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Moment Aside --- 14 January 2021
This quote was found on a bookmark in the daily prayer book (of the daily monastic office) of the Spanish Carmelite, Teresa of Avila, a woman who worked to reform her sisterhood and worked hand-in-hand with those who wished to reform the entire Carmelite order.
This might have been more than a place
holder in that book. When we read, we all often use a bookmark to keep our
place. We’ve all seen postcards, ribbons, tissues, and even scraps of paper
used as bookmarks. Any of these can hold the place in our book. I wonder if
this particular bookmark was actually a reminder of something Teresa wished to
remember. In a number of ways, her life was no different from any of ours. She
faced troubles and opposition, sickness and disappointment. When she opened her
prayer book, she had to have seen this bookmark, which she appearently wrote
out herself.
There was something she needed to see and
be reminded of each day, actually a few times each day. In all that she
endured, she might have needed a reminder that “All things are passing…
Patience gains all things.”
We might say to ourselves “If such a great teacher and saint as Teresa
needed a reminder, maybe she wasn’t so great!” She was as human as any of
us, with all the pains and joys that humanity carries with it. If she needed a
reminder that God is good and God will provide, then she’s no different than
the rest of us. (I didn’t say God would provide what we want, but that
God would provide and Teresa at least would trust in that.)
We might also say to ourselves “If such a great teacher and saint as Teresa
needed a reminder, what hope to I have?” Honestly, Teresa’s hope was and is
the same as ours: nothing less than the power of God and the grace of God given
to us through Jesus. In that, we’re no different than she was.
If it concerns you, ask her when you get
to heaven. I’d bet she’s put down her castinets and tell you all about it. That’s
something I’d look forward to.
(For
Celeste)
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