Saint Teresa of Ávila was a 16th century nun, mystic and Doctor of the Church who in her memoirs related “that there is nothing like holy water to make demons flee and prevent them from returning.”
What is not so well known are the experiences that led her to that conclusion, which she describes in her autobiography “The book of life”.
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“I was once in an oratory, and an abominable figure appeared to me on the left side; I especially looked at her mouth, because she spoke to me, and it looked horrible. It seemed that a great flame was coming out of his body, which was all clear, without shadow. He told me frighteningly that he had delivered me from his hands, but that he would return me to them,” the saint revealed at the beginning of chapter 31 of her work.
Then, scared, she tried to scare him away with the sign of the cross. The demon abandoned her, but she quickly returned. This happened several times until she remembered that there was holy water near her: “Twice this happened to me. I did not know what to do. I had holy water there and I poured it into that part, and she never returned.”
At another time, Saint Teresa said that the demon spent five hours tormenting her “with such terrible pain and inner and outer restlessness, that she did not know if she could endure any more. Those who were with me were scared and didn’t know what to do and I didn’t know how to help myself.”
The saint admitted that she only found relief after asking for holy water and throwing it at the place where she saw a demon nearby. Explaining this fact, her most famous quote is made known.
“After many occasions, I have the experience that there is nothing like holy water to make demons flee and prevent them from returning. They also flee from the cross, but they return. The virtue of holy water must be great,” he noted.
Later, she assured that she knew the consolation of the soul after drinking the water, which generated “like an inner delight” that comforted her.
“This is not a whim, nor something that has happened to me only once, but many times, and I have looked with great warning. Let’s say, it’s as if you were very hot and thirsty, and then you drank a jug of cold water, and felt great relief.”
“I consider that everything that is ordered by the Church is a great thing, and it comforts me a lot to see that those words have such force, that they are put into the water in this way, so that the difference with what is not blessed is so great.” , he continued.
Saint Teresa of Ávila tells many other stories about the power of holy water in the rest of the chapter. You can read them HERE.
Originally published July 5, 2021. It has been updated for republication.
Central Editorial
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