Ecstasy of St. Theresa?

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Has anyone ever heard of this before? I haven’t until i bought a This Rock magazine, april 2009 issue having a sculpture of her and the Angel on the cover.

if i understand it correctly, she “felt” God’s love all throughout her body and spirit and it was like a wondrous, joyful fire? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_St_Theresa

oh wow, I want this so bad as well, pure and complete intimacy with our Lord, in a way we can’t even imagine unless we experience it ourselves. That fire of God, His fire of His love, it must be overwhelmingly awesome that words cannot describe!!!
 
Awesome! I read about this somewhere and unfortunately didnt delve into it. Does anyone have any more info about this? Or any good sites to read about it? Thanks for bringing this up!
 
No sites or sources come to mind, but I have heard that her work was comparable to Song of Songs in terms of intimacy. That doesn’t mean it is as graphic, per say, but that she had some really intense feelings going on there. They were intense enough to have her work closely scrutinized. Think about it, if you found out a cloistered religious sister, a nun of all things, wrong something like that, it would seem a shocker for the ordinary person. Just imagine how some of the people who read her work while she was alive felt. Sister Theresa wrote that?!:eek:

All the same, her written work does tend to describe a relationship that is difficult to describe in mere words. To her, you weren’t just a friend of Christ, you were a lover!
 
The_Fool said:
No sites or sources come to mind, but I have heard that her work was comparable to Song of Songs in terms of intimacy. That doesn’t mean it is as graphic, per say, but that she had some really intense feelings going on there. They were intense enough to have her work closely scrutinized. Think about it, if you found out a cloistered religious sister, a nun of all things, wrong something like that, it would seem a shocker for the ordinary person. Just imagine how some of the people who read her work while she was alive felt. Sister Theresa wrote that?!:eek:

**All the same, her written work does tend to describe a relationship that is difficult to describe in mere words. To her, you weren’t just a friend of Christ, you were a lover!/**quote]

Yes, that’s how I sometimes feel toward god, being His bride in all. In fact, that’s what I desire as well, and hope to “feel” Him as she did. Oh how I wish i could have spoken with her in life, but I wasn’t to be born ‘till 1978 :’( Lol. Still, i’d have so many questions of curiousity, earning to fall deepe rin love with God!
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her autobiography is available online 🙂
catholicfirst.com/thefaith/catholicclassics/stteresa/life/teresaofavila.cfm

I think she describes this experience there. She also says that it’s something that happens at a pretty advanced stage in the spiritual/contemplative life… and it all starts with humility and prayer. I suggest reading “The Interior Castle” where she descibes these different ‘stages’ in more detail 🙂

and I agree, that must have been really amazing!
 
Heh heh…I was once speaking with a Pentecostal lady, and she was telling me about an event at her parish… and I think it’s a lot like this… but since they’re Protestants, they kinda got it wrong.

Actually, it seemed a lot like a certain early heresy…

Anyhow, a female preacher was exhorting the congregation to let themselves be “Romanced by the King of Kings!” The women closed their eyes and happily swayed at the thought, the men, stiff, eyes wide open, doing their best to keep their relationship with their Savior at a professional level!

:rotfl:

But back on topic, it truly is a wonderful thought, but I truly dread the evils may come of those that pervert it.
 
Dtmccameron said:
Heh heh…I was once speaking with a Pentecostal lady, and she was telling me about an event at her parish… and I think it’s a lot like this… but since they’re Protestants, they kinda got it wrong.

Actually, it seemed a lot like a certain early heresy…

Anyhow, a female preacher was exhorting the congregation to let themselves be “Romanced by the King of Kings!” The women closed their eyes and happily swayed at the thought, the men, stiff, eyes wide open, doing their best to keep their relationship with their Savior at a professional level!

