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The Way of Perfection Nihil Obstat

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The Way of Perfection Nihil Obstat W3iiT' THE WAY OF PERFECTION NIHIL OBSTAT Dom. Edmundus Kendal, D.D., O.S.B. Censor Deputatus, IMPRIMATUR Dom. Aidanus Gasquet, O.S.B. Cong, Anglice Ahhas Prceses, THE WAY OF PERFECTION BY SAINT TERESA OF JESUS TRANSLATED FROM THE AUTOGRAPH OF SAINT TERESA BY THE BENEDICTINES OF STANBROOK INCLUDING ALL THE VARIANTS FROM BOTH THE ESCORIAL AND VALLADOLID EDITIONS REVISED WITH NOTES AND AN INTRODUCTION BY THE VERY REVEREND FATHER BENEDICT ZIMMERMAN, O.C.D., PRIOR LONDON THOMAS BAKER MCMXI [A// rights resei‘ved\ ^ . T~3 &iK The Benedictines of Stanbrook desire to express their gratitude to the Very Reverend Prior Benedict Zimmerman for his kindness in revising “ The Way of Perfection” and also for the notes and Introduction which he has added to it. Stanbrook Abbey Worcester^ ct: CL O’NEILL library \ boston college PROTESTATION. In whatever I may say in this book, I submit to what our Mother, the Holy Roman Church, teaches ; if I write anything contrary to this, it will be unintentionally. Therefore, I beg of the theologians who are to read it, for the love of our Lord, to examine it carefully and to correct any such faults as well as any other defects it may possess. If it has any good in it, may it be for the honour and glory of God and the service of His most holy Mother, our patron and our Lady, whose habit I wear, although most unworthy of it.^ 1 This Protestation, although not to be found in her auto- graphs, was written by St. Teresa for the edition published after her death at Evora. PREFACE OF THE FIRST EDITION. Theotonio de Braganza, Archbishop of Evora IN Portugal (however unworthy), to the PIOUS AND DEVOUT MOTHERS, THE NUNS OF THE PRIMITIVE RULE OF OUR LaDY OF MoUNT Carmel. Health in the Lord Jesus Christ. Among many favours I have received from our Lord, not the least was my intimate acquaintance with the very Reverend Mother Teresa of Jesus, now in Glory, because in her I have witnessed the splendour of the gifts of our Lord and of His divine grace. These are evidenced by the con- vents founded by her according to the primitive Rule of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, without any mitigation, but with as much religious observance and recollection, with such austerity, such un- ceasing prayer and as much manual labour as our weak human nature is able to bear. She herself was a living example of that manner of life, and she fully trusted that our Lord would grant to His servants spiritual and bodily strength to vu Viii PREFACE OF THE FIRST EDITION. persevere to the end. So great were the charity and fervour of this Mother, such her solicitude for the perfection of her daughters, that she did not content » herself with the good example and the instructions she gave while alive, but wished that, even after her death, her words might remain and continue the work she had begun on earth. As one truly hungering after our Lord, and greatly experienced in all that concerns the religious life, she wrote the advice and the explanations con- tained in this book, so that the sadness caused to the nuns by her bodily absence might be counter- balanced by her spiritual presence for, indeed, ; she seems living even in the dead letters. This, then, is one of the consolations with which her spiritual daughters may alleviate the sorrow caused by her death another being the certainty ; that, where she now is, she will not abandon those whom she so ardently loved, because, so far from being smaller, charity is much greater in heaven than on earth. It is no small consolation to see, albeit after her death, her spirit still alive in the doctrine of this book, which she composed through zeal for the spiritual improvement of her daughters, and which she earnestly requested me to get printed. There being various manuscript copies, it was unavoidable that there should be many passages at variance with what she had written ; this could only be obviated by printing the whole PREFACE OF THE FIRST EDITION. IX work, and therefore I willingly complied with her request. In this book, then, she first recommends the practice of prayer and meditation which give a taste of that sweetness reserved by God for those who fear Him, rendering them prompt and ready for all the works of virtue. For, just as Satan, with the allurement of pleasure, leads men to vice, so the Holy Ghost opposes to the sensual a spiritual pleasure whereby He inclines them to the practice of virtue. She further strongly recommends the mortifica- tion of our unruly appetites and our self-will, which is brought about by prayer which softens the heart, and