Inaugural Issue of The Catechetical Review

The Spiritual Life
St. Teresa of Avila and Pope Francis
Living and Proclaiming the Joy of the Gospel: Part I
By Fr. Jean-François Lefebvre
This department begins with a series focused on the insights
of St. Teresa of Avila into the joy and desire to evangelize
which comes from communion with God. In this first article,
the author shows how St. Teresa was a woman of deep joy,
who was responsive to her profound desire for God, which
was a divine gift in itself.
2015 is the five-hundredth anniversary of the birth
of St. Teresa of Avila. 1 This is a time of thanksgiving for
the whole Church because St. Teresa, as a doctor of the
Church, is a light for all the baptized. She is often called
“mater spiritualium,” mother of interior souls, because her
teaching is about the richness of baptismal life. She was
so grateful to the Lord for giving such treasures to souls,
whenever he finds them open to his love.
“The joy is so excessive the soul (…) wants to tell everyone
about it.” 2 I chose this sentence from the Interior Castle
as the theme for this series because it is typical of Teresa’s
personality. She was a joyful person, always ready to praise
the Lord. Where did this joy originate That is what we
will investigate in this series. And, there is another point
which is particularly inspiring for the period we are living
now in the Church: Teresa was eager to share this joy.
Pope Benedict XVI insisted on the joy of the Faith, as
may be read in the beginning of his apostolic exhortation
on the Word of God:
Indeed, sharing in the life of God, a Trinity of love,
is complete joy (cf. 1 Jn 1:4). And it is the Church’s
gift and unescapable duty to communicate that joy,
born of an encounter with the person of Christ,
the Word of God in our midst. 3
Pope Francis also invites us to be witnesses to the joy
of the Gospel. We cannot aspire to announce the Gospel
to the world if we do not give testimony that the love of
Christ is the source of true joy:
The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of
all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his
offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow,
inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ, joy
is constantly born anew. In this Exhortation I wish
26 THE CATECHETICAL REVIEW