There is no affliction, trial, or labor difficult to endure, when we consider the torments and sufferings which Our Lord Jesus Christ endured for us.
Teresa Of AvilaRead
The true penance comes when God takes away the soul's health and strength for doing penance. Even though I have mentioned elsewhere the great pain this lack causes, the pain is much more intense here. All these things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True spiritual growth often comes from experiencing profound challenges and suffering.
Teresa of Avila highlights the importance of spiritual hardship, suggesting that the true essence of penance is not merely in performing acts of devotion, but in the deeper pain we endure when our spiritual vitality is diminished. This suggests that the struggles we face in our spiritual journey are crucial for growth, as they deeply affect our connection to our spiritual roots and contribute to our overall soul health.
Themes
SpiritualitySufferingPenanceSoulGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a spiritual retreat to encourage participants going through difficult times.
More from Teresa Of Avila
All quotes βHow often I failed in my duty to God, because I was not leaning on the strong pillar of prayer.
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What friends or kindred can be so close and intimate as the powers of our soul, which, whether we will or no, must ever bear us company?
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To converse with You, O King of glory, no third person is needed, You are always ready in the Sacrament of the Altar to give audience to all. All who desire You always find You there, and converse with You face to face
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If we do not use great care to mortify our will, there are many things which can deprives us of the holy freedom of spirit that we are seeking in order to fly more freely to our Creator, without always being bogged down with the clay of this earth. Moreover, there can never be solid virtue in a soul that is attached to its own will.
Teresa Of AvilaRead
I say the same of humility and of all the virtues; the wiles of the devil are terrible, he will run a thousand times round hell if by so doing he can make us believe that we have a single virtue which we have not. And he is right, for such ideas are very harmful, and such imaginary virtues, when they come from this source, are never unaccompanied by vainglory; just as those which God gives are free both from this and from pride.
Teresa Of AvilaRead
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