Keep Striving

“Be confident! Don’t hold back your heart’s desires. Believe in the power of God. With his help, we will gradually reach the station that the saints attained. We just need to keep striving.” Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)

Maybe you have noticed that when I write my entries, I call St. Teresa either “Teresa of Avila” or just plain “Teresa.” Do you ever wonder why I don’t use her title?

During her lifetime, St. Teresa was striving to become God’s hands in the world in the same way many of us are striving today. After her death she was given the title of “St. Teresa,” but the title is not the most important thing. What we need to remember is that for much of her life, her hands were God’s hands in the world. Whether or not anyone else ever recognized it, the power of the Holy One worked through St. Teresa in her lifetime. And while she was doing that work, she was called Teresa.

My mother is called Eleanor, my husband is called Brad, my best friend is called Charlotte, and I am called Lezlie. At any moment we might be God’s hands in the world and the power of the Holy One might be working through us. God’s kingdom comes through the hands of the living saints who do not have titles and who often are not recognized; it comes through the hands of those who steadfastly do the work God asks them to do. For the living saints and for others who deeply desire to become God’s hands in the world, Teresa’s words are encouraging: “Be confident! Don’t hold back your heart’s desires. Believe in the power of God. With his help, we will gradually reach the station that the saints attained. We just need to keep striving.”