Spain: Teresa de Ahumada

Teresa de Ahumada She was born in Avila to a prosperous family. From her father’s side were a family of converts ( from Jewish to Christianity). When Teresa was thirteen, her mother died. In 1535, she entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Incarnation, in Avila, where she took her vows as Teresa of Jesus. At this monastery, enclosure (the ideal of The Carmelite Order) was impossible due to the large number of Nuns and its poverty. Visitors had to be received because benefactors were needed. Nuns had to leave to make home visits in order to fill their basic needs such as medical care and food. Teresa herself had to leave three times. First, to get treatment for a sickness; second, to care for her father on his last days before his death; finally, to make a pilgrimage to a Spanish shrine. She also met frequently with visitors. By the age of forty, she began to experience concerning monastic life. After several years, she began to think of having a new monastery built to be able to follow the Carmelite Ideology of maintaining isolation as this would enable them to dedicate themselves to prayer, meditation, obedience, duties, work , etc. When she began to discuss her visions with the staff and other Nuns, she was instructed by her confessor to begin writing about her spitual life and how she came to her goal of reform. By 1562 she founded her first monastery in Avila which was named Saint Joseph. At this time, she completed her first book Libro de la Vida (Book of the Life), her autobiography. From thereon, in the next twenty years, she traveled throughout Spain establishing monasteries for Nuns and Friars and continued writing. Because the monasteries were located farther apart, Teresa began to write about the spiritual directions the order should be taking. She wrote Camino de Perfeccion (1566) (Way of Perfection), how to reach your spiritual goal, Castillo Interior/Las Moradas (1580) (Interior Castle/The Mansions), about contemplative prayer, Las Fundaciones (1573 to 1582) (Foundations) to remember the early history of their order. She also wrote meditations, prayers, and hymns. She wrote a number of letters and most of them are still preserved. Because these writings took place during the Inquisition, they were read carefully by others. Even in her lifetime, her writings and work on the monasteries were known throughout Europe.

By: Richard M.