With a heart inflamed with love, St. Teresa of Avila taught people one of the most powerful lessons – to look for God within themselves; To pray with their own words and to seek to hear God’s voice – not Outside themselves, but in their own Interior, which she called, the “Interior Castle.”
And in today’s post, you will discover, not just that one powerful lesson, but many others that can transform you and your whole life.
37 Life-Changing Lessons to Learn from St. Teresa of Avila
1. Let nothing disturb thee.
“Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee: All things pass; God never changes. Patience attains all that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices.” ~ St. Teresa of Avila
2. Pain is never permanent. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
3. It is very useful to have gone astray.
“To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience.” ~ St. Teresa of Avila
4. If we begin to put our trust in human help, some of our Divine help will fail us.
“I am afraid that if we begin to put our trust in human help, some of our Divine help will fail us.”
5. You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
6. I had many friends to help me to fall.
“I had many friends to help me to fall; but as to rising again, I was so much left to myself, that I wonder now I was not always on the ground. I praise God for His mercy; for it was He only Who stretched out His hand to me. May He be blessed for ever!”
7. Do not try to get so much that you achieve nothing. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
8. God gave us faculties for our use…
“… each of them will receive its proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work until divinely called to something higher.”
9. Our souls may lose their peace if we are always criticizing trivial actions.
“Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people’s if we are always criticizing trivial actions – which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through our ignorance of their motives. Saint Teresa of Avila
10. Never affirm anything unless you are sure it is true. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
11. Have courage for whatever comes in life.
“To have courage for whatever comes in life – everything lies in that.”
12. Be gentle to all and stern with yourself. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
13. We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God…
“… for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble.”
14. Remember that you have only one soul…
“… that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing. “
15. Untilled ground, however rich, will bring forth thistles and thorns.
“… so also the mind of man.”
16. Christ has no body now, but yours…
“… No hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks compassion into the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world.”
“Always think of yourself as everyone’s servant; look for Christ Our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for them all.”
17. It is love alone that gives worth to all things. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
18. Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
“May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love. It is there for each and every one of us.”
19. Love turns work into rest. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
20. Souls without prayer are like people whose bodies or limbs are paralyzed…
“… they possess feet and hands but they cannot control them.”
21. Prayer is friendship with God.
“Prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.”
22. Prayer is an act of love…
“… words are not needed. Even if sickness distracts from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to love.”
23. Truth suffers but never dies. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
24. God’s will is that no bounds should be set to His works. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
25. It is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves.
“We need no wings to go in search of Him, but have only to look upon Him present within us.”
26. God withholds Himself from no one who perseveres. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
27. Seek God and you will surely find him.
“Tear your heart away from everything else; then seek God and you will surely find him.”
28. To get to know God’s friends is a very good way of “having” Him. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
29. It is no small misfortune that we neither understand our nature nor our origin.
“It is no small misfortune and disgrace that, through our own fault, we neither understand our nature nor our origin.”
30. The closer one approaches to God, the simpler one becomes. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
31. One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying.
“… He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off, and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is prayer. “
32. Suffering is a great favor.
“… Remember that everything soon comes to an end . . . and take courage. Think of how our gain is eternal.”
33. We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can…
“… namely, surrender our will and fulfill God’s will in us.”
34. What a great favor God does to those He places in the company of good people! ~ St. Teresa of Avila
35. It is love alone that gives worth to all things. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
36. Comparisons are odious. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
“Never compare one person with another: comparisons are odious.”
37. There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers. ~ St. Teresa of Avila
Bonus: St. Teresa of Avila Quotes
“Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds.” ~ Saint Teresa of Avila
“The devil frequently fills our thoughts with great schemes, so that instead of putting our hands to what work we can do to serve our Lord, we may rest satisfied with wishing to perform impossibilities.” ~ St. Teresa of Jesus
“Mental prayer, in my opinion, is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.”
“The tree that is beside the running water is fresher and gives more fruit.”
“If Christ Jesus dwells in a man as his friend and noble leader, that man can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us. He is a true friend.” ~ St. Teresa of Jesus
“I was living an extremely burdensome life, because every time I prayed, I became more clearly aware of my faults. On the one hand, God was calling me. On the other, I was following the way of the world. Doing what God wanted, made me happy; but I felt bound by the things of this world.”
“Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.”
“Thank God for the things that I do not own.”
“In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth will be seen to be no more serious than one night in an inconvenient hotel.”
“In a state of grace, the soul is like a well of limpid water, from which flow only streams of clearest crystal. Its works are pleasing both to God and man, rising from the River of Life, beside which it is rooted like a tree.”
“Nothing can be compared to the great beauty and capabilities of a soul; however keen our intellects may be, they are as unable to comprehend them as to comprehend God, for, as He has told us, He created us in His own image and likeness.”
“The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too.”
“May God protect us from gloomy saints.”
“Don’t let your sins turn into bad habits.”
“Anyone who truly loves God travels securely.”
~love, Luminita 💫
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Luminita D. Saviuc
Luminita is the Founder and Editor in Chief of PurposeFairy.com and also the author of 15 Things You Should Give Up to Be Happy: An Inspiring Guide to Discovering Effortless Joy. For more details check out the 15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy Book Page.
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