Saint Teresa Of Avila Research Paper

Saint Teresa of Avila once said “I shall mention some things that are necessary… The first of these is love for one another; the second is detachment from all created things; the third is true humility… all must be friends, all must be loved, all must be held dear, all must be helped,” . A Doctor of the church, Saint Teresa of Avila greatly affected the Catholic Church. One of her major contributions is that she founded the Discalced Carmelites. Another is her teaching on prayer and books she wrote. One last contribution is that she reformed the Roman Catholic Church from within. Saint Teresa of Avila was a strong woman and she had very influential impacts on the Catholic Church. Teresa de Ahumada y Cepeda was born in Avila, Spain in 1515.
A major need that she responded to was the Protestant Reformation. Her first major contribution was that she founded the Discalced Carmelites. When Teresa experienced her conversion, many people did not like what had happened to her, and some people even thought her visions were from the devil. She was determined to found a new convent that went back to a simple life of poverty and prayer. Many people started legal proceedings against her, however she continued her work. She founded over a dozen and her ideas soon swept through Spain and Europe. Her second major contribution was her spiritual teachings and writings. With the empowerment of Christ, she wrote four books on prayer and spiritual life. She wrote The Book of Her Life, The Way of Perception, The Book of Foundations, and The Interior Castle. In these is a power and strength to inspire the world. Teresa’s third major contribution was that she reformed the Roman Catholic church from within and strengthened the religious life of Spain. This was during the time of the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Church was struggling. Her monasteries were places of faith standing for Christianity in the midst of the Church being torn apart by the Reformation. She did not intend to be a social reformer, but her nuns affected the change necessary in society by their faithfulness to prayer and to God (Campbell). Saint Teresa embodies the Church as Body of Christ. By professing her Christian faith and keeping the Catholic Church together during the Reformation, she helped the community of believers become the body of Jesus Christ on earth. She emphasized spiritual communion and brought together the community of grace in