Contrary to common belief, saints are not perfect. Saints simply seek Christ more than anyone else. Saints understood the need for Christ in their own lives through their own experiences. St. Teresa of Avila did not live a perfect life, although she strived to after her conversion. St. Teresa, after living in the world, realized her desperate need for a personal relationship with God, but by no means was she perfect.
Teresa Sánchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada lived in Avila, Spain where she was born in 1515 and lived during the Reformation until her death at age 67. She was canonized in 1622, forty years after her death. St. Teresa's grandmother was forced to be converted from a Jew into a Christian during the Inquisition. Without her
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She started to turn towards worldly pleasures with the help of her cousin. She soon found out how easy it was for one person to change another person for the good or bad.
Her loving father noticed her falling into the ways of the world and decided he would send her for schooling with Augustine nuns in Avila. During her time with the nuns, God sent her a particular nun into St. Teresa’s life who was able to make an impact in the lost girl’s life which changed her life. After leaving the nuns she realized during her illness she could’ve died and would have died with all the sins she had committed in her life. While she was trying to decide to become a nun, St. Jerome’s letters gave her encouragement to stand up to her protective father. Her father did not wish to go in fear he would never see her again. St. Teresa once said, “The best we could get out of him was a reluctant concession that I could do whatever I wanted after he was dead” (Starr, 2007, p.16). Against her father’s wishes, Teresa ran away to become a nun of the Carmelite Order. Although the convent was crowded, she started right away teaching people the power of mental prayer. She did not just teach women, as nuns often did, but men as well. She did not want to entertain people; instead she wanted to change people’s lives. “She guided nuns not just through strict disciplines, but also through the power of love, and common sense” (Pettinger, 2010). She had a heart
During this time-frame of Erauso life, she obtained many different jobs while acting and dressing as a man. She came across a few different family members, who at no time apperceived her at all in the lifestyle she opted to live. At one point while being a page for the king's secretary she encountered her father who was asking for avail to find his daughter who he believed to be missing. Again, she met up with family when she peregrinated to her old convent to attend mass, she found that her mother was additionally at mass in the same convent (SparkNotes: Lieutenant Nun).
Saint Rose of Lima had been a very divine person ever since she was born. Throughout her life, she had always dedicated herself to religion, prayer, suffering, and saving souls from purgatory. Rose always believed that although her life was very poor, there are always others out there who have it far worse. Thus with her loving compassion, Rose never hesitated to help the poor, the sick, or the weak whenever she came across them on the streets of Lima. This was what the moral of Rose’s life was based upon and dedicated to.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola was born in the year 1491. The exact month and day of his birth is not known. He was one of thirteen children. He was born into a very noble family. He was a gambling addict by the age of sixteen. When he was just seventeen years old, he became a soldier in the Spanish Army. In 1521 during a battle with the French, a cannonball broke on of his legs, and severely injured the other. The broken leg had to be broken again in order to fully repair it, and there was a bone in the other leg that was sticking out, making it shorter than the other. He ordered the doctors to remove the bone to make his legs the same length. This was all done without any anesthesia to numb the pain. The wounds from the cannonball impaired his ability to walk for the rest of his life. While he was recovering from the wounds, he would think of the women of his dreams and of being famous. To avoid boredom, he read a book titled The Life of Christ. This would be the start of Saint Ignatius’ conversion. This book by Ludolph of Saxony asks the reader to imagine that they are witnessing the stories in the Gospels. This would be the main influence for the approach that Saint Ignatius uses in his Spiritual Exercises. He realized that after he was done thinking of his dream woman and of being famous that he felt empty, but after thinking of the Jesus and the saints, he felt fulfilled.
Women could either join a convent of a beateria, a lay religious community (). There was also the expectation that married women would still be religious, but that was not meant to be their sole purpose in life (). Religiosity among women was usually expressed in a community. Religious orders, like the Poor Clares, Dominicans and Carmelites, were one option (). Family sometimes sent women to live in convents, making the woman the passive agent (). Women, however, did make the choice to live in a convent and become completely devoted to God. St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun and mystic from this time, is an example of this phenomenon (). St. Teresa’s religious experiences were not completely
The saint I chose for my project is Saint Cecilia. I chose this Saint because she is the Saint of Music and at my school I play an instrument. No one knows exactly when Saint Cecilia was born but people believe she died around 117 A.D (After Death). Saint Cecilia's body was discovered incorrupt in 1599, she is known for being the first incorrupt saint. She was Married to a man named Valerian, but she still wanted to stay a virgin. Valerian was not a Catholic.
