CARMELITE RELIGIOUS ORDER REFORMER AND FIRST WOMAN DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, ST. TERESA OF AVILA..........

St. Teresa of Avila, was a wise and strong Spanish woman of the 16th Century, who was a mystic and an author, as well as one of the leading Church reformers of that era.  Although enduring great suffering and trials,  she teamed with St. John of the Cross, in reforming the Carmelite religious order and cleansing it of its corrosion, by co-founding the Discalced Carmelite Friars and Nuns.  She authored several spiritual writings, including - "Way of Perfection", "Interior Castle", and an autobiography; and has become an inspiration to the faithful discipleship of countless believers, within the Carmelites and throughout Catholic-Christianity in the world.  Her outstanding contribution to the betterment of the Body of Christ and the People of God, was cause for St. Teresa of Avila, to be declared the first woman ever, given the title of, Doctor of the Church.  Oh so, that many more of us who profess to be followers of Jesus the Christ, would be as willing to serve God and others by giving ourselves to a spirituality of reform and renewal, that clears the clutter of the selfishness of sin from Life, Church, and World, and excelerates the presence and effectiveness of God's Grace and our Mystical Union with the Divine.  Against the odds and the prevailing powers of her day, Teresa of Avila did exactly that.  She is a Christian role model and Hero of God, whose example can help catapult us to put our Faith and our Values into Action, for the common good of our Christian Discipleship and the greater God of the Living and True God..........St. Theresa of Avila Pray For And Inspire Us To Follow Your Holy Example In Changing Hearts And Minds,   Fr.  Troy