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During a prolonged meditation sit in my closet, I had the image of St. Teresa of Avila come to awareness. She winked at me. St. Teresa (also known as Teresa of Jesus) was a Spanish mystic of the 16th Century. She was discontent with the laxness of her Carmelite monastic life and, so, sought new depths of contemplation. She underwent a profound spiritual awakening at age 40—recall Carl Jung said that we are typically not ready to wake up until about age 40; so, imagine 40 years of sleeping!
St. Teresa, after her awakening, founded the first convent of the Discalced ("barefooted") Carmelites and started sixteen other such communities. St. Teresa was a semi-invalid, but she traveled extensively in Spain and became a leader in the Catholic Reformation. In spite of her infirmity and apparently fragile psyche, she retained a busy schedule and wrote her Life, The Way of Perfection, Book of Foundations, and her masterpiece Interior Classic. And this prolific writing was done with the male "heretic hunters" looking over her dear shoulders. Their names are forgotten, but her name is remembered worldwide and her books read over 400 years later (Let us share a “secret” of the universe here: Truth always wins!).
St. Teresa has been referred to as the first to present a true psychology in the West. She is the best writer that I have read at using metaphor—fantastic use of analogy!
Why would the image of St. Teresa erupt unbidden into Prayer time with a wink and smile? Spirit was letting me know that St. Teresa, with all the good she did and hardships she endured, knew the joy of the holy Spirit, the joy God invites me to receive daily. God was reminding me that a wink is more characteristic of deep spirituality than the over-weightiness of much religion. I have found this to be true over the last many months, as I had deadly serious religious persons in my own congregation diligent to find any potential heresy in my writings or preaching, their intent being to continue defamation of character and seek to block transfer of ordination credentials. However, over these months I have rejoiced, and I do rejoice. I can this day, after the attacks of these many months, wink and smile, even laugh and dance, untouched by the criticism and ostracism. Likewise, I have been blessed to give a witness to many dear friends in the congregation of the possibility of unspeakable joy daily in their lives and famalies.
"Ha! God! Thanks for the wink of dear St. Teresa. She reminds me that one can be deeply spiritual and deeply elated; yes, intoxicated with Life."
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Anyway, laughter and a smile—not the laughter and smile of trivial pleasure or bubbly religious fakeness (which is not unknown among professing Christians who seek to impress with personality, as though being ecstatic is being spiritual)—as a consistent practice is only for persons trusting that God is a Lover.
Nature is a Paradise. Niceta Stethatus (1005-1090), in The Spiritual Paradise, writes, “The visible and perceivable world, heaven and earth and all that they contain, has been created as a kind of extensive paradise for all, ...” Being in Christ experientially, we celebrate this Paradise.
Reflections
What encouraged you in the writing today? Explain.
Did you disagree with something in the writing today? If so, explain.
Who models the in Christ life joy for you?
Do you ever take spirituality too seriously? Explain.
How can you invite more joy into your life?
How does the idea of the visible creation being Paradise contrasts with spiritualities wrongly stressing that the inward life is more spiritual than the outer life?
Spiritual Exercise
Meditate and pray daily.
Make sure you have a sacred space in your home for time alone in prayer and spiritual reading.
Make sure you are in a covenant group. For more information on covenant groups, write me at the address below.
Consider, if you are not already, sponsoring a child through Compassion International. You can find out more about Compassion International by going to www.compassion.net to read about sponsoring, in the name of Jesus, children living in poverty. Thanks! Brian K. Wilcox
Brian’s book, An Ache For Union:
Oneness with God through Love, can be purchased at major book dealers or from the publisher AuthorHouse.
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