Saint Teresa of the Andes

Her life:

+ Juana Fernández Solar was a pious child. As a teenager she recognized that God was calling her to a life of penance and prayer and she entered the Carmel of Los Andes, near Santiago, Chile, in 1919.

+ Inspired by the life of Saint Teresa of Avila, she took “Teresa of Jesus” as her religious name.

+ Sister Teresa experienced many mystical graces and in her prayer she sought to unite herself to Christ, the Divine Victim. Soon after, her health was ravaged by a virulent form of typhus.

+ Even in the midst of extreme suffering, she offered herself to Jesus as a victim-soul, praying for the sanctification of priests and the repentance of sinners.

+ Teresa professed her vows as a Discalced Carmelite nun shortly before her death on April 12, 1920. She was canonized in 1993.

For prayer and reflection:

“Look at him, surrounded by little children. He caresses them, he presses them to his heart. Look at him in the midst of his faithful flock, bearing the faithfulness lamb on his shoulders. Look at him at the tomb of Lazarus. And listen to what he says of the Magdalene: ‘Much has been forgiven her, because she loved much.’ What do you discover in these flashes from the Gospel except a heart that is good, gentle, tender, compassionate; in other words, the heart of a God.”—Saint Teresa de Los Andes

Spiritual bonus:

On this day, we also remember Saint David Uribe-Velasco. A priest of the Diocese of Chilapa (now Chilpancingo-Chilapa), Mexico, David was serving as a parish priest during the anti-Catholic violence of the Mexican Revolution. After his arrest by the revolutionary forces, he was taken to Cuernavaca, where he was offered the office of bishop in a schismatic church that would be subservient to the government. He refused and was executed near San Jose Videl, Morelia, Mexico, on April 12, 1927. Saint David Uribe-Velasco was canonized with other Martyrs of the Mexican Revolution in 2000.

Prayer

God of mercy, the joy of the saints,
you set the youthful heart of Saint Teresa
ablaze with the fire of virginal love
for Christ and for his Church;
and even in suffering you made her
a cheerful witness to charity.
Through her intercession,
fill us with the delights of your Spirit,
so that we may proclaim by word and deed
the joyful message of your love to the world.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from Proper Office of Carmelite Saints and Blesseds in the Liturgy the Hours)

Saint profiles prepared by Father Silas Henderson, S.D.S.