Veronika Elisabeth Schmitt, O.C.D.
Letters are particularly an immediate approach to the person who wrote them, as they arise from life. This is also true for the letters of St. Teresa from the 16th century. They express immense spontaneity and vitality. - Teresa is a master in writing letters. 440 of her letters have been preserved, and in German translation they are available in a two-volume work of about 1200 pages.1 However, this is only a fraction of what Teresa actually wrote. It is estimated that she wrote about 15,000 letters.
“It is difficult for me to express myself briefly.”
Many times Teresa complains about the burden of correspondence, as in one letter to Fr. Jerónimo Gracián in 1576: “I much preferred writing the book on foundations to this countless number of letters, which almost wear me out to death.” In the last years of her life, she needs a secretary, Anna of St. Bartholomew, to manage the enormous amount of correspondence. It is an emergency solution, which she finds hard to cope with: “Unfortunately, I cannot get used to the fact that I do not write with my own hand,” she confesses in 1580 to the prior in Seville, Mother Maria of St. Joseph.
Despite the burden she feels, Teresa writes letters and receives them passionately. Given her joy in contacts and her ability to communicate, it is no wonder. In her time, a letter was the only means of contact with someone who was not in immediate reach. Due to her reform and foundational activities in the order, she had to handle many personal and material matters. Nevertheless, her letters are never theoretical treatises or systematically thought-out explanations on spiritual topics. She writes simply as her heart dictates. That is why her letters are so appealing. She intensely empathizes with the person to whom she writes, feeling and suffering alongside them. It is clearly evident when reading her letters. Her sharp spirit, ability to understand situations and people “from the depths,” and approach them not only seriously but also with humor are appealing.
Thus, it is understandable that she writes with enthusiasm and does not express herself briefly at all: “Just as it is difficult for Your Excellency to be verbose in letters, it is burdensome for me to express myself briefly” (letter to Fr. Dominic Bañez, 1574).
Teresa masters the polite forms of her time, but she can also be completely unconventional. One can sense her affection for people with whom she shares friendship, as well as her aversions, which she does not hide at all. In her letters, she is utterly human. This serves as a correction against all temptations and tendencies to portray her as an exalted inaccessible saint.
“I never reread my letters…”
Teresa knows that during her lifetime, she is regarded as a saint. She vehemently resists this, when she writes to Father Gracián: “For I greatly regret such a senseless thing that I have had to hear several times where you are; it was said that Teresa of Jesus is supposedly a saint.” In her defense, it is not a matter of underestimating herself. Teresa knows herself too well to fall into illusions about her own perfection. How genuine this self-assessment is, among other things, is seen in the fact that she writes her letters absolutely without concern for her “holiness.” She does not even assume that her letters might one day be preserved and published. Otherwise, she would hardly give her brother Lorenzo this advice: “Please do not trouble yourself rereading the letters you write to me; I never reread mine. If any letters are missing some letters, please fill them in! That is what I do here with your letters. One quickly understands what the other wanted to say; the rest is just a waste of time and makes no sense.” At the same time, Teresa belongs to the few educated women of her time who could read and write. The fact that she is so calm is not determined by any naivety or ignorance. For her, understanding is essential. That is what she cares about.
When writing, Teresa engages in a lively dialogue with the addressee. Both she and the person to whom she writes vividly come to life before our eyes as we read. Only someone who can be fully present and meet the other can write like this. Teresa and her letters are so engaging because of her disarming openness and her authenticity regarding her own person. At the same time, she is highly self-controlled and maintains a keen sense of boundaries that must be respected.
Teresa thus appears completely human before us. It is a mistake to think that her letters are pious or alienated from the world. They deal with the purchase of houses and property, just as much as with practical everyday matters. Teresa’s writing does not come from her head, but from her heart. What is essential is what her intuition inspires her. Thus, only rarely do we encounter longer passages on spiritual topics. Her letters are not spiritual texts solely because of their content, but because of the character that shines through it all: Teresa as a person who has fully realized the task of being human and who is entirely open to God and to people. She is constantly concerned with life, with a “more” of life within her and in others. That is why she also refuses to seal her letters with the symbol of the skull; she asks her brother to send her his own seal, bearing the symbol of the name of the Lord, “whose image I wish to have engraved in my heart.”
