Category Archives:Blog
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY TWENTY-SIX
This blows me away again! St Teresa is giving me the key to the meaning of life: Not my will but Thy will be done. It is not greater joy in myself that I should seek, only the greatest joy of all, which is in conforming my will to God’s will. How simple, and yet how profound is this ultimate commandment, for simple things are never truly simple! They are the hardest to accomplish. True self-surrender consists, St Teresa is telling us, in surrendering our own individual will to carrying out the will of God. We must let go of our own self-interest, forget ourselves entirely and act in the service of God and our fellow humans. So simple, and yet the most challenging task we will ever confront, and only the most rare individuals will actually achieve this in its full profundity. Bharti
PRAYER: Â One day I heard these words:
‘During this life, true gain consists
not in striving after greater joy in me,
but in doing my will.’
My brothers and sisters, let the will of God,
to whom we belong, be achieved in our lives.
This means surrendering our life into the
hands of God,
doing what is best with our gift,
forgetting as far as possible all our self-interest,
and resigning ourselves entirely.
To truly serve God is to forget ourselves,
our advantages, our comfort,
and our apparent happiness.
The point is that we should make a gift
of our heart,
emptying it of ourselves
that it may be filled with God.
What power lies in this gift!
Our almighty father becomes one with us
and transforms us
uniting creator and creature.
MANTRA:Â Let the will of God be achieved in my life.
EVENING PRAYER:Â Let me not be afraid
to join my life with yours,
to empty my heart
to make room for you.
You will not force your presence on me.
You go only where you are invited
and made welcome.
To make a complete gift of my heart to you,
I need more courage than I have,
strength that only you can give.
Hear my prayer.
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY TWENTY-FIVE
This prayer truly humbled me, for it taught me to examine my speech and thought patterns and to always remember that there are many ways to talk to God, and all are equally valid as long as one approaches God with true humility and deepest respect. Those that do not look so promising, may, in fact, turn out to be the best ways. There is not one optimal way of addressing God or approaching God, but we all must find the one most appropriate for us, one that truly comes from love and awe in its true Biblical sense.  Bharti
PRAYER: If we were to live a thousand years,
we would never fully understand
how we ought to behave toward God.
In God’s presence even the angels tremble—
they who can do all that God wills,
and for whom simply to wish is to accomplish.
Therefore before you pray,
stop for a moment and recall
whose presence you are approaching
and to whom you are about to speak.
In order to meditate you may need a book.
(For more than fourteen years
I could not meditate without reading!)
You may need to recite vocal prayers
to capture and hold your attention.
It is important to understand
that our father does not lead us all
by the same routes.
Those who seem to be the least blessed of all,
may be the highest in God’s eyes.
MANTRA:Â Let me not forget to whom
and in whose presence I am praying.
EVENING PRAYER: Let me not be overwhelmed by your presence,
silenced by my frailty,
or reduced as I so often am
to muttering familiar phrases
to overcome my speechlessness.
Accept me as I am
with what I have to give.
Heavenly Father,
you do not lead us all by the same path.
Here in your presence,
take my yearning to speak with you
and to what words I have,
and make of them a prayer
worthy of your love for me.
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY TWENTY-FOUR
This prayer today really spoke to me of the quiet virtues of patience, perseverance and humility. We must begin our conversation with God and the rewards will be manifold and bountiful. However, we must not expect quick or easy results. These will evolve through grace with time and familiarity with meditating and praying to God. Sooner or later we will achieve blessings beyond number and the key to these blessings is learning to love much rather than to think much.  Bharti
PRAYER: Â Mental prayer is nothing else
but being on terms of friendship with God,
frequently conversing in secret with one
we know loves us.
Anyone who perseveres
in seeking God’s friendship
is amply rewarded.Â
If you are given the grace of deep thought
and understanding, be grateful.
But, if you are like me,
I have no advice to give but to be patient
until our Lord sends you both matter and light.Â
Place yourself in the presence of God,
and do not exhaust yourself
searching for reasons
for understanding what lies beyond your reach.
Do not lay blame on your soul,
for the good of the soul
consists not in thinking much,
but in loving much.
MANTRA:Â Let nothing make me afraid.Â
EVENING PRAYER: Â Here in the gathering darkness
let me relax in your presence.
There is nothing to be afraid of.
There is everything to hope for.
I may not become perfect overnight,
or be instantly blessed
with the joys and consolations
of the great saints,
but little by little
I will grow in knowledge
of the road that leads to heaven.
I do not need to court you
with great thoughts or profound insights,
for the good of my soul
consists not in thinking much,
but in loving much.
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY TWENTY-THREE
This prayer of St Teresa blew me away! It spoke to so many unanswered questions concerning doing God’s will that had puzzled me until now. We, like Jesus, have been given a share in the heavenly kingdom in this life. God’s gifts are manifold, yet not manifested in worldly pleasures or comforts, for these are but shadows, ephemera. God gifts to those he truly loves immense suffering just as he gave to his only beloved son the torments of the Cross. For it is by overcoming suffering through accepting the will of God that we are purified and learn to cast off the hollow pleasures of this world to seek the infinitely greater riches of the spirit within.  Bharti
PRAYER: Â There is no danger, my brothers and sisters,
that when you say to God,
‘thy will be done’,
you will be showered
with riches, or pleasures, or great honors,
or any earthly good.
