After a few days off sick with an unknown virus, we are back. We returned from Avila a week ago yesterday, the day that stands out in memory was the Friday we went to Medina del Campo. Medina was the place in which Teresa met John of the Cross. It was also St Teresa's first foundation outside of Avila, a test to the question of whether the charisma would 'travel' to another location. When St Teresa and her sisters that had travelled with her to the new foundation found that there wasn't a house but a rather dilapidated building that they would have to repair. They said the first mass in a room, that would later become the parlour, with only half a roof on it. It was in this room that St John of the Cross and St Teresa first met, we were standing on the side in which the first mass was said and St John sat when he spoke to St. Teresa.
At the convent, which we had been allowed to enter as a special favour, as they only usually allow visitors on Saturdays, we met Jose Antonio. He volunteers for the sisters, runs the museum for them, and shows people around on Saturdays. He is very passionate about the convent and the history found in it. His daughters and granddaughters have all gone to the Carmelite school in the town, and Carmel is close to his heart. He enthusiastically took us around showing us what the nun's rooms looked like when they first moved to Medina but also St Teresa's room, which was turned a century later into a small chapel. When looking at the humble origins, the opposition faced, at the clear struggle Teresa faced, a phrase of hers comes to mind: "Nothing happens, save by the will of God."
In the case of St Teresa, it meant that what she was doing would happen because God willed it. She believed this even when faced with fierce opposition. This did not, however, mean remaining inert or doing nothing. Once she arrived in Medina a Mas was celebrated as soon as it was possible and this was quickly followed by the signing of documents with a notary to establish the convent before the civil authorities. She acted conscious that though there was opposition and clearly much needed to be done to make the village house into a convent as God willed for it to happen her efforts would be fruitful because he was behind them. We can learn much from this. Often in our lives, we find that a task lies before us that seems impossible. Or we dream big about a project in our personal and professional lives but they seem so unreachable. Maybe it seems like something we do not have the physical, intellectual, or spiritual strength to do. Or maybe it requires resources that we do not have. The obstacles seem insurmountable, looming before us, telling us to stop and focus on what can be done. It is in those moments when discerning if God is behind that idea or desire is crucial.
If God is with us then nothing is impossible because he meets us there where our resources, strengths, and capacities end so that all that He wills comes to fruition. What He desires of us is openness to His plans and trust that He will make the seemingly impossible possible.
Comments
Post a Comment