is the chapel of the monastery...the Sisters lived behind the grille, and looked through it at the main altar for Mass:

 Here is the main altar of their chapel. St. Teresa spent 27 years here, then left to found stricter convents that adhered more closely to the original Carmelite idea. She later came back here as Prioress:

 She died in the reformed Carmelite Convent of the Annunciation at Alba de Tormes, shown here:

Here is her tomb, and the separate reliquary containing her arm:

This reliquary contains her heart:

It's hard to know what thoughts to offer, on such a great saint's day! A Doctor of the Church, an expert on mental prayer, a "bestselling" woman writer, a reformer when the world had become lax, a woman full of courage and ingenuity, a lover of Jesus Christ? There is simply too much to say about her!

So instead, I'll offer this very simple and sweet explanation of how to begin to meditate, from the great lady herself:

"As you know, the first thing must be examination of conscience, confession of sin and the signing of yourself with the Cross. Then, as you are alone, you must look for a companion -- and who could be a better companion than the very Master who taught you the prayer that you about to say? Imagine that this Lord Himself is at your side and see how lovingly and how humbly He is teaching you -- and, believe me, you should stay with so good a friend as long as you can before you leave Him. If you become accustomed to having Him at your side, and if He sees that you love Him to be there, and are always trying to please Him, you will never be able, as we put it, to send Him away, nor will He ever fail you...Do you think it is a small thing to have such a Friend as that beside you?"