God’s love for you is not so lukewarm.
God places a higher value on your gift,
wishing to reward you generously,
since you have been given a share
in the heavenly kingdom
even in this life.
See the prayer of Jesus answered
with trials, with sufferings, insults, and persecutions,
until at last
his life ended on the cross.
These are heaven’s gifts in this world,
and God grants them
as a sign of affection for us —
to each of us
according to the courage and the love
we bear for God.
Fervent love can suffer much,
tepidity very little.
For my part, I believe that
our love is the measure of the cross we bear.
MANTRA:Â Let me not forget
how God answered the prayers of his own son.
EVENING PRAYER:Â I should not expect a shower
of riches, or pleasures, or great honors,
or any earthly good.
Rather you may reward me
as you rewarded your Son.
Even so, my heavenly Father,
‘not my will, but yours be done’.
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY TWENTY-TWO
Beset by the trials of the world, it is wonderful to know from St Teresa that we can rely on no-one and nothing in this world but God alone, and when we listen to God we need nothing else to aid us. That takes away all disappointment and distress, for we cannot blame or be unhappy with anyone or anything, realizing that the solution is not with anyone or anything, for the solution to life’s problems is through ourselves reaching out to God. Only by putting our faith in God who works through our deepest and purest intuition can we resolve well the problems that continually face us in this life. Bharti
PRAYER:Â Once when I was at prayer,
I saw myself on a wide plain.
I was alone in the middle of a horde
that hemmed me in on every side.
I could not move in any direction
without exposing myself to death.
I was alone, without anyone to take my part.
In my distress, not knowing what else to do,
I lifted up my eyes to heaven
and saw Christ,
not in heaven but high above me in the air,
holding out his hand to me
and protecting me in such a way
that I was no longer afraid of those who
surrounded me.
They could not, however much they wished to do so,
cause me any harm.
In all my great trials,
our Lord has always sent someone to help me,
as it was shown in the vision,
so that I might attach myself to nothing or no one,
but only try to please our Lord.
MANTRA:Â God alone suffices.Â
EVENING PRAYER:Â Whether surrounded on every side
or torn from within,
knowing that I can do nothing by myself,
I can still lift up my eyes to heaven
and cry out to you.
Let me come to the end of this day
welcoming the darkness in peace.
knowing that I have nothing to fear.
For if I have you, God,
I will want for nothing.
You alone suffice.
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY TWENTY-ONE
After reading this Prayer, I know why I love St Teresa – it is because she speaks to me of all the states that I am experiencing, both the treacherous and exasperating states as well as the good times and the delightful moments of rapture. She hides nothing from me and talks to me frankly, openly and disingenuously about how hard is the path to God and how many times I will, and I do, stumble and fall, and how I should never give up, although so often I am tempted to because I doubt my own strength and capacity to endure suffering. She keeps alive in me the hope and the joy in my heart that one day, soon or maybe far away, that I will reach that garden where the Lord dwells.  Bharti
PRAYER: Â Our Lord, in order to console me,
once told me not to be distressed by the fact
that the life of the spirit
does not continue on an even path.
At one time I am fervent,
at another I am not.
At one moment I am disquieted,
a moment later I am at peace.
At still another I am tempted.
But I must, God reminded me,
hope and not fear.
But what shall I do, Lord,
if for a long time
there is no consolation in my prayers
and I find it almost impossible to seek you out?
I believe that the best course
is to be absolutely resigned,
confessing that we can do nothing,
and to apply ourselves to other
good and meritorious deeds.
Maybe our Lord takes away from our souls
the grace to pray easily,
so that we can learn how little it is
that we can accomplish
with only our own strength.Â
Rejoice and take comfort
and consider how great a privilege it is
to work in the garden of so great a Lord.
MANTRA: Â It is all right to feel helpless.Â
EVENING PRAYER:Â The life of the spirit
is not an even path.
We do not know what is good for us,
what we should ask for on any given day,
at any given moment.
Whether we are fervent or disquieted,
at peace or thrown about by temptation,
caught up in prayer or speechless,
matters not at all.
What matters is,
however my day has gone,
however I find myself as darkness comes,
that I should without ceasing
hope in you and fear not.
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY TWENTY
Yes, we do need to dream big dreams and aspire to achieve the utmost, otherwise our vision will be too small and thus our achievements likewise. The path ahead has been blazed by the great saints of every religion, and, although it feels we can never emulate the likes of St. Teresa of Avila, of course, we can and we must, for that is what she wants us to do, and that is why she wrote these amazing prayers and her masterwork The Interior Castle with its seven incredible chambers. God wants us all to traverse the path and reach into his arms.  Bharti
PRAYER:Â It is a great help in our quest
To have great aspirations,
because often our actions
begin with our thoughts and dreams.
