CANADA
Discalced Carmelite Secular Order Canada OCDS
Discalced Carmelite Secular Order Canada OCDS
Discalced Carmelite Secular Order Canada OCDS
Discalced Carmelite Secular Order Canada OCDS
OCDS
OCDS
OCDS
OCDS
OCDS
OCDS
The Church Doctors of The
Discalced Carmelites
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Jesus was born in Avila, Spain, in 1515. At the age of 20 she entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation in her native Avila. After 26 years in the Incarnation, she was inspired by God to found the convent of St. Joseph in Avila that would be devoted to a life of contemplative prayer. Before her death in 1582 she founded 17 convents, which formed the beginnings of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. Today Discalced Carmelites number about 12,000 cloistered women in 98 countries, nearly 4,000 mendicant friars in 82 countries, and some 40,000 lay Carmelites throughout the world. Teresa believed the purpose of her new order was to pray for the needs of the church.
During the course of her life she wrote several books and left other writings that teach the way of contemplative prayer for those who follow in her footsteps. In 1970, Pope Paul VI declared St. Teresa the first woman doctor of the church, primarily for her teaching on prayer. Teresa, however, did not always find prayer easy. In the earlier years of her religious life, she was not able to follow the traditional methods of discursive meditation, or prayerfully calling to mind and reflecting on specific religious thoughts and images.
Finally she discovered “the prayer of recollection,” which she said the Lord himself taught her. “I confess that I never knew what it was to pray with satisfaction until the Lord taught me this method” (The Way of Perfection, 29.7). It involved simply meeting Jesus Christ, true God and true man, in the deepest center of her being. She wrote: “I tried as hard as I could to keep Jesus Christ, our God and our Lord, present within me, and that was my way of prayer” (The Book of Her Life, 4.7). Enthusiastically, she taught this way of prayer to others, assuring them that this method “is not something supernatural, but is something we can desire and achieve ourselves with the help of God” (The Way of Perfection, 29.4). It is a method she found “beneficial” in all stages of the spiritual journey (The Book of Her Life, 12.3).
St. John of the Cross
St. John of the Cross was born to a poor family in Fontiveros, Spain, in 1542. At the age of 21 he entered the Carmelite friars and was ordained a priest in 1567. Desiring a more contemplative life and thinking of joining the Carthusians, he eventually met St. Teresa of Ávila as she was inaugurating her reform movement. She convinced him to help her establish a male branch of the Discalced Carmelite reform. In 1568, John and another friar founded the first monastery of Discalced Friars in Duruelo, Spain. There, the friars began to live according to Teresa’s vision, devoted to both contemplative prayer and apostolic service.
Later, John was imprisoned by the Carmelite friars who were hostile to the reform. During his nine months in a dark, narrow cell, he experienced profound graces of intimacy with God. These experiences deeply shaped his later spiritual writing. After a dramatic escape from his imprisonment, John spent his remaining years living a humble life of prayer in different monasteries throughout Spain. Throughout these years, he ministered to his brother friars, the Carmelite nuns, and the lay people of the local communities. He held various positions of leadership and wrote the poems and spiritual treatises that he is so well-known for today.
St. John of the Cross died in 1591 at the age of 41. Except for his brothers and sisters among the Carmelites, as well as the recipients of his poems and writings, his writings were largely unknown at the time of his death. However, after his writings were first published in 1618, he became more widely known and today is heralded as among the greatest poets of the Spanish language. He was beatified in 1675 and canonized in 1726. In 1926, he was named the twenty-sixth Doctor of the Church. His writings have since influenced many in the subsequent centuries since his life, from saints like St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Edith Stein, and Pope St. John Paul II, to artists like British-American poet T. S. Eliot, Spanish painter Salvador Dalí, and Scottish composer James MacMillan. Today, the writings of St. John of the Cross can help all of us to find intimacy with God in prayer.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin on January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France, is one of the most beloved Catholic saints, known as the "Little Flower" and revered for her simple yet profound spirituality. The youngest of nine children in a devout Catholic family, Thérèse was raised by her parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, both of whom were later canonized. Her early life was marked by deep faith but also personal loss—her mother died when Thérèse was four, and her older sister Pauline, who became a mother figure, later entered the Carmelite convent, leaving Thérèse heartbroken. These experiences shaped her sensitive and introspective nature.
​
At a young age, Thérèse felt called to religious life. Inspired by her sisters, two of whom joined the Carmelites, she sought to enter the Carmelite convent in Lisieux. At 14, she boldly requested permission from Pope Leo XIII during a pilgrimage to Rome, as her age was a barrier. Her determination paid off, and at 15, she entered the convent in 1888, taking the name Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Life in the cloister was austere, but Thérèse embraced it with a joyful spirit, focusing on small, everyday acts of love and sacrifice as a path to holiness.
​
Thérèse developed her "Little Way," a spiritual approach that emphasized complete trust in God and the sanctification of ordinary actions through love. She believed that one did not need to perform great deeds to please God but could achieve holiness through humility, simplicity, and devotion in daily life. Her insights were captured in her autobiography, Story of a Soul, written at the request of her superiors. The book, a collection of her reflections and letters, revealed her deep faith, childlike trust in God, and acceptance of suffering as a means of spiritual growth.
​
In 1896, Thérèse began to suffer from tuberculosis, which caused immense physical pain and spiritual trials, including doubts about faith. She endured these with courage, offering her suffering for the salvation of souls. She died on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24, promising to spend her heaven "doing good on earth." After her death, Story of a Soul was published and quickly spread her message worldwide, inspiring countless people with its accessible approach to spirituality.
​
Thérèse was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, and her feast day is celebrated on October 1. In 1997, Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church, one of only a few women to receive this honor, recognizing her profound theological contributions. Her relics have traveled globally, and her intercession is sought by many, particularly for missions, as she is a patron saint of missionaries despite never leaving her convent. St. Thérèse’s legacy endures through her writings and the universal appeal of her "Little Way," which continues to guide people toward holiness in ordinary life.
