You know how we argue, Teresa of Avila and I. I keep not understanding how she can think it’s okay to literally beat herself up to please God, and she keeps talking about all other parts of her spiritual legacy.
At any rate, while I was in Cape Coral visiting my sister, we stopped into a healing center which included a book and gift shop. They carried a series of small books published by Sounds True (CDs and books I always love) – and there was one on St. Teresa, edited by Mirabai Starr.
So, of course, I had to have it. (And got the one on St. Francis of Assissi as well.) Got into several more arguments with her while reading. Still working through those.
In the meantime, here’s her take on headaches and prayer:
No sooner does our head ache than we stop going to [prayer], which won’t kill us either. We stay away one day because our head ached, another because it was just now aching, and three more so it won’t ache again.
That made me smile. No arguing about that!