St. Teresa of Avila and the Spirituality of Lent
Article by Ezequiel Machado, OCDS
Lent is the penitential season in the Church’s liturgical year; it begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (Easter Triduum). During Lent, the Church reflects the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert in fasting and prayer (CCC 540, 1095, 1438).
The Gospel of Mathew is traditionally proclaimed on Ash Wednesday; the penitential tone is set when Chapter 6 is read to remind us what is the proper way and the right disposition to give alms, to pray and to fast – the way Jesus Christ did and taught:
1 “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
[7 And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread; 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; 13 and lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. 14 for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.]
16 And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Mt 6, 1-16)
At the beginning of her reform of the Carmelites, St Teresa of Jesus was asked by the nuns of her first foundation – the monastery St Joseph in Avila – to teach them how to pray. In her response, she chose the spirit of Lent as her guide; she chose the Gospel of Mathew Chapter 6. Her answer to the cloistered nun’s request was The Way of Perfection her first didactic book. In it, she presents her meditations on the Our Father, the prayer of the Lord – the centerpiece of chapter 6 of the Gospel of Mathew.
At the beginning of her book (Ch. 4) St Teresa lays out the proper foundations for a life of prayer:
“I shall enlarge on only three things, which are from our constitutions, for it is very important that we understand how much these three things help us to possess inwardly and outwardly the peace our Lord recommended so highly to us.
“The first of these is love of one another; the second is detachment from all created things; the third is true humility, which even though I speak of it last, is the main practice and embraces all others” (W4, 4).
St. Teresa’s connection to the spirituality of Lent is now clear: love of one another relates to alms giving; detachment points to fasting; and, the essence of prayer is rooted in humility. This is Teresa’s masterful insight to a life of prayer for her nuns and to all of us today.
Humility is a relational word that acknowledges that God is the creator and man is indeed the creature. The virtue of humility shows that God is the author of all Good and humanity recognizes their total dependence on God and on His goodness and mercy. In the words of the Church, humility avoids inordinate ambition of pride, reveals a contrite heart, and provides the foundation for turning to God in prayer (Cf. CCC 2559).
St. Teresa by highlighting humility solves the situation presented by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them” (Mt 6,1); piety to be seen by men is pride; and the antidote of pride is the virtue of humility, as Teresa rightly points out.
Therefore, to obtain the inner and outward peace that the Lord promises, St. Teresa’s counsels, for a fulfilling life of prayer, is to be centered in humility – for it embraces fully both alms giving and fasting; in her words, it embraces both love of neighbor and detachment of all things. Thus, immersed in the virtue of humility, our prayer life will flourish and the spirituality of Lent will always present in your life.
As seen in the Apostolate of the Little Flower Magazine, Volume 85, Number 1.
Ezequiel L. Machado has been a member of the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order (OCDS) for the past 27 years and holds a master’s degree in Theological Studies (MTS) from Madonna University in 2015. Mr. Machado has been a volunteer and Faith Formation teacher at the Basilica of the Little Flower for the past 10 years.