Only 83 years separated Pope Nicholas V’s bull Cum Nulla from Saint Teresa of Jesus’s entry into Ávila's Monastery of the Incarnation. The present monastery opened just 63 years after the bull, on her baptism day. Father Joseph Chalmers explains the document’s significance for Carmelite women. Reading time: 2 minutes Read more →

At Krome detention center, Bishop Silvio José Báez, OCD, assures men separated from their families that God comes looking for them and gives them hope.

Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity weeps with a dear friend over her mother’s death. Writing on October 6, 1904, she admits that words cannot console such grief, but offers the assurance of God’s sustaining love: “She has not left us, for love lives in the soul, and the soul does not die.” Reading time: 2 minutes Read more →

God entrusts us with life as a vineyard to care for, yet greed and the thirst for power turn gifts into plunder. Bishop Silvio José Báez, OCD, contrasts these deadly poisons with service and fellowship, affirming God’s victory through love and forgiveness.

Join us for a novena to Saint Teresa of Avila, asking her intercession as we grow in friendship with Jesus. Bishop Silvio José Báez, OCD, draws on Scripture and Teresa’s teaching to help us pray, love our neighbors, and recognize God’s gifts in daily life.

Chiquitunga’s heart overflowed like a volcano. Father Miguel Márquez Calle, OCD, describes how her love for Jesus in the Eucharist gathered up her earlier life of love and service, joining that volcano to the heart of Christ to spread still more warmth and love. Reading time: 2 minutes Read more →

A condor rises through the rain; the soul rises on the wings of love. In her diary, Saint Teresa of the Andes connects this image with the peace found in imitating Jesus, then records the small acts of charity that filled her day. Reading time: 2 minutes Read more →

Exhausted by her final journeys, Saint Teresa of Avila received Viaticum on October 3, 1582. Saint Edith Stein recounts how Teresa’s failing strength gave way to visible joy before the Blessed Sacrament, drawing on eyewitness testimony to describe her last days and prayerful passage into eternal life. Reading time: 3 minutes Read more →

"Surrounded by angels and very close to God," in the Book of Her Life, Saint Teresa of Avila recounts her prayer for the Church. For the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, we share her account of this prayer and the visions that followed, together with her appeal to serve the Church. Reading time: 3 minutes Read more →

Biographer Stéphane-Joseph Piat, OFM begins with Thérèse’s praise for her parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, then traces how their faith and family life prepared her for the way of spiritual childhood. He sees her teaching as God’s gift, nourished in the home of two saints. Reading time: 2 minutes Read more →