For my confirmation saint project, I have picked, St. Rita of Cascia. St. Rita has a background of change as she was always been undecided on whether to believe in god or not. When it came to being religious and in her beliefs she was always turning on and of her faith. St. Rita was forced to marriage at an early age and was unhappy for 20 years after her marriage ended her two sons died. She was left alone with got and that's when her faith began to grow. St. Rita asked to enter the religious life and was denied.although after a couple times of trying she was finally accepted and she was asked to take care and plant a dead grapevine. With time as her faith grew the vine also grew. To this date her vine and grapes are still growing, people
Saint Catherine of Siena was born on March 25, 1347. She was born in Siena, Italy. She was the 25th child to be born in her family, although a lot of her siblings did not live long. Catherine’s sister, Bonaventura, died at age 16, making her husband a widower. Her
Saint Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena,the first Colombian born saint, was canonized by Pope Francis in 2013 (“St. Laura of St. Catherine of Siena”). Having very little memory of her Dad, Laura Montoya y Upegui never had a strong father figure, however she never let this stop her from being who she wanted to be. Laura was an outstanding student, a true preacher of God’s work, and is remembered as a role model for all young girls.
This lead her to follow God’s will, and become a teacher at St Mary’s school, and later become the principle of this school. At the school Mother Teresa, taught history, english and a couple of other subjects to teach the children at the schools. She loved the kids as if they were her own, and equally. Mother Teresa’s second calling was the call to care for the people in the slums of Calcutta, but to do so she needed permission from her superiors, as at this stage Mother Teresa was the principle at St Mary’s. In the following year, Mother Teresa began her work which obeyed God’s call fro her to look after the poor, sick and dying in the streets. Through many difficulties, Mother Teresa obeyed and followed the work which God led her to do, her lives work, and influenced her into making these decisions. The vow of obedience, influence Mother Teresa greatly, in following orders from superiors, and God himself. As said by Mother Teresa, “…by faith, I am catholic. As to my calling, I belong to the world…”, her calling brought her closer to the world, and the calling itself influenced the work which Mother Teresa is known of doing.
St Catherine of Bologna Saint Catherine of Bologna felt like God was calling her. She joined a nun association and her life was changed. Here, she began to serve others and started a new lifestyle. St Catherine of Bologna lived a very fulfilling life, she gave up everything to serve others when her artistic background helped a lot of people worship God; she should be everyone's charity inspiration.
The second religious experience Saint Teresa had differed from the first one. When God revealed himself to her it was not just a feeling of his presence. She claimed to have seen him with the eyes of the soul and body. When Jesus revealed himself to Saint Teresa, it was quite gradual. It started with his hands. A few days later he revealed his face, then later revealed his entire body to her. She was again fearful at first, but the indescribable beauty took her fear away.
Once Saint Clare had heard Saint Francis preach, she left her home and life for Jesus. Her hair was cut off and she lived as a nun, all while refusing to leave home. Clare spent her life without much food and without a great standard of living, but she did not notice or care. To her, her life
Mother Teresa is one of the most written about and publicized women of the 20th century. She is the second most advertised religious celebrity after Pope John Paul II. Due to her fame, many people willingly step forward to offer their support and praise her work.
Mother Teresa was born in Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia. By 18 she was already serving others as a nun. Later she left with permission to serve the poorest of the poor in Calcutta with nothing to give but her love. She did not care that she was doing it alone with no funds- she just wanted to love them and be there for them. She was so inspiring that people began to fund her work and to come as volunteers. She served till the end and still influences people today.. Her life was the definition of heroism, her life was service and she gave her all to the poor of Calcutta and other poverty stricken areas. She loved all who came to her with an open heart. And that is what made her the hero she is and was- still touching others with the story of her life
In 1948, Mother Teresa came across the first woman she cared for. She found a dying woman that was half eaten by rats and ants lying on the streets of Calcutta. Mother Teresa took the lady to the hospital, but they refused to admit her. She then would not leave the hospital until they accepted the lady, and stayed by her side until she died. From that point on she dedicated the majority of her life to caring for the poor.