The Raptures Of St. Teresa Sparknotes

The Thought is What Counts
(In Discussion: Jesus Revealing Himself to St. Teresa of Avila)

“I have strayed far from any intention, for I was trying to give the reasons why this kind of vision cannot be the work of the imagination. How could we picture Christ’s Humanity by merely studying the subject or form any impression of His great beauty by means of the imagination?” (Page 632 Paragraph 1). This selection brings a great question forward. How can we? St. Teresa in her book The Raptures of St. Teresa explains the best she can how Jesus is in her every day. Lawrence S. Cunningham implies, “Anyone who imagines that great mystics like Teresa spend all their time in a quiet cell rapt in prayer will be surprised by these letters. Teresa was
Teresa St. Teresa implies that Jesus grew within her. St. Teresa had a busy life. She worked very hard to get Jesus to shine through her each and every day. Jesus did grow within her because of her efforts. St. Teresa lived in a convent and prayed a lot. She wrote lots of things down. St Teresa of Avila says, “His Majesty began to give me clearer signs of His presence, as He had promised to do. There grew within me so strong a love of God that I did not know who was inspiring me with it, for it was entirely supernatural and I had made no efforts to obtain in.” (Page 635 Paragraph 8). As her love for him grew inside her so did Jesus. Jesus feeds on love. He promised her through a vision and as he delivered those promises her love grew and he began to grow with in her. Phyllis Mack suggests, “Teresa's frustration is that the apostolic work she is destined for as a Christian is denied her because she is female. We watch her crafting a theology that fuses the biblical figures of the repentant Mary Magdalene and the practical Martha, in order to defend an apostolic (or activist) role for women.” St. Teresa cannot go any higher in power than a nun because she is a female. She is denied certain roles and authority because of her gender. This caused much frustration for St. Teresa. However, this obstacle did not stop her from getting to know Jesus within
Teresa believes that Jesus reveals himself through the host in The Raptures of St. Teresa. According to St. Teresa, “Almost invariably the Lord showed Himself to me in His resurrection body, and it was thus, too, that I saw Him in the Host. Only occasionally, to strengthen me when I was in tribulation, did He show me His wounds, and then He would appear sometimes as He was on the Cross and sometimes as in the garden” (Page 633 Paragraph 4). The host is a piece of bread that is eaten at communion. During communion the bread changes to Jesus’s body. The wine that we drink is his blood. St. Teresa says that Jesus reveals himself to her through the host. The host stays in the tabernacle during the mass and there are candles lit that represent Jesus being there. Alison Weber writes, “A life in which prayer could play a central role required a dramatically different monastic life than that afforded at the Incarnation. Hence Teresa's mission to establish a small religious house under the primitive or Discalced rule. Teresa envisioned convents into which nuns would be admitted on the basis of their vocation for prayer, without regard to lineage or demands for a dowry; strict enclosure would be observed.” After communion and receiving the host there is silence for prayers. Praying is one of the most important part of mass. Praying is when you talk personally with Jesus. You can “talk” about yourself or about someone else. Jesus doesn’t care he just wants a relationship