It’s the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: “Angels in the Old Testament”, today’s news from the Church: “Leo XIV Relaunches Vatican Diplomacy in Moscow”, a preview of the Sermon: “Dwell in the Sacred Heart”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:
- “Angels in the Old Testament” — From the Assumption to Advent
- “Leo XIV Relaunches Vatican Diplomacy in Moscow” (FSSPX.news)
- “Dwell in the Sacred Heart” (SSPX Sermons)
- The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
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Saint Teresa of Ávila is famous for her mystical visions, her reform of the Carmelites, and her extraordinary writings on prayer. But some of the best stories about her reveal a woman who was practical, funny, occasionally exasperated, and remarkably good at handling difficult people.
For example, Teresa once found herself dealing with a nun who insisted she was receiving extraordinary supernatural revelations. Rather than immediately believing her, Teresa suspected the woman might be imagining things. According to an account in her Foundations, she arranged for the sister to eat properly, sleep more, and spend less time dwelling on her supposed visions.
Teresa understood something important.
Not every unusual spiritual experience comes from heaven.
She also had a wonderful sense of humor about her own difficulties. One famous story says that while traveling between convents, Teresa fell into a muddy stream and complained to God about how badly He treated His friends. According to the traditional telling, Our Lord answered, “Teresa, that is how I treat My friends.”
Teresa supposedly replied, “No wonder You have so few!”
The exchange is probably legendary, but generations of Catholics have loved it because it sounds exactly like the Teresa they encounter in her writings.
Then there were her adventures in convent administration.
Teresa founded seventeen reformed Carmelite convents, often with almost no money, unreliable transportation, difficult local authorities, and buildings that needed enormous repairs. In her letters, she worried about everything from spiritual formation to whether the sisters had enough blankets.
She was a mystic who could spend hours in contemplation and then turn around and negotiate a property purchase.
One of her lesser-known accomplishments was her insistence that recreation mattered. Teresa wanted her nuns to laugh together, enjoy conversation, and avoid becoming gloomy or overly solemn. She believed that a community unable to live cheerfully together would struggle to grow in charity.
And she was remarkably suspicious of exaggerated holiness.
Teresa disliked unnecessary displays of penance, especially when they damaged someone’s health or made life difficult for everyone else. She repeatedly emphasized obedience, common sense, and genuine charity over spectacular spiritual experiences.
There’s also a fascinating detail about her death.
Teresa died on the night of October 4, 1582, just as Spain was adopting the Gregorian calendar. The calendar jumped directly from October 4 to October 15, meaning that Teresa’s death became associated with the very date on which the Church now celebrates her feast.
She literally died during the disappearance of ten calendar days.
Teresa’s greatness wasn’t simply that she experienced extraordinary visions.
It was that she combined profound mystical prayer with an astonishing amount of practical wisdom.
She could contemplate heaven.
And then make sure the convent roof didn’t leak.
Saint Teresa of Ávila, joyful reformer of Carmel and wise teacher of prayer, pray for us.
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The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.
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