Like the great saints we need to be humble
but bold in our pursuit,
trusting God and not ourselves.
For our Lord seeks and loves courageous souls.Â
It is true that I might stumble
for trying to do too much too soon,
but it is also certain that I will never succeed
if I hope for too little,
or out of fear of failing
start not at all.Â
MANTRA:Â Do not hope for too little.Â
EVENING PRAYER:Â As darkness hides me
with no one but you to hear my prayers,
let me not be afraid to dream great dreams
to pray great prayers.
With only you to hear,
I can be bold as I need to be,
as courageous as my dreams permit,
as faithful as your love for me demands.
I want to do more than admire your saints;
I want to be one of them.
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY NINETEEN
These words really resonate with me. In meditation and prayer, we often to seek to find some interior rapture, and are so taken up with this quest that we sometimes forget that meditation and prayer are our entryways to find God and to be in communion with him and to listen to what he wants from us in this life, and for him to give us the strength and vision to carry this out. The task(s) may not be full of delights as we ordinarily define them. However, we must find the strength and joy in carrying out God’s will which is perfectly attuned to what is best to further our journey on the spiritual path. Bharti
PRAYER:Â Of what does the highest perfection consist?
Do not look for, or expect to find it
in interior delights,
or in great raptures and visions,
or in the gift of prophecy,
but only in conforming our wills
to the will of God.
Then there will be nothing
that God wills
that we do not will ourselves,
and with our whole will
We will accept the bitter with the sweet,
knowing it to be the will of God.
In love, we forget our own pleasure
in order to please the God
who loves us so much.
MANTRA:Â Perfection is not in feeling good,
but in doing the will of God.
EVENING PRAYER:Â I come to the end of an ordinary day,
a day when there have been
no overwhelming interior joys,
no great raptures or visions.
There have been bitter moments and sweet.
I have tried to accept whatever came my way,
doing my best
to conform my will
to your will, my Lord God,
so that there would be nothing
that you will
that I would not choose for myself.
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY EIGHTEEN
Prayer is the gateway into God’s presence. However, it should not always be as a petition for something we need, or some trouble that we want put right. As St Teresa says, prayer is how we come to know God, to become aware of his presence, to hear his breath and his voice. It is a way to welcome God into our lives so he may live within us and enrich all our thoughts and actions. We so need to establish this dialog with God, so he becomes our constant companion and the one nearest and dearest to our hearts. So let us invite God into our lives through the living adoration of prayer.  BhartiÂ
PRAYER:Â Prayer is the doorway through which
God’s greatest gifts enter our soul.
If this door is kept shut,
I do not see how God can bestow these gifts;
for even if God wishes to enter our soul,
to take delight therein,
and to make us also to delight,
there is no way this can be done.
Therefore when God plants in our soul,
a desire to pray,
as unprepared as we might be,
it is amongst the greatest of gifts.
If we persevere
in spite of sins, temptations, and relapses,
our Lord will bring us at last
to the harbor of salvation.
Besides, God does not wait for the next life
to reward our love,
but begins to enrich us even here.
MANTRA:Â Prayer is the doorway through which
God’s greatest gifts enter my soul.
EVENING PRAYER:Â Let nothing distract me
from spending
these last moments of the day
with you in prayer.
Let me not shut you out.
If only for a moment,
here and now at the end of the day,
let me silence the thousand voices
that kept me through the day
from remembering
that I live always in your presence.
Bless me with the gift of prayer.
ST TERESA OF AVILA PRAYERS share
DAY SEVENTEEN
The Prayer of St Teresa today really shames me! I recognize myself in everything she says. Yes, I have embarked on the spiritual path and the desire to know and love God, and yet how little time and energy do I devote to his true service, so that so often my service becomes lip service. So often I am, to my shame, giving God my love and service in a half-hearted, timid, drop by drop fashion. I pray that I may become bold, open and courageous enough to give of my full self without reservation in the service of God, for I know in my heart that the more I give, the more will I receive.  Bharti
PRAYER:Â How is it, O God,
that even when we are determined to love you,
we do not rise immediately
to the perfect love which is our goal?
It is because while we think
we are surrendering all to God,
we are in fact giving up
only the profits of our endeavors,
the extras,
what is left over from our daily needs.
We keep ownership of the land itself.
In everything
we look for pleasant ways of serving God.
And because we do not give up ourselves
wholly and at once,
so the treasure of God’s gifts to us
are not given at once.
Heavenly Father,
even as we measure out our lives to you
a bit at a time,
we must be content
to receive your gifts drop by drop,
until we have surrendered our lives wholly to you.
MANTRA: Â Patience gains all things.
EVENING PRAYER:Â Let my fears give way
to quiet rest,
and my timidity to generosity of heart.
I keep taking back the gift I offer.
Replace, I pray you, my stinginess of heart
with a reflection of your generosity.
You will reward my every gift,
no matter how small,
with the unlimited gift of yourself.
And if I have you, God,
I will want for nothing.
You alone suffice.