“Never would I gladly tear a letter from your hand as this one…”
This sentence does not appear in any letter addressed to one of her daughters in Carmel, but in a letter to a highly esteemed figure in church life: the rector of the Society of Jesus in Ávila, Fr. Gonzalo Dávila. He is simultaneously Teresa's confessor. What sincerity speaks from these lines! Teresa writes as she feels, but she also explains: “For I am not yet so humble as to bear being regarded as so proud. But you should not reveal your humility at my expense.” She is struck at a painful point. Humility – let us not forget: true humility – she regards as the foundation of spiritual life. And now someone – her confessor – intrudes upon her at this crucial moment. She does not simply submit, but is even able to assert herself. Therefore, the letter ends not only with a direct admission of her error but also with a concrete intention to improve communicated to the addressee: “I want to improve in the future and not write you my first impressions immediately, as it costs me dearly. If I saw you as perfect, my temptation would cease. May God grant you this grace, for He can do it! That is my only wish.” She does not allow herself to be overcome, but remains true to what she has come to recognize as humility: “To live in truth” (6H, X, 6.7). This truth motivates her to simply not cover up the faults of others with a cloak of brotherly love. She sees them clearly and distinctly and expresses it as well. Even when she is reprimanded for it. Her authenticity and sincerity know no false concessions, “in order to keep the peace.” She says what she perceives and stands by it. At the same time, she also sees her own part in the matter and confesses her shortcomings. Here we encounter a constructive handling of conflicts. For this, the ability to empathize with the other and to feel with them is essential. Teresa does not only see her own perspective but also the perspective of the other and tries to make it clear to them that their perspective is not the only one. Her humility does not tempt her to a pious bending that would allow no personal opinion. Teresa demonstrates mature obedience that is aware of its own stance but can relativize and subordinate it when necessary. This requires courage and independence! With this contrast, we continuously meet Teresa: on one hand, she exhibits strong self-confidence; she writes these words to the general: “I will have to comfort myself with this until that endless eternity, where Your Reverence will see how much I am to be thanked.” On the other hand, she knows strong doubts about herself as it relates to her experiences and her decisions. Thus, in a letter to Father Ordoñez, we read: “However, I still fear when I have to make a decision about something; because then I immediately think as if everything were lost.” This inner polarity characterizes her personality and gives her the dynamism that makes her so lively. She certainly did not always tolerate these contradictions easily.
“Pray to God to make me a true religious of the Carmelite order…”
Letters are for Teresa a conversation. She expects a response to her word. Many in her time valued correspondence with her. However, among the brothers of her own order, there are several from whom she receives no response to her letters. These include Father Antonio, one of the two first Carmelite reformers, and Father Mariano, who had very good relations with the Spanish court. Both let her know little or nothing. Thus, Teresa writes in one letter to the prior in Seville, Mother Maria: “I commend Father Anthony of Jesus and Father Mariano with the note that I now also want to strive for the perfection that they have already achieved, namely not to write.” Here we find one trait typical of Teresa: she knows how to convey the truth with humor. Thus, she manages to navigate without hurting with irony or moralizing. This humor shows the greatness of her spirit, the breadth of her heart, and her ability to laugh at herself. She handles a life whose difficult aspects she can clearly feel with a considerable dose of cheerfulness. And that cheerfulness is a characteristic element that remains alive in her convents to this day. It manifests especially in the daily recreations, where the sisters can heartily laugh. Teresa did not love holiness built on melancholy.
Teresa's humor has such a beneficial effect because she also views herself with humor. In 1576, forty years after her entrance into the order, fourteen years after the foundation of the first reform convent, she writes to Father Gracián: “Pray to God to make me a true religious of the Carmelite order, for better late than never.” These are the words of a reformer and founder of the order! And these words are meant seriously. Teresa knows about herself that she is still starting over and is too honest with herself not to see that there is still a long way to go. “One thing that satisfies me here (in Seville) and should satisfy me even more is that I am not here exposed to the appearance of holiness as I was there! This allows me to live and act without having to fear that one day this airy castle will crumble over me.”
Not only Father Gracián but the entire order has found in Teresa over the centuries “an excellent help in such a miserable creature as I am.”
In her letters, Teresa meets us completely directly and spontaneously, just as her contemporaries could experience her. We can discover new facets of her and realize that we cannot categorize her into any scheme. Teresa is multifaceted and has an equally rich knowledge and experience that she expresses in words.
Writing letters has become a rare phenomenon today, in the age of various communication possibilities. However, it hides treasures that are precious – in this case, not only for the addressees of that time.
Taken from the magazine Karmelimpulse, volume 10, 2000/I, pages 5–9.
Translated from German by Sister M. Petra of the Resurrected, OCD.
