Website of the Week: 6th Sunday of Easter
St Teresa of Avila: the Contemplative Vision
by Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Image: The Ecstasy of St Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
St Teresa of Avila is a towering figure of sixteenth century Catholic Spain. She was a mystic, poet, religious reformer, feminist, founder of convents, author of four books, and a spiritual master in meditation and prayer.
Her thoughts on encountering and living with God are much shaped by her position as an outsider to the hierarchical world of her day—a woman, and someone from a Jewish background. With rich references to Teresa's use of Scripture, this 90-minute lecture by Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, reflects on the contemplative as the outsider, and what Teresa brings to prayer and theology. Listen here.
St Teresa of Avila is a towering figure of sixteenth century Catholic Spain. She was a mystic, poet, religious reformer, feminist, founder of convents, author of four books, and a spiritual master in meditation and prayer.
Her thoughts on encountering and living with God are much shaped by her position as an outsider to the hierarchical world of her day—a woman, and someone from a Jewish background. With rich references to Teresa's use of Scripture, this 90-minute lecture by Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, reflects on the contemplative as the outsider, and what Teresa brings to prayer and theology. Listen here.