Maria Lucia Tcherassi, OCDS

“…pay no attention to the scarecrows the devils set up in order to cause fear. We should know that each time we pay no attention to them they are weakened, and the soul gains much more mastery.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Book of Her Life. Chap. 31.10)

“Oh, how different this life would have to be in order for one not to desire death! How our will deviates in its inclination from that which is the will of God. He wants us to love truth; we love the lie. He wants us to desire the eternal; we, here below, lean toward what comes to an end. He wants us to desire sublime and great things; we, here below, desire base and earthly things. He would want us to desire only what is secure; we, here below, love the dubious. Everything is a mockery, my daughters, except beseeching God to free us from these dangers forever and draw us at last away from every evil.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Way of Perfection. Chap. 42.4)

“Terrible are the wiles and deceits used by the devil so that souls may not know themselves or understand their own paths.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Interior Castle. Chap.1:2)

“… if we fail in love of neighbors we are lost… When you see yourselves lacking in this love, even though you have devotion and gratifying experiences that make you think you have reached this stage, and you experience some little suspension in the prayer of quiet (for to some it then appears that everything has been accomplished), believe me you have not reached union. And beg our Lord to give you this perfect love of neighbor.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Interior Castle. The Fifth Dwelling Places. Ch. 3)

“Do you realize what you are doing? By suffering so many trials you are letting Our Lord light the fire of His love in your soul, and that fire will gradually enkindle others. So your Ladyship must be brave, and at this season consider the sufferings of the Lord. Life is short and our trials last only for a moment.” (The letters of Saint Teresa of Jesus. Letter 15. To Doña Maria de Mendoza. From Toledo, end of March 1569)

“Saint Teresa's originality is in putting prayer in the category of friendship or relationship. Prayer is something interpersonal. Prayer is something you live. She has a number of reasons for putting prayer in this category. The first observation about this friendship of prayer is that it is God's friendship. It is His friendship to which we are invited. We are not invited to begin a communication with Him. We are invited to participate in a communication a conversation that is already taking place. The communication between the Father and the Son, and between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is a communication that has been taking place since before creation and will eternally take place. We are called to be part of that communication, that conversation, that friendship, that relationship.” (Reflections on the teachings of Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint John of the Cross. Volume 1. Fr. Aloysius Deeney OCD)

“… the great good that it seems to me there will be in the kingdom of heaven, among many other blessings, is one will no longer take any account of earthly things, but have a calmness and glory within, rejoice in the fact that all are rejoicing, experience perpetual peace and a wonderful inner satisfaction that comes from seeing that everyone hallows and praises the Lord and blesses his name and that no one offends him. Everyone loves him there, and the soul itself doesn't think about anything else than loving him; nor can it cease loving him, because it knows him.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Way of Perfection. Chap. 30. 5)

“The flesh is very fond of comfort - you have already seen this. If we could understand we would realize that to seek one's peace in comforts is very dangerous. I often think about the matter and cannot understand how there can be so much peace and calm in persons who live very comfortably. Does the most sacred body of our Model and Light perhaps deserve less comfort than our own bodies? What did the Lord do to suffer so many trials? Have we read in the lives of the saints, those who we know for sure are in heaven, that they had a comfortable life? Where does this tranquillity in comfort come from? Who has told us that comfortable living is good? What is this, that some persons spend their days eating well and sleeping and seeking recreations and all the rest they can? I'm stunned when I consider this. It doesn't seem to them there will be another world and they think that the things mentioned are the least dangerous of this present world.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. Meditations on the Song of Songs. Chap. 2)

“At times when you are sad and upset, do not abandon the good works of prayer and penance which you have been in the habit of doing. The devil will try to unsettle you and persuade you to abandon them, but rather than this you should do more of them than usual and you will see how quickly the Lord comes to your aid.” (Maxims of the Mother Teresa of Jesus written to her nuns)

“…perfection is not attained quickly, unless the Lord wants to grant someone this favor by a special privilege.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Book of Her Life. Chap. 31)

“…if when he went about in the world the mere touch of his robes cured the sick,? why doubt, if we have faith, that miracles will be worked while he is within us and that he will give what we ask of him, since he is in our house?” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Way of Perfection. Chapter 34)

“..And while I was feeling really desolate, the Lord said to me: "Don't you know that I am mighty? What do you fear?" (Saint Teresa of Jesus. Life. Chapter 36)

“… he doesn't force our will, he takes what we give him; but he doesn't give himself completely until we give ourselves completely. “ (Saint Teresa of Jesus. The way of Perfection. Chap 28.12)

“Whoever has not begun the practice of prayer, I beg for the love of the Lord not to go without so great a good. There is nothing here to fear but only something to desire. Even if there be no great progress, or much effort in reaching such perfection as to deserve the favors and mercies God bestows on the more generous, at least a person will come to understand the road leading to heaven.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Book of Her Life. Chapter 8)

”Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and that there is only one glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.” (Maxims of St. Teresa of Jesus written to her nuns)

“Do you think he is silent? Even though we do not hear him, he speaks well to the heart when we beseech him from the heart.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Way of Perfection. Chapter 24)

“Receiving Communion is not like picturing with the imagination, as when we reflect upon the Lord on the cross or in other episodes of the Passion, when we picture within ourselves how things happened to him in the past. In Communion the event is happening now, and it is entirely true. There's no reason to go looking for him in some other place farther away. Since we know that Jesus is with us as long as the natural heat doesn't consume the accidents of bread, we should approach him.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Way of Perfection. Chapter 34)

“I remember that, when my mother died, I was twelve years of age or a little less. When I began to realize what I had lost, I went in my distress to an image of Our Lady and with many tears besought her to be a mother to me. Though I did this in my simplicity, I believe it was of some avail to me; for whenever I have commended myself to this Sovereign Virgin I have been conscious of her aid; and eventually she has brought me back to herself.” (St. Teresa of Jesus. The Book of Her Life - Chapter 1)