Monday, October 15, 2012

St. Theresa of Avila, Model for the New Evangelization


We talk about the New Evangelization quite a bit here on Open Wide the Doors, because it was something near and dear to Blessed John Paul II’s heart. Fortunately, the New Evangelization isn’t just some concept we read about, that we have to figure out on our own. We can look to models, like Blessed John Paul II and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.

St. Teresa of Avila, whose memorial we celebrate today, is another model for the New Evangelization. This summer, Pope Benedict XVI wrote:

The ultimate goal of Teresa’s reform and the creation of new monasteries in a world lacking spiritual values was to protect apostolic work with prayer…Today too, as in the sixteenth century, in the midst of rapid transformation, it is important that trusting prayer be the heart of the apostolate, so that the redeeming message of Jesus Christ may sound out clearly and dynamically.

St. Teresa of Avila, “evangelized unhesitatingly, showing tireless ardor, employing methods free from inertia and using expressions bathed in light.” Today let us ask her to pray for us as participators in the New Evangelization!

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