Writings of Teresa of Avila presents excerpts from the best-known writings of the 16th-century Spanish nun, reformer, and celebrated spiritual writer. This volume includes portions from The Book of Her Life, The Interior Castle, and The Way of Perfection, all from a noted contemporary translation.

Deep in our hearts is the desire for intimacy with God. This desire finds its expression in prayer and is as urgent now as it was in the days of great Saint Teresa of Avila, the Spanish Carmelite of the sixteenth century who was quickly canonized and who, in 1970, became the first female Doctor of the Church. Ever since Jesus was asked to teach the disciples to pray, Christianity has produced great teachers of prayer. One of the most eminent of these...

In this landmark of Christian mysticism, the revered Carmelite nun presents moving accounts of her profound religious experiences and ultimate union with God. St. Teresa wrote this memoir at the behest of her confessor. It offers a warm, accessible account of her transformation into an impassioned leader and reformer of church doctrine. St. Teresa recounts her childhood and education in sixteenth-century Spain, her physical afflictions and spiritual...

God will always give us more than we ask for Millions have read and benefited from this book since it was first written nearly 500 years ago. St. Teresa's message of humility, simplicity, persistence, and faith is replete with language that is at times earthy, and full of self deprecating humor. Rendered here into contemporary English, St. Teresa's words, with their warm-hearted approach to Christian transformation, will help you look deeply into...

Published posthumously in 1588, "The Interior Castle" was written over several weeks in 1577 by Saint Teresa of Avila, a prominent 16th century Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun, theologian, and writer of the Counter Reformation. Saint Teresa of Avila was born in 1515 in Avila, Spain to a wealthy and prominent family. After the death of her mother when she was 11, she went to live with the Augustinian nuns and devoted the rest of her life to the church...

St. Teresa of Avila's 16th century work "The Way of Perfection" is a classic of Christian literature which was written for the nuns of the order she founded. Encouraged by her religious counselors, she sought to give advice and guidance to other nuns in her ways of prayer and Christian meditation during the upheaval and change of the Reformation in Europe. In this influential work, St. Teresa of Avila gives practical advice for incorporating prayer...

In The Interior Castle, Carmelite nun, mystic and patron saint of Spain Teresa of Ávila uses the metaphor of a giant crystal castle to explain her theory of the soul and the various stages it passes through as it progresses towards God. Beginning in the outer rooms, where demons are fought and vices are purged, the soul must reach the inner chambers, where it will enter betrothal and intimate union with God. Prayer is central to the journey, as...

"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year" Carlos Eire is the T. L. Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University. His many books include the bestselling memoir Waiting for Snow in Havana, which won the National Book Award for nonfiction; Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450–1650; and A Very Brief History of Eternity (Princeton). He lives in Guilford, Connecticut. The life and many afterlives of one of the most...

Meditations with Teresa of Avila invites you to explore the depths of your inner being by following the pathway of the beloved mystic Teresa of Avila. Born into Spanish nobility in 1515, Teresa entered the monastic life at twenty and was eventually guided to reform the Carmelite Order. She blended a rich mystical inner life with everyday work in the secular world, and she remains an unparalleled source of inspiration for living deeply and effectively...

Draws on the mystical writings of St. Teresa of Avila to explore how to maintain a connection with the divine, in a guide that compares the human soul to a crystal castle with rooms representing various stages of spiritual development.