Skip to main content

Saint Teresa of Avila

Saint Teresa of Avila: Feast Day Oct. 15th

Saint Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church, is a beautiful inspiration for not only how to pray, but also how to love the Blessed Virgin Mary as a spiritual mother. One thing that I personally love about Saint Teresa of Avila is that she always reflected upon Christ’s presence in the Holy Eucharist. Back in January of this year, I began to reflect upon how I approach Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, if I truly believe—which I do—that Jesus makes himself present to us through the mystery of the Holy Eucharist, then how could I remind myself of this wonderful gift and humble myself before him? For me, I decided that I would genuflect/kneel before receiving Jesus in the Eucharist and mentally recite: “My Lord and my God.” I believe by doing this small act of reverence I am able to remind myself that I am truly in the presence of the King of Kings. How wonderful is that to know that we are in the presence of such an amazing King, a King who is waiting for us, as we approach Him in the communion line? It’s a mystery that is unfathomable, yet by the grace of faith, we know it is true!  
 
After receiving Jesus veiled in the Holy Eucharist, I then recite the following prayer: “Please nourish my heart, my mind, my body and my soul to do your will.” Saying this short prayer has helped remind me to not take Jesus in the Eucharist for granted. As you and your family celebrate Saint Teresa of Avila today, pray for her intercession to help you always love and believe in Jesus’ true presence in the Holy Eucharist. Here is a beautiful Prayer written by Saint Teresa that you and your family can also pray. I hope you and your family have a blessed day celebrating Saint Teresa of Avila and growing in faith together!

Celebrating Saint Teresa Through Food:

Today as my family celebrated Saint Teresa of Avila, we made Spanish torrijas since she was from Spain. This tasty treat is the Spanish version of French Toast and makes a delicious treat for breakfast or lunch and is a meal kids of any age can help prepare. 

Crafts:

A traditional Spanish craft is paper rosettes. These colorful folded paper flowers are used as decorations for parties. Here are paper rosette/medallion templates you can use, or you can tape two pieces of scrapbook paper together like I did below. You can also tape two pieces of construction paper together if you don’t have scrapbook paper.  


Below is a helpful video, from Paper Source, that shows how to fold/make a paper rosette. 

Additional Resources:

Here is an article for further reading about St. Teresa of Avila that you and your family can read and discuss together.

You and your family can also watch the My Catholic Family cartoon below, from EWTN, about Saint Teresa of Avila. 





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saint Margaret Mary

Saint Margaret Mary: Feast Day October 16th  “Look upon yourself as a tree planted beside water, which bears its fruit in due season; the more it is shaken by the wind, the deeper it strikes its roots into the ground.” ~ Saint Margaret Mary ~ Faith is a gift—an undeserved and valuable grace granted by the Holy Spirit. Each of us has the capacity to seek The Way, The Truth, and The Life, for this longing has been inscribed within our hearts. Yet, in our free will, we have the choice and ability to ignore and turn from this divine call. Like the image of the tree Saint Margaret Mary describes above, if we seek Jesus and are rooted in our faith, nothing can shake us. Our water is the Church, and Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist, is who makes our roots deep and strong enabling us to withstand the winds of the world and produce good fruit in His name.  Jesus offers us so many opportunities to find Him, and so many ways to live with Him in Heaven. In the 1600s, He appeared to Saint Mar...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Feast Day: Nov. 17th  Saint Elizabeth of Hungary has always held a special place in my heart since she is my confirmation saint. If I'm being honest, when I was reading about saints back in the eighth grade, trying to choose which saint I wanted to take as my patron, my requirements were as follows: (1) She couldn't die a horrible death, (2) She was married with kids, (3) and her life was pretty good allowing her to serve God and others through the blessings she'd been given. In hindsight, my list of "requirements" was probably a little superficial, but now as an adult I focus more on the virtues and saintly qualities of Saint Elizabeth, and find inspiration in how she lived. She was humble, a kind and loving wife and mother, and very generous to the poor. She also made plenty of time to pray and grow in her relationship with the Lord. On her wedding day, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, who was a princess, did not wear a crown. Instead she s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Baptism of the Lord

Baptism of the Lord: The Last Day of Christmas  “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Since Jesus is God and, therefore, sinless and perfect, he didn’t need to be baptized, but by being baptized, he gave us a sacrament for adoption into his family—a means to become children of God. What makes the Sacrament of Baptism important? (1) Baptism claims us as children of God, forgiving us of our sins, (“I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”), it is the first sacrament of initiation into the Church and Her mission, and through Baptism, God gifts us with grace. What exactly is grace? The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it as: “Grace is favor, the free undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call to become children of ...
Post a Comment
Read more