. Discussion of CHAPTER 27 The Way of Perfection Describes: - the great love shown us by the Lord in the first words of the Paternoster and - the great importance of our making no account of good birth if we truly desire to be the daughters of God. . |
St. Teresa speaks with such joy, thanksgiving,
and praise when she discusses the prayer,
the "Our Father" (the Pater Noster),
which Jesus taught the apostles (and us).
"Our Father, which art in the Heavens."
Jesus taught us that God
is not only His Father,
but is "Our Father" too.
In discussing the words of the "Our Father",
St. Teresa teaches that Jesus put this fact
First and Foremost
that God has a very intimate relationship to us:
- He is our Father.
"…the great love shown us by the Lord
in the first words of the Paternoster"
"Ought not so great a favour as this, Lord,
to have come at the end of the prayer?"
"Here, at the very beginning,
Thou dost...grant us so great a favour"
"How is it
that Thou canst give us so much
with Thy first word?"
Teresa exults in the revelation of the relationship
between the Father and the Son:
"O my Lord,
how Thou dost reveal Thyself
as the Father of such a Son,
while Thy Son reveals Himself
as the Son of such a Father! "
"How clearly hast Thou shown
that Thou art One with Him
and
that Thy will is His and His is Thine!"
Further, she exults in the knowledge
• that God the Father loved us so much
that He gave us His Son
"For God so loved the world
that He gave His only Son"
[ - John 3:16 ]
and
• that Jesus loved us so much
that He gave us His Father and
Himself as our Brother.
"You have a good Father,
given you by the good Jesus"
"so wonderful that Thou shouldst
make Thyself the Brother
make Thyself the Brother
of creatures so miserable and lowly"
"my Jesus...
Thou didst speak
as a dearly beloved son
both for Thyself and for us"
St. Teresa said that:
If we our intellect could truly understand
that God is our Father
and
if our wills could continually focus on this,
then the soul could, if God willed it,
"enter within itself,
so as to be the better able
to rise above itself"
"it is not right
- that a favour like this
should be prized so little,
and
- that, after we have realized
how great this favour is,
we should remain on earth any more".
. Our relationship to Christ, Our Brother In her gratitude, she also extols Our Lord ● for teaching us and entrusting us to God, Our Father and allowing us to join Him in this prayer to His Father "You have a good Father, given you by the good Jesus" "...granting us this great favour so as to make us love to learn what He teaches us" "Do you think it would be right for us, while we are repeating this prayer with our lips, to stop trying to think of what we are saying, lest picturing such love should tear our hearts to pieces?" ● for sharing His filial relationship with God with us, revealing Himself as our Brother "It is so wonderful that Thou shouldst - descend to such a degree of humility as to join with us when we pray and - make Thyself the Brother of creatures so miserable and lowly!" "in the name of Thy Father, Thou shouldst give us all that there is to be given, by willing Him to have us as His children" ● for "taking our nature upon Thee (and) clothed Thyself with humanity" (and)...to care for our advantage. "What is this love that Thou hast for us?" "Father, since you have given them to me, I want them to be with me where I am and see the Glory you gave me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world… so that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I also may be in them" [ - John Ch. 17 ] . |
. Our relationship with God, Our Father: "since, being our Father, He must bear with us, however great our offences. If we return to Him, He - must pardon us, as He pardoned the prodigal son, - must comfort us in our trials, and - must sustain us, as such a Father is bound to do, for He must needs be better than any earthly father, since nothing good can fail to have its perfection in Him. He must cherish us; He must sustain us; and at the last He must make us participants and fellow-heirs with Thee." Strive, my daughters, to be such that you deserve to find comfort in Him and to throw yourselves into His arms. You know that, if you are good children, He will never send you away. . |
. Our relationship to God, the Holy Spirit: "however much your thoughts may wander, between such a Son and such a Father there must needs be the Holy Spirit. May He enkindle your will and bind you to Himself with the most fervent love, since even the great advantage you gain will not suffice to do so" . |
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| . End of Discussion of Chapter 27 The Way of Perfection . |
