Lines Written in St. Teresa of Avila's Breviary

This third of a series of seven blog posts will reflect on the
poem of St. Teresa of Avila - said to be written in her breviary.
The poem of St. Teresa is the alternative to the hymn of Tuesday's
Night Prayer. The poem is as follows:

Let nothing disturb thee,
Nothing affright thee;
All things are passing;
God never changeth;
Patient endurance
Attaineth to all things;
Who God possesseth
In nothing is wanting;
Alone God sufficeth.

The wisdom St. Teresa of Avila expresses in this poem is
undisputed. It is a wisdom born from much prayer, contemplation,
and perseverance in doing God's will. St. Teresa of Avila lived
in a time when Spain's Catholic Church was very much dominated
by a male hierarchy. St. Teresa though heard and responded to the
call of God to reform Carmel and lead it in the direction of its
original spirit - poverty, simplicity, prayer and self-denial, but
she was greatly opposed by many for her efforts. Despite all the
opposition she experienced, St. Teresa continued on, and built
the mission entrusted to her by the Lord to reforming Carmel.

The poem above is a fruit of St. Teresa's spiritual experiences
and her work in the reformation of the Carmelite Order. Through
wisdom, she learned (as all those who seek God learn also), that
ultimately, only God is what is important above all others.
Possessing God's Spirit is the one thing necessary, and we are
called to be single-minded and single-hearted in our pursuit of
God.

With God in our mind and heart, nothing will disturb us. Nothing
will frighten us. We realize that all things are passing in
relation to One who is Eternal. And in our life and work, we will
be able to do God's will if we patiently endure. Our perseverance
will help us attain what is necessary for both our body and the
salvation of our soul. With God as our primary end, we will have
trust and confidence in His Divine Providence, and will never lack
anything we need to do what is required for us in our state of
life.