St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes shows us how to Love

JMJT! Praise be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!

St. Teresa of the Andes became the first canonized Carmelite saint of Latin America. Juanita Fernandez Solar was born at Santiago, Chile on July 13, 1900. From her adolescence she showed great piety and devotion to Christ. She entered the monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns at Los Andes on May 7, 1919, where she was given the name Teresa of Jesus. In less than one year, she died after having made her religious profession. She was beatified by John Paul II on April 3, 1987, at Santiago, Chile, and proposed as a model for young people. She is the first Chilean and the first member of the Teresian Carmel in Latin America to be beatified. St. Teresa of the Andes was canonized on March 21, 1993 in St. Peter's Basilica. (See http://www.carmelitesistersocd.com/who/teresaofandes.asp)

Testimonies leading up to her beatification and canonization are telling of what a joyful soul Teresa (nee Juanita) shared with everyone she met.  Her enthusiasm was infectious and her desire for souls and union with God would take her to the heights of sanctity in a short period of time.  Her brother Luis affirms that Teresa saw God in the smallest of events and in all people who crossed her path. From an early age she practiced great charity by giving to the poor and teaching catechism to children in the different villages that their family would stay at for the summer. All of her actions stemmed out of a deep prayer life that sought to bring her own soul and those of all other souls closer to Christ. 

Despite some supernatural favors early on, especially after receiving Holy Eucharist, Teresa found only dryness and aridity in prayer. Doubt and confusion clouded her mind and heart as she discerned entering the Carmelite Order at Los Andes, even though she received great consolation and affirming light when visiting there. Despite this, she felt a natural attraction to the order and shared what she believed to be the heart of the Carmelite order and charism as founded by St. Teresa of Avila, to her friend who was still in the world and discerning entering the order

"He'll give you the strength and grace you need to be a Carmelite. May Jesus, in that desert of love, find a place of refreshment in His Isabel. May He find amidst the darkness of the world, a fire of love in your pure heart. How great your mission is, my dear little sister. But it's also a mission that requires continuous struggle. Embrace the cross that your Divine Spouse places upon your shoulders with all your soul. He considers you to be strong, even virile,, since He's giving you a cross - a very heavy one to be sure - but it's because God loves you infinitely. Thank Him for so great a good."

"So..let's be Carmelites, but in the full sense of the word. It's the greatest vocation, since Our Divine Master told Mary Magdalene, "You have chosen the better part." The most Holy Virgin was a perfect Carmelite...A Carmelite, as I think of her, as nothing but an adoring victim. Let us be victims, dear Isabel,  hosts, but pure ones. Let us live completely immersed in God.  (Letters of St. Teresa of the Andes, p. 228)
“My Jesus, I love You. I am totally Yours. I give myself completely to Your divine will. Jesus, give me the cross, but give me the strength to carry it. It matter not whether You give me the abandonment of Calvary or the joys of Nazareth. I only want to see You contented. I doesn’t bother me to be unable to feel, to be insensible as a rock, because I know, my sweet Jesus, that You know I love you. Give me the cross. I want to suffer for You, but teach me to suffer by loving, with joy and with humility.

Lord, if it please You that the darkness of my soul becomes deeper, that I not see You, it will not bother me because I want to fulfill Your will. I want to spend my life suffering to make reparation for my sins and those of sinners and so priests will be sanctified. I do not want to be happy, but for You to be happy. I want to be like a soldier so that at every moment You can dispose of my will and preferences. I want to be courageous, strong and generous in serving You, Lord. You are the Spouse of my soul. ”
Copyright 1989, God the Joy of My Life, translated by Michael D. Griffin, O.C.D. Teresian Charism Press Holy Hill 1525 Carmel Road Hubertus, WI 53033 USA

Blessed Pope John Paul II confirmed this great love that burned in St. Teresa's heart during her canonization Mass in 1993. "This young virgin of the Andes today proclaims the beauty and happiness that comes from a pure soul...In the bosom of her family she learned to love God above all things. In feeling that she belonged to the Creator alone, her love of neighbor became more intense and definitive. ..She teaches us that happiness is found in being the least and the servant of all, following the example of Jesus who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life in ransom of the many."

May we follow her pure, loving example.

St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes..Pray for us. Amen.