Expert highlights an influence of Ignatian spirituality in Santa Teresa de Ávila

Fr. Luis Carlos Hernández, a priest of the Diocese of Ávila, affirms that it is most likely that Santa Teresa de Jesus would do Ignatian spiritual exercises, but in adapted modality and that, in any case, his spiritual evolution follows the process designed by San Ignacio de Loyola.

This has been assured during his participation in the conference cycle Try friendship: the adventure of God’s desire, according to Santa Teresaorganized by the Catholic University of Ávila, which has dealt with Santa Teresa and spiritual direction, a light along the way.

After touring the experience of the spiritual direction of this doctor of the Church over the years, Fr. Hernández explained that “possibly he did some accommodated or adapted exercises, Following the annotation 18“That allows adapting their meditations and times” to the circumstances of people, “he said.

These approaches to the experience of spiritual exercises were, first, with Fr. Diego Cetina, although they only coincided for three months in Ávila.

Subsequently, during her three -year stay at her friend Mrs. Guiomar de Ulloa, it is possible that the Holy Reform of the Carmelo could receive “something more systematic” through Fr. Juan de Prádanos, his confessor between 1555 and 1558.

Fr. Hernández explained that, beyond being certain that the Holy of Ávila made complete, for a month, the Ignatian exercises, it is striking how “there are many parallels” between the spiritual evolution that left Teresa de Ahumada and Cepeda in writing and “the entire process of spiritual exercises.”

Santa Teresa’s first spiritual director was a married man

During the presentation, the presbyter stressed that, in the spiritual evolution of Santa Teresa, the reading of the reading of the Confessions of San Agustín de Hipona, as well as the Vita Christi from Sor Isabel de Villena or The Cartujoas anonymous.

So much so, that, explained Fr. Hernández, “it was proposed to diligently seek spiritual people with whom to deal with.” At that time, he already had news of the foundation of the Society of Jesus, who had just founded a school in Ávila in 1553.

His first spiritual director was a married man, Francisco Salcedo, a distant relative of whom he left written that he was “of exemplary and virtuous life and of so much prayer and charity throughout him shines his goodness and perfection.”

Fr. Hernández stressed that this man “occupied a decisive place as a spiritual advisor, first in the effort of personal discernment and then in his founding work.” So much so, that he commissioned the search for a good confessor to act as a spiritual director.

Thus, Fr. Gaspar Daza, a presbyter who linked still a good group of priests and clergy, reached the life of Santa Teresa. However, the saint soon understood that “she was not the director who needed.” In the words of the expert, “the soul of Santa Teresa did not understand.”

However, they maintained a good friendship and Father Daza advised Santa Teresa to head with the Jesuits. Thus, he began to go with Fr. Diego Cetina, who arrived in Ávila in 1555, with 23 years.

For Father Hernández, the deal with this religious was “crucial”, because with him Carmelita began to “prepare a sincere general confession of all his faults and defects and a detailed relationship of the graces that God had granted him so far.”

In addition, against the criteria of his predecessors, he considered that the spiritual avatars of the saint were “spirit of God very well known” and not work of the evil one.

For Father Hernández, “in that very brief expression we see the application of the discernment rules” contained in the San Ignacio exercises. “He gave the Holy the Light that he wanted. This father was infiltrating the Ignatian principles and criteria in her,” he added.

So much so, that the saint left writing: “There was a soul of this soft confession that it seemed to me there would be no thing that I did not prepare. And so I began to move in many things, although the confessor did not squeeze me, before it seemed, I did little attention of everything. And this moved me more because I carried him by way of love, of loving God, and as he left freedom and I did not press.

In the opinion of Father Hernández, “it is seen that this confession, a repeated treatment with the director, an analyzing all the evils and goods, an examination of the past life, a return to the sins and feel confusion of them, which is the grace that is requested in that first week of the spiritual exercises.”

The prompt departure of Fr. Cetina left a certain grief in the Carmelitan reformer: “My soul was in a very disconsolate and fearful desert, I didn’t know what to do about me.”

But that penalty was well compensated with the spiritual direction exercised by Fr. Prádos, from whom he said that “it began to put me in more perfection” and invited him to persevere in the ascetic effort “because my soul was not yet strong, but very tender, especially in leaving some friendships I had.”

This detachment from the bad companies, connects with “one of the principles of Ignatian spirituality is that, if we want to give ourselves to God, it is necessary, first of all, to remove from our heart all the disorderly conditions, as small and insignificant that they seem,” said Father Hernández.

It was also under the direction of Fr. Prádanos, which Santa Teresa first experienced a spiritual ecstasy.

In this journey of Jesuit influence on the spirituality of Santa Teresa, it is worth highlighting the meeting he held with San Francisco de Borja, whose words confirmed “the good orientation they had given him” his brothers of the Society of Jesus.

The Holy of Ávila also had the spiritual direction of the Jesuit P. Baltasar Álvarez, when Fr. Prádos is destined for Valladolid. The new spiritual guide greatly influenced the way of praying of the Carmelite.

The Jesuit influence in Santa Teresa was such that “she preferred to have the houses of the barefoot in places where the company was,” said Fr. Hernández.