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Work in the Spirituality of Teresa of Avila

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Work in the Spirituality of Teresa of Avila THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Work in the Spirituality of Teresa of Avila A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Kristina R. Olsen Washington, D.C. 2014 Work in the Spirituality of Teresa of Avila Kristina R. Olsen, Ph.D. Director: Raymond Studzinski, Ph.D. This dissertation explores the theme of work in the life and writings of St. Teresa of Avila, the 16th-century Spanish Carmelite mystic and reformer. While much has been written about Teresa ʼs mystical experiences, her writings on prayer, and her reform of the Carmelite Order, her contributions to the management of work within women ʼs monasteries has not been as well-studied. This dissertation examines Teresa ʼs approach to work in religious life during a time of global expansion, socio-economic change and religious reform in Spain, and it seeks to discover how Teresa ʼs approach to work may be reconciled with contemplative Carmelite spirituality. We approach the study of Teresa ʼs work from two perspectives: 1) her life story within her context, and 2) her work of writing and establishing reformed foundations. Teresa ʼs early life is brought to bear on her later work, especially in leadership and administration, and her middle years are examined as contributing a strong foundation for prayer and Carmelite spirituality. By the time she reached her later years Teresa ʼs ideas were well-formed and her inner relationship to God had grown to a high degree of intensity, which culminated in her extremely productive and active later years, when she traveled throughout Spain, wrote most of her major works, and established many new monasteries. This study of Teresa ʼs approach to work sheds light on her innovations as a reformer and leader. Her innovations encouraged equality among nuns, which went against the existing culture of aristocratic honor and a highly structured system of social classes, and she led from within, maintaining an intense life of prayer while engaging in a highly active life of reform and writing activities well into her later years. In this dissertation, we first introduce Teresa ʼs writings on work, followed by a description of her context, and then we examine the three major periods of her life to explore how her own development with respect to work led her to implement her reform and write her spiritual masterpieces with such courage, dedication and intensity. This dissertation by Kristina R. Olsen fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Spirituality approved by Raymond Studzinski, Ph.D., as Director, and by Joshua Benson, Ph.D., Caroline R. Sherman, Ph.D., and Kieran Kavanaugh, S.T.L., as Readers. __________________________________ Raymond Studzinski, Ph.D. __________________________________ Joshua Benson, Ph.D. __________________________________ Caroline R. Sherman, Ph.D. __________________________________ Kieran Kavanaugh, S.T.L. ii CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS iv SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: TERESA ʼS BIOGRAPHY AND WRITINGS 9 CHAPTER 2: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND RELIGIOUS CONTEXT 48 OF 16TH-CENTURY SPAIN AND INFLUENCES ON TERESA ʼS APPROACH TO WORK IN THE MONASTIC TRADITION CHAPTER 3: WORK IN TERESA ʼS EARLY YEARS: 1515-1535 107 CHAPTER 4: WORK IN TERESA ʼS MIDDLE YEARS: 1535-1560 142 CHAPTER 5: WORK IN TERESA ʼS LATER YEARS: 1560-1582 175 CONCLUSION 276 APPENDIX 289 BIBLIOGRAPHY 296 iii ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1. Embroidery by Teresa of Jesús, Monastery of the Incarnation, Avila 159 Tables 1. Synopsis of Biographical Overviews (Kavanaugh, Álvarez and Miranda) 16 2. Words for “Work” in the Writings of Teresa 21 iv SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS Quotations in Teresa ʼs original Spanish are from paleographic transcriptions of autograph manuscripts produced by Tomás Álvarez and published from 1999-2011 by Editorial Monte Carmelo, Burgos: Libro de la Vida (1999), Libro de las Fundaciones (2003), Camino de Perfección , (2010) and Castillo Interior, 2a ed. (2011). The first three works are based on autographs held at the library of El Escorial, and the Castillo Interior transcription is based on the autograph held at the monastery of discalced Carmelite nuns in Seville. Additional quotations from the Camino de Perfección are included from a transcription of the autograph held at the monastery of Carmelite nuns in Valladolid, produced by Tomás Álvarez and Simeón Tomás and published in 1964-65 in Rome by L. Poliglota Vaticana. Teresa herself revised the text of Camino de Perfección several times based on editorial corrections from various censors as well as her own ideas for improvement. Dominican censor García de Toledo, O.P., provided the most significant editorial changes, and the two versions censored by him are still extant. The earlier 1566 autograph is preserved at the library of El Escorial, and the revised autograph (probably written later that same year) is held at the Carmelite monastery of Valladolid. 