The Compassionate Mother of Carmel: Teresa of Avila and the Carmelite Model for Twenty-First-Century Seekers

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2017-05-04

Department

Center for Geographies of Justice and Cultures - Religion

Program

Bachelor's Degree

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

Collection may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States

Abstract

The purpose of this document is to, first, analyze the ways that historical contexts like the rise of imperialism and the Spanish Inqui sition impacted Teresa of Avila ’s life , as well as the Christian monastic context out of which her spirituality emerges , and then introduce the reader to Teresa of Avila and Teresian Carmelite spirituality . Through an exploration of her personal history, one will begin to understand the particularities of Teresa’s life that led her to such renown and that have made her one of the Church’ s most relatable saints, emphasized by an account of her writings and an explanation of the patterns of knowing God that she sets forth. Following that introduction, one will encounter several other Carmelite figures who, in the legacy of Teresian Carmelite spirituality, have affected Christianity in distinct ways across various contexts and eras. These overviews will be c ulminated in a discussion of Teresa’s life, focusing on her roles as a mystic, a Renaissance woman, a foundress, and a Christian teacher. These perspectives will result in a discussion of the approachability of Teresian Carmelite spirituality for twenty - first - century Christians.