B I B L I O N - R E V I S TA D E L I V R O S , L I V R O S E M R E V I S TA
Among the recorded documents are mis-
sives for Philip II of Spain, interceding for
John of the Cross (with whom she founded
the Order of Discalced Carmelites) concerning
the Inquisition; Dominican author Louis of
Granada; or D. Teotónio of Bragança, Arch-
bishop of Évora, to whom she manifests deep
concern for the eventual military conflict
between Spain and Portugal. She even states,
“I would rather die than see it.”
Though there is not one moment where
she seems afraid of writing, her care for not
giving the inquisitors any excuses that may
endanger her is noticeable. Teresa, who came
to be accused of being “alumbrada” (i.e. “en-
lightened,” pertaining to the Spanish heretic
movement from the sixteenth century), saw
the need to use a “cyphered” writing to pass
through the Inquisition’s sifter, as she knew
she lived under the constant surveillance
from her religious inspectors, who filtered
her mail and sought to apprehend her literary
manuscripts.
The literary legacy of Teresa of Jesus (or
“of Ávila,” Spanish town where she first star-
ted her Discalced Carmelite ministry) blends
with the terror of living under the Inquisition’s
censorship. It was a time when persecutions
and sentences without impartial judgment
could come to anyone, even the most faithful
among the Catholic religion. Even though
she was integrated in the Church of Rome,
Teresa was not free from continuous scrutiny
for the spiritual practices uncommon at the
time – despite her only seeking a contempla-
tive life, but which transcended the Church’s
standards and spawned suspicion around the
aura of mysticism enveloping her.
An entrepreneurial nun, she established
a remarkable network of cloisters, hosting
young women from noble families drawn to
the cloistered cause, dedicated to a life of
prayer and intimacy with God. As such, the
Carmelite nun always depended on God to
meet all her financial needs.
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