1 The text of the El Escorial autograph was not divided into chapters, but Teresa did indicate where she felt chapter divisions should occur, and there are 72 chapter titles listed by her in the back of this version. In the later Valladolid autograph, which contains 42 chapters, some chapters from the earlier version were combined or increased in 1 Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D., “ The Way of Perfection – Introduction,” in The Collected Works of Teresa of Avila, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D., and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D. (Washington, DC: ICS Publications, 1980), 2:16-19, 34-35. v length, and other material from the El Escorial autograph was suppressed. To further complicate matters, the Valladolid version was not always copied correctly, and two copies which Teresa herself reviewed and annotated currently reside at Carmelite monasteries in Salamanca and Madrid. These additional notations by Teresa have been taken into account differently by various scholars as they have redacted subsequent versions of this important work. 2 In this study we provide quotations in Teresa ʼs original Spanish from transcriptions of the two primary autographs, those of El Escorial ( CaminoTR-E) and Valladolid ( CaminoTR-V). Chapter numbers correspond to those in Álvarez ʼs Obras Completas, which follows the Valladolid manuscript, except for sections taken directly from CaminoTR-E which retain their own numbering. Quotations in contemporary Spanish of Saint Teresa ʼs writings, other than her letters, are from Obras Completas, 16 th ed., edited by Tomás Álvarez (2011). Quotations in contemporary Spanish of her letters are from Cartas, 4a ed., edited by Tomás Álvarez (1997). Quotations in English of Teresa ʼs writings, other than her letters, are from The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, vols. 1-3, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez (1980-87). Quotations from the Way of Perfection in this edition are based on the Valladolid manuscript, with additions from the El Escorial manuscript provided in brackets. 3 Quotations in English of Teresa ʼs letters are from The Collected Letters of St. Teresa of Avila, vols. 1 and 2, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh (2001-07). 2 See for example pp. 446-8 of the introduction to this work by Tomás Álvarez, and his first note to Capítulo 4 on p. 466 (Tomás Álvarez, “Camino de perfección, Introducción,” in Obras Completas, 16 th ed., edited by Tomás Álvarez (2011), 445-8. 3 Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D., “ The Way of Perfection – Introduction,” 2:35. vi Section, chapter and paragraph numbers are indicated by reference to the edition above followed by the work within the edition, if appropriate, and then by section and/or chapter number and paragraph number. Titles of works are given in the language corresponding to the edition quoted (Spanish or English), and when the section, chapter or paragraph numbers differ between the Spanish and the English (as in the Constituciones ), or between two versions in the same language (as in CaminoTR-E and CaminoTR-V) each quotation retains its own numbers. Abbreviations of Specific Editions CWST The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D., and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D. 3 vols. Washington, DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1980-87. OC Obras Completas, 16 th ed. Edited by Tomás Álvarez. Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2011. Cartas Cartas, 4a ed. Edited by Tomás Álvarez. Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 1997. Letters The Collected Letters of Teresa of Avila. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. 2 vols. Washington, DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 2001-07. VidaTR Libro de la Vida: Aut όgrafo de la Biblioteca del Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, transcripci όn paleográfica de Tomás Álvarez. 3 vols. Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 1999. FundTR Libro de las Fundaciones: Aut όgrafo de la Biblioteca del Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Transcripci όn paleográfica de Tomás Álvarez. 2 vols. Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2003. CaminoTR-E Camino de Perfección: Aut όgrafo de la Biblioteca del Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Transcripci όn paleográfica de Tomás Álvarez. 2 vols. Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2010. CaminoTR-V Camino de Perfección: Autógrafo de Valladolid. Transcripción paleográfica de Tomás Álvarez y Simeón Tomás. 2 vols. Roma: Poliglota Vaticana, 1964-65. CastilloTR Castillo Interior, 2a ed. Transcripci όn paleográfica de Tomás Álvarez. 2 vols. Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2011. Examples of References VidaTR, 11.7 Libro de la Vida: Autógrafo, transcription by Tomás Álvarez, Chapter 11, Paragraph 7 (transcribed from Teresa ʼs original hand- vii written Spanish) OC, Vida 11.7 Obras Completas, Libro de la Vida, Chapter 11, Paragraph 7 (in contemporary Spanish) CWST , Life 11.7 The Collected Works of St. Teresa, The Book of Her Life, Chapter 11, Paragraph 7 (in English) CaminoTR-V, 5.4 Camino de Perfección, transcription of Teresa’s original hand-written Spanish from the Valladolid manuscript, Chapter 5, Paragraph 4 Cartas 172.5 Cartas, Letter 172, Paragraph 5 Letters 172.5 The Collected Letters of St.
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