15 Days of Prayer with Saint Teresa of Avila
About the book
As spiritual guide and director, Teresa of Avila placed prayer at the center of the relationship between the human person and God. She is best known for her mysticism, but this volume presents the many other kinds of prayer that sustain us over the course of our lives. She places steadfast trust in God as the cornerstone of a holy life, but insists upon intellectual engagement and good judgment, objectives this 15-day journey will help readers achieve. Teresa of Avila is a faithful mentor for anyone seeking a spiritual education.
Saint Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century Carmelite nun and Doctor of the Church, withstood tremendous opposition to revive the primitive monastic rule and conditions of poverty, hardship and solitude for religious life. With Saint John of the Cross, Teresa became an influential spiritual director, leaving a legacy of classic writings that include The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, her most complete statement on prayer and contemplation.
Reviews
The choice of content for this slight volume from her substantial and diverse oeuvre could not have been easy. [Abiven] has succeeded beyond my expectation … Abiven sets Teresa’s life and writings alongside modern Carmelite formation methods, drawing in what has been learned from the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), in covering six key stages of Teresian direction from starting to pray to the intimacy of mystical union. Jean Abiven’s expert yet approachable text will be welcomed throughout the Carmelite family of friars, nuns, religious sisters and lay people in vocation discernment, formation, and private prayer. Equally, it will appeal to any seeker after God, lending itself as much to individual contemplation as to retreat centre or parish prayer programmes. Readers will find Constant Tonnelier’s 15 Days of Prayer with Saint John of the Cross to be an ideal companion text.
