The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus

"St. Teresa of Jesus wrote four major works: her Autobiography, The Way of Perfection, The Interior Castle and The Foundations. ...

"St. Teresa was a 'pray-er.' Her account of her life is continually interrupted by long digressions on prayer. She recounts the struggles she had with recollection, with her own vanity and desires for worldly pleasures. She minimizes nothing. The picture she draws of a woman caught between her passion for the things of this world and an equal passion for God is very real, and very encouraging to her readers. After twenty years she surrendered totally to God and her life's journey is seen to be a journey into intimate union with God. The road she travelled was that of prayer."

- Sr. Mary, ODC, Introduction, excerpted from Daily Readings with St. Teresa of Avila