by its sweetness compensates for the bitterness inseparable from mortification. These two virtues might be termed frankincense and myrrh, so often mentioned in the Canticle of Canticles having ; incense, the property of rising into the air, represents prayer, and myrrh, which has a bitter taste, mortification. Moreover, she recommends in this book interior recollection and the withdrawal from conversation with worldly people, were they even our own parents, according to the words of the prophet : ** Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear ; and forget thy people and thy father’s house (Psalm xliv. 2). She recommends manual labour with a view to lessen such conversations and to enable the nuns, who ought to be lovers of the X PREFACE OF THE FIRST EDITION. poverty of Christ, to provide for their own needs without having recourse to their families for assistance. St. Paul himself, notwithstanding his care of all the churches, provided by the labour of his hands for his own requirements and those of his companions how, then, could persons ; who have no such charge dispense themselves, with a good conscience, from this duty ? She likewise recommends the rigour and the austerity of the monastic life, and this rigour has ever been maintained. For the first obligation of religious persons, who have consecrated their body and soul to Christ their Spouse, is to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, which means to imitate and follow Him, and we know that her whole life was a perpetual bearing of the cross, and that she was exceedingly zealous for the rigour and strictness of the Order, labouring hard that it might ever remain firm and never become weakened, for, if the least mitigation were allowed to creep in, relaxation would inevitably follow until the whole edifice came to grief ; for our nature has a tendency towards ease, and drags us down. This austerity has a further advantage, inas- much as those who might choose the religious life, not for the sake of God, but for earthly considera- tions, could never select a manner of life so entirely at variance with the inclinations of human nature. Just as the sea casts out dead bodies, so a strict Order frightens away 'those who, without being PREFACE OF THE FIRST EDITION. XI called by God, are only guided by human con- siderations. It follows that none will choose it but those ready to give up the world for the sake of Christ, and these, so far from chafing under the recollection and austerity of this kind of life, cherish it, and these are precisely the class of persons who maintain the Order in its integrity. This Mother also wished her nuns to be few in number, because small means are large enough for a few, and thus will be warded off the greatest danger that could befall a religious community, namely, that of paying more attention to the dowry than to the spirit and devotion of aspirants ; otherwise some persons unfit for the religious life might be admitted. And as they must needs be strict in the choice of those whom they receive, they must be prompt in dismissing those who have not the required qualities. For this reason she thought it imprudent to receive nuns coming from a great distance, as it might not be con- venient to send them back to their hom.es if the necessity arose. These are the points, very reverend Mothers, that you will learn from this book, and which I have learnt from the life and the example of your Mother, together with many other particulars about the gifts and virtues with which our Lord had enriched her. One of these was her wonderful obedience to her spiritual fathers, which was such that sometimes, when she knew the will of God ( xii PREFACE OF THE FIRST EDITION. to be different from theirs, she obeyed them all the same, our Lord approving her manner of acting and testifying that He preferred obedience to confessors and- superiors. She possessed another special gift of our Lord, namely this, that all the persons dealing with her changed their lives and advanced in virtue, as has been clearly seen in some religious deficient in gravity and learning, and also in many other persons. Not less remarkable was another gift she held from God, which enabled her to lead her visitors to the exercise of prayer and meditation, so that in a very short time and with great facility they even became masters in that art, provided they had the necessary disposition. Owing to the great desire I have that your Reverences should in all things imitate her and faithfully guard the treasure entrusted to you, I wished to remind you of these matters, trusting that our Lord, Who hath given you so rich a share of His spirit, will preserve it within you.
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