Veronika Elisabeth Schmitt, O.C.D.
“Where holy love dwells in the heart, there His Majesty gives the opportunity to reveal itself through deeds.”
Because of the reform, Teresa becomes a businesswoman – and not a bad one, as she herself admits: “I look forward to the moment when I could go to Madrid myself to push things there, because I am a good negotiator, as my friend Waldemar can tell you if you do not want to believe it…,” she writes in 1576 to Father Gracian.1 Indeed: Teresa understands business and has a talent for such things, not least due to what she inherited from her grandfather. Her grandfather was a cloth merchant in Toledo.
In just twenty years, Teresa establishes (and that under the prevailing travel conditions!) seventeen female and two male convents. Often she does this without resources. She has the courage to take risks, even in financial matters. Her love for poverty does not make Teresa pedantic or narrow-minded. If a house is in a good location and offers a beautiful view, she is willing to pay more for it: “When a house is in a good location, I do not care about paying a third more than its value; I have even paid half more. A good location is so important for the convent that it would be a mistake to look at the price. I would pay much more for water and a view elsewhere than it cost there,” we read in a letter to a nobleman in Caravaca.2
Finances for Teresa are not the primary concern, even regarding the promised poverty. She knows how to handle money as needed; she is neither anxious nor extravagant. “Take out a loan so that the sisters have sufficient food. Surely you will be able to repay it later,” she advises the prioress in Seville.3 And when this prioress once sends two of her sisters by carriage to Granada, and the local prioress is scandalized, Teresa responds: “I did not inform you how much I liked your complaint against the prioress and how justly you raised it against her. She should be thanking you for all you did when you sent the sisters so honorably to her, not on donkeys, exposing them to God and the whole world. If you had at least been reproached for allowing the sisters to travel on litters… But I would not have blamed you then, assuming you had no other means available. God forbid, my daughter! You acted very well. If others do not share this view, do not worry about it.”4 Regarding equipping new convents with bed and table linens, the founder wants cleanliness to be prioritized, “even if it means greater expenses.”5 And she accepts candidates both with a dowry and without; for her, spiritual motivation, sound human reasoning, and suitability for community life are important.
Generosity does not mean wastefulness. Wherever possible, Teresa looks after her own interests, and therefore can give such diplomatic advice: “... act in such a way that it is not evident how great your interest is (to close this deal), and do not let the price go up.”6
What motivates Teresa to engage in “the affairs of this world,” which seem to have nothing to do with spiritual life? Teresa knows that true spiritual life manifests through deeds, and can be recognized by its fruits. As long as a person seeks closeness to God only in the “spiritual realm,” they are in great danger that they are not after God, but themselves. Only when God's presence permeates every area of life and every activity can a person be truly spiritual, for: “Where holy love dwells in the heart, there His Majesty gives the opportunity to reveal itself through deeds.”7
“Teresa of Jesus”
Without the help of her brother Lorenzo, Teresa's founding activity, especially in the beginning, would hardly have been possible. Her brother died in 1580. In the same year, his son traveled to America, leaving an illegitimate daughter in Spain. Teresa took the girl in, and she grew up from then on in the convent of St. Joseph in Avila.
At a time when illegitimate children brought shame to the entire family, Teresa is willing to take in her little relative and raise her. The regulations for religious life were not yet so firmly established at that time that something like this would not have been possible. Previously, Teresa had already provided accommodation in her convent for her niece Teresita and two other girls, Gracian's sister and the daughter of Mr. Gaytan.
When her nephew got married in America, Teresa congratulated him on that and wrote to him about his mentioned daughter: “I am certainly deeply saddened by the offense that has been caused to God, but when I consider how much that girl resembles you, I must greet her and love her warmly… May God make her His faithful servant! She is not to blame for anything.”8
By accepting this illegitimate child, Teresa transcends the societal prejudices that existed against "conversos." These were Jews who converted to Christianity to avoid being expelled (to foreign lands). Due to the law of preserving "the purity of blood," these people could hardly enter any convent. Even having Jewish ancestors was a barrier. Teresa's grandfather was such a "converso." Therefore, Teresa had to constantly conceal her origin. The first four women she began to live with in her reformed convent in Avila were all "conversas," as their names reveal. This was outrageously brave! But Teresa sees the person. She rejects every class prejudice, which only leads to ambition. In her convents, this had no role to play. This attitude also prompted her, after the reform, to drop her surname (adopting her mother's name) and to replace it with the mystery of faith: from Teresa de Ahumada she becomes Teresa of Jesus. So she signs her letters.
“I do not know how it is possible that no one takes care of this holy man.”
In the male branch of the order, Father Juan de la Cruz (John of the Cross) became the symbol of Teresa's reform. Therefore, he was persecuted with particular severity and ultimately imprisoned in December 1577 by the brethren of the original order. The conditions of his incarceration in the convent in Toledo were so terrible that he would have succumbed to them had he not risked a daring escape to free himself. Teresa is deeply pained by the imprisonment of her fellow combatant. She sympathizes and suffers with him. Shortly after his imprisonment, she intercedes for him with the king himself – as the only one and unsuccessfully. In April 1578, she turns to Father Gracian and asks for help for Father Juan; she writes: “Father Mariano, who has more opportunities to speak with the king, could inform him of his situation, plead with him for kindness, and portray how long the little saint, Father John of the Cross, has been suffering in prison.”9 But this call for help also fades without anything happening. Therefore, Teresa again asks Father Gracian in August: “I firmly believe that the nuncio, if a distinguished person intercedes for Father John, would immediately take measures for his release and send him to one of our convents. It would be enough to tell him to inquire about this father's virtues and show him how unjustly he was imprisoned. I do not understand how it is possible that no one takes care of this holy man. The Princess of Eboli might be willing to intercede for him, if Father Mariano asks her.”10 – She still knows nothing of John’s escape from the monastery prison, four days before.
After his release, this matter does not simply end for Teresa. She still feels great pain over what happened and does not hesitate to write to Father Gracian: “I assure you that I still have before my eyes how Father John of the Cross was treated. I do not understand how God allows such a thing.”11 A few lines later in the same letter, we read: “Indeed, I envy that holy man very much. Blessed be our Lord, who deemed him capable of enduring such martyrdom.”12 In her dedication to her brother John of the Cross, Teresa's greatness again shines through. While others focus on protecting themselves, even though they are in a more esteemed position and have "better connections," she advocates for John as a person, as a woman, because she cares for the other in his suffering. In such situations, it becomes evident how far someone has actually transitioned from bondage in their own self to openness towards the other, even at the expense of oneself.
Taken from the magazine Karmelimpulse, year 10, 2001/3, p. 5–9.
Translated from German by Sister M. Petra of the Risen Lord, O.C.D.
