Conclusion of the IV Centenary of the Death of Saint Teresa of Jesus (1 November 1982)

On Monday, 1 November 1982, at the tomb of Saint Teresa of Jesus, in Alba de Tormes, the Holy Father solemnly closed the IV Centenary of her death, with a prayer to the Saint.

Beloved brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of Saint Teresa.

1. We find ourselves gathered next to the tomb which houses, as a precious treasure, the illustrious relics of the body of Saint Teresa of Jesus.

In solemnly closing this IV Centenary, opened a year ago by the Cardinal I delegated, I wish my words to be an evocation and a prayer addressed to Teresa of Jesus, present among us through the communion of saints.

2. First of all, the evocation of that glorious death.

Teresa of Jesus! I want to remember the words of the last moments of your life:

The humble confession of your shortcomings: “Cor contritum et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies” ( Ps 50 [51], 19).

The exhortation to your daughters to keep your spiritual heritage intact, your fidelity to your charism.

The desire to see God: “My Lord, it is high time we came together; it's time to go."

The joyful profession of faith: "Lord, I am a daughter of the Church".

You gave your life to God surrounded by the maternal affection of this Church of which you felt like a daughter: with the grace of the sacrament of Penance, the viaticum of the Eucharist, the holy Anointing of the sick.

Yours was a death of love , as St. John of the Cross well expressed: “Consumed by the living flame of love , the cloth broke at the sweet encounter with God” (St. John of the Cross, Living flame of love , 1, 29-30).

“Now then, let's say that this little butterfly is already dead. . . and that Christ lives in her” (S. Teresa, Interior Castle, VII, 1, 3).

3. You live with Christ in glory and are present in the Church, walking with it on the streets of men.

In your writings you shaped your voice and your soul.

In your religious family you perpetuate your spirit.

You left us friendship with Christ as a lesson.

You have entrusted to us as a testament the love and service of the Church.

“Happy are the lives - like yours - that sacrifice themselves for this purpose!” (St. Teresa, Vita , 40,15).

Your homeland is Spain, but the whole world is your home today, where your daughters and sons live, where you speak from the pages of your books.

You are a messenger of Christ.

You are the universal word of God's experience.

Your lively Castilian speech has been translated into many languages.

Your writings have multiplied in infinite editions.

You have entered the religious culture of humanity.

You are present, honoring the Church, in universal literature.

Your desires to serve the Lord without limits of time and space, until the day of the glorious coming of Jesus, have been fulfilled, Teresa!

4. May the ardent prayer of the pilgrim Pope rise now to the Father, through your intercession, Teresa of Jesus.

I pray to you for our Mother Church: "so that the ship of the Church is not always in storms" (St. Teresa, The Way of Perfection , 35, 5).

Intercede for its evangelizing outreach and for its holiness, for its Pastors, its theologians and ministers, for the men and women who have consecrated themselves to Christ, for the faithful of the family of God.

I pray for a world at peace, without fratricidal wars like those that wounded your heart.

It reveals to all Christians the inner world of the soul, the treasure hidden within us, the luminous castle of God.

Let the external world retain the imprint of the Creator and be an open book that speaks to us about God (cf. St. Teresa, Life , 9, 5).

Accept my plea for the souls who praise God in quiet, for those who have received the great dignity of being friends of God, for those who seek God in the darkness, so that the Light that is Christ may be revealed to them.

Bless those who seek understanding and harmony, those who promote brotherhood and solidarity, because "we need to support each other" and "charity takes deep root in community" ( Ibid . 7, 22).

Protect the men of the sea and the countryside, those who work, and those who give work, the elderly who find in you a model of wisdom and inexhaustible creativity.

Bless families, young people and children.

May they find a world of peace and freedom, worthy of men called to communion with God, where they can cultivate those human virtues that you have brought to the splendor of Christian holiness: truth and justice, fortitude and respect for people, cheerfulness and affability, sympathy and gratitude.

I place in your hands the cause of the poor that you loved so much.

Let your ideals of justice be fulfilled in a fraternal communion of goods: because all goods belong to God and he distributes them to some as his administrators so that they can share them with the poor (cf. St. Teresa, Thoughts on love of God , 2, 8).

Intercede for the sick, the object of your care until the end of your days. Help the weak, the marginalized, the oppressed, so that the abode of God, the image and likeness of him, is respected and honored in them.

5. Teresa of Jesus, may she continue to live in this land of Spain! I pray for all her populations. Let them live the richness of their cultural values ​​in a spirit of fraternal and supportive communion.

To you who are a friend of God and of men, and with your writings you open paths of unity, I entrust the unity of the Church and of the human family: among Christians of different confessions, among members of different religions, among men of different cultures. Let everyone feel as you felt them: "Sons of God and brothers" (S. Teresa, Interior Castle , V, 2, 11).

Let your prayer and your word of hope, written in the “ Inner Castle ” be fulfilled ( Ibid . VII, 2, 7-8).

“Jesus Christ our Lord, praying once for his Apostles, asked that they be one with the Father and with him, just as he, Jesus Christ our Lord, is in the Father and the Father in him (cf. John 17:21). I don't know if he could give himself more love! We too are included in it , because the Lord said: I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me." Let us all reach where you reached: to communion with the Trinity "where our image is imprinted" (S. Teresa, Interior Castle , VII, 2, 7-8).

Teresa of Jesus, hear my prayer! May the Church's thanksgiving rise to the throne of the Wisdom of God, for what you have been and for what you have done, for everything you will still do among the People of God who honors you as a Doctor and spiritual Teacher. I wish to do so with your own words of praise and blessing:

“Praised and blessed be God our Lord forever! Amen. Amen” ( Ibid . 4).

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Copyright © Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana