Saint Teresa was born at Ávila, Spain. From her earliest childhood, she ardently desired to die a Martyr. At the age of eighteen, she entered The Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and Consecrated herself to Christ, whom she chose for her spouse (Epistle).
[The Order of Mount Carmel, which spread over The East in Apostolic times, penetrated into The West in the 13th-Century. Illustrious Members of this Order, much by their Sanctity, rank, or writings, are very numerous. Several have filled the greatest dignities in The Church.]
Her heart was so inflamed with Divine Love that she wrote: "How the enraptured Soul feels in this body its captivity and the misery of life ! It considers itself a slave sold in a foreign land; and, what is most bitter, is to see everywhere men's passionate love for this life, and so few banished ones who sigh like itself and Pray for the end of their exile." [Her autobiography, Chapter XXI.]
English: Saint Teresa Of Ávila (Saint Teresa Of Jesus).
One of four female Doctors of The Church. [Editor: The four female Doctors of The Church are: Saint Teresa of Avila; Saint Thérèse of Lisieux; Saint Catherine of Siena,
Counselled by Jesus, she made the difficult Vow of always doing what she judged most perfect.
She attained through Prayer the highest degree of Mystical Life, and there found such enlightenment concerning Divine Things (Collect), that her works earned for her, from Popes Gregory XV and Urban VII, the august Title of Doctor of The Church, which has been given to no other woman. [Editor: This last comment was dated 1945 in The Saint Andrew Daily Missal. Since then, three other women have gained the Title of Doctor of The Church. They are: Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (Thérèse de Lisieux (Saint Therese of The Child Jesus and of The Holy Face)); Saint Catherine of Siena; Saint Hildegard von Bingen. Wikipedia states that Saint Teresa of Ávila was given the Title of Doctor of The Church, by Pope Paul VI, in 1970.]
Saint Catherine of Siena.
One of the four female Doctors of The Church.
Current location: The Church of Santa Maria del Rosario in Prati, Roma, Italy.
"The best Prayer," she wrote, "and the most pleasing to God, is that which brings on improvement, showing itself in good works, and not the enjoyment which only serves for our own satisfaction." [Letter to The Bishop of Ávila.]
The influence of this humble Virgin, who converted thousands of Souls, manifestly proves the supreme importance of The Contemplative Life, addressing itself, directly, as it does, to God, The Author of All Good.
She died of Divine Love on 5-15 October. 1582. [Pope Gregory XIII, in order to reform The Roman Calendar, had ordered the suppression of ten days of the year 1582; the day after 4 October was to be called the 15th of the same month. It was during this historic night, of the 4th to the 15th, that Saint Teresa died.]
Mass:Dilexísti.
Saint Hildegard von Bingen is one of the four female Doctors of The Church.
After her death, Saint Teresa's cult was known in Spain during the 1620s, and for a time she was considered a candidate to become a National Patron Saint. A Santero image of Our Lady of The Conception, said to have been sent by Saint Teresa with one of her brothers to Nicaragua, is now Venerated as the Country's National Patroness at The Shrine of El Viejo. Pious Catholic beliefs also associate Saint Teresa with the esteemed Religious image called Infant Jesus of Prague, with claims of former ownership and Devotion.
Callistus, a Roman by birth, succeeding Pope Saint Zephyrinus in The See of Saint Peter, was called to share in The Priesthood of Christ in its fullness (Epistle, Collect).
It was Pope Saint Callistus I who instituted The Ember Day Fasts. He suffered Martyrdom 223 A.D.
Mass:Sacerdotes Dei.
English: Pope Saint Callistus I instituting The Ember Day Fasts.
Français: Saint Calixte Ier (Pope Calixtus I) instituant les jeûnes (instituting the Fasts).
Cote : Français 185 , Fol. 201. Vies de saints, France, Paris, XIVe siècle,
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless stated otherwise.
Saint Edward. King and Confessor. Feast Day 13 October.
Semi-Double.
White Vestments.
Saint Edward the Confessor.
Date: 13th-Century.
Source: http://molcat1.bl.uk/IllImages/
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Author: Anonymous.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Edward, called "The Confessor", was a grandson of Saint Edward, King and Martyr who Reigned from 975 A.D. - 978 A.D.
When he was raised to the Throne of England, "it was seen," says a historian, "what can be done by a King, who is the true father of his Subjects. All those who approached him endeavoured to regulate their lives according to his. Neither ambition, nor the love of riches, nor any of the passions which are unfortunately so common among Courtiers, were known at his Court."
He was everywhere called The Father of The Orphans, and of The Poor, and he was never happier than when he could distribute alms (Epistle). He always granted, what was requested of him, in the name of Saint John the Evangelist.
He died in 1066.
Mass:Os justi.
A Sealed Writ of Edward the Confessor, issued in favour of Westminster Abbey.
Edward has traditionally been seen as unworldly and pious, and his Reign is notable for the disintegration of Royal power in England and the advance in power of the Godwin family.