:rotfl:

**But back on topic, it truly is a wonderful thought, but I truly dread the evils may come of those that pervert it./**quote]

How could one pervert it? By having some sort of orgasim with it? Yeah, that would be . . . strange, and I don’t pictur eit as that. I pictur eit as an overwhleming lovnig gentle/fierce Fire, which makes one rejoice!
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You could pervert it by making the experience into an idol. It happens 🙂 that’s why we have to be humble and seek God’s will above all things. We have to be accepting of whatever He has planned for us. He leads each person to holiness in a unique way… some receive ecstasies like St Teresa. Others, live a very simple life, like St Therese of Lisieux. Two Teresa’s, but very different 🙂 both Saints, Doctors of the Church. Consider Mary…our Mother… here’s a quote about her:

Virgin full of grace, I know that at Nazareth you lived modestly, without requesting anything more. Neither ecstasies, nor miracles, nor other extra ordinary deeds enhanced your life, O Queen of the elect. The number of the lowly, “the little ones,” is very great on earth. They can raise their eyes to your without any fear. You are the incomparable Mother who walks with them along the common way to guide them to heaven. Beloved Mother, in this harsh exile, I want to live always with you and follow you every day. I am enraptured by the contemplation of you and I discover the depths of the love of your heart. All my fears vanish under your motherly gaze, which teaches me to weep and to rejoice! Amen.
(St Therese of Lisieux)

Our Lady is exalted higher than the angels. But think of what a simple life she lived… she, the Mother of God, never performed a great miracle.

Is doing God’s will sweeter to you than any spiritual experience? that is holiness. We all want to feel His presence I think. I know I do, at times. But if He doesn’t grant it to us until Heaven, would we still love Him?

If we say ‘yes’ to this, then we’ll never be able to ‘pervert’ any experience and make it an idol. And it would be ‘safe’ for God to give us any grace He wishes, cause He’ll know that we won’t get focused on the grace, but love Him first, always.

hope that makes sense…

the reason I’m saying this is because I made some big mistakes and learned this the really hard way. At one point, I had made my feelings of God’s presence during worship or prayer into an idol. I would pray simply to ‘feel something’ rather to please Him. I’m so grateful to God that He showed me this and lead me out of it. The truth is that any feeling or consolation is simply a gift. We please God not with our feelings, but with our choices. If we choose to pray even though we’re going through spiritual dryness, that pleases God, and also sanctifies us. Consolations sanctify us too by encouraging us to trust in His love, and to see that His love is greater than anything in the world.

I totally understand why you’d want what St Teresa experienced after reading about it. It would be strange if you didn’t want it! Just remember, that ultimately, holiness is about simple obedience 🙂

God bless you.
 
Monica4316 said:
Is doing God’s will sweeter to you than any spiritual experience? that is holiness.
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I always saw the former as being in a way the latter, for I cannot conceive me doing the Almighty’s will, or any good thing for that matter, had not the Spirit… compelled me?

But the Blessed Mother sure didn’t waste any time with the Miracles after she went, eh? 😃
 
Dtmccameron said:
I always saw the former as being in a way the latter, for I cannot conceive me doing the Almighty’s will, or any good thing for that matter, had not the Spirit… compelled me?
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it’s true that sometimes the Holy Spirit compells us to do something, but I don’t think that doing God’s will is always easy for us, or even something that we want to do… at least for myself… maybe that’s because we don’t always understand His will, and at the beginning it might look very scary to us.

I think from an example of a Saint… St Therese wanted to do great things for God, like be a missionary, a martyr, an apostle, etc, but she was a novice in a cloistered religious community. She couldn’t do these things there. But she died to self by doing ‘little things’ for God with a lot of love, because she believed that is His will, and eventually found her place in the Church 🙂 but had she chosen what seemed better to her, she might not have become the Saint she is now.
But the Blessed Mother sure didn’t waste any time with the Miracles after she went, eh? 😃
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true, 😉 but if her glory was only revealed afterwards, then maybe that is true for many of her children as well.

God bless
 
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