Teresa of Avila Quotes
I had many friends to help me to fall; but as to rising again, I was so much left to myself, that I wonder now I was not always on the ground. I praise God for His mercy; for it was He only Who stretched out His hand to me. May He be blessed for ever! Amen.
Teresa, of Avila. The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel. Translated by David Lewis, 3rd ed., Thomas Baker, 1904, p. 55.
Fewer national candidates make a public prayer is of thanks for their political position. Lieberman, an orthodox Jew, publicly preyed on many occasions as did some of the fundamentalist Christian candidates. Most candidates, even though they may be personally religious, tend to worship and pray privately rather than as part of their public personae.
Teresa of Ávila, born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish noblewoman who felt called to convent life in the Catholic Church. A Carmelite nun, prominent Spanish mystic, religious reformer, author, theologian of the contemplative life and of mental prayer, she earned the rare distinction of being declared a Doctor of the Church, but not until over four centuries after her death. Active during the Catholic Reformation, she reformed the Carmelite Orders of both women and men. The movement she initiated was later joined by the younger Spanish Carmelite friar and mystic John of the Cross. It led eventually to the establishment of the Discalced Carmelites. A formal papal decree adopting the split from the old order was issued in 1580.
