of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
Discussion of Chapter 28 XXVIII
Discussion of Chapter 28
█ The Foundation of Villanueva De La Jara
at the Hermitage of St. Anne
February 21, 1580
▀ Chronology of the Foundation
of Villanueva De La Jara
▀ Background Notes of Villanueva de la Jara
■ Dona Catalina de Cardona
and
The Foundation of the Monastery
of Our Lady of Succour, La Roda,
of the Discalced Carmelite Friars
April 1572
■ The 9 holy women recluses
who would be nuns
■ The History of the Hermitage
of St. Anne
in Villanueva de la Jara
█ The Account of the Foundation
of Villanueva De La Jara
▀ Envisioning a Foundation at
Villanueva de la Jara
▀ Plans and Preparations
▀ Journey to and arrival at
Villaneuva de la Jara
▀ The Carmelite Foundation is established
at the Hermitage of St. Anne
at Villanueva de la Jara
21st February 1580
▀ The 9 holy women receive
the Carmelite Habit 2/25/1580
▀ St. Teresa's Instruction to her nuns
|
[The above Drawing is from:
"St Teresa of Jesus of the Order
of Our Lady of Mt Carmel
embracing The Life , Relations,
Maxims, and Foundations"
Edited by John J. Burke, C.S.P.
from www.books.google.com ]
________________________
Discussion of Chapter 28
█ The Foundation of Villanueva De La Jara
at the Hermitage of St. Anne
February 21, 1580
"On the first Sunday in Lent
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #31 ]
"21 St February 1580"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: Foot note #45 ]
"it was
the eve of the feast of the Chair of S. Peter,
and
the feast of S. Barbatian, 1580"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #31 ]
▀ Chronology of the Foundation
of Villanueva De La Jara
1572
"Nine women....
by (the) direction...
of Don Juan le Rojas,
then parish priest
of Villanueva de la Jara...
lived together as religious...
They sent word of all this
to Dona Catalina ( a holy hermit)
...about the year 1572,
who comforted them by telling them
that they were to be the beginning
of a house of Carmel of the reform.
[ The Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus: Ch 28
Transl. by David Lewis 1871 ]
4/1572
The Foundation of the Monastery
of Our Lady of Succour, La Roda,
of the Discalced Carmelite Friars
April 1572
( in the desert, 3 leagues from Villanueva)
was founded by Dona Catalina de Cardona
_____________________________
1574
The Hermitage of S. Anne,
which was bequested
by the will of
"Diego de Guadalajara
...a friar of the order
of our Lady of Carmel.."
as a future Carmelite convent,
was granted by the city
as the home of the 9 women
who had been living in recollection
in a small house since at least 1572
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #38 ]
"The people of Villanueva
with the parish priest at their head
received (nine holy women) and
led them in procession
to the hermitage of S. Anne
This happened in 1574"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #14 ]
"The municipality gave them
the hermitage.
[ The Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus: Ch. 28
Transl. by D. Lewis 1871 ]
_____________________________
1576
8/9/1576
"9th August,
...(St. Teresa) in Toledo...
is now asked to make a foundation
in Villanueva de la Jara.
[ Foundations: Introduction:
"Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
"there came to me in Toledo
in the year 1576...
an ecclesiastic
from Villanueva de la Jara
with letters from the municipality.
The purport was to arrange with me
for the receiving into a monastery
nine women..."
[ Foundations: Ch 28: #7 ]
"Immediately on her arrival in Toledo,
in the month of June, 1576"
[ Foundations: Ch 28:
Foot note #13 ]
(around end of the year )
"The foundations are interrupted,
none being made
for more than four years
owing to the troubles arising...
between the friars of the old observance
and those of the Saint's reform"
[ Foundations: Introduction:
"Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
"When the foundation in Seville
( 29 May, 1575 )
had been made
no other foundations were made
for more than four years;
the reason was
that great persecutions
of the friars and nuns"
[ Foundations: Ch 28: #1 ]
However, the Foundation at Caravaca
was founded 1 January, 1576.
Although she could not be there in person,
she chose and sent the nuns
who did establish it.
_____________________________
1579
4/1/79
April 1...
P. Salazar authorizes St. Teresa
to resume the visitation of her convents.
[Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila
Volume 1: Introduction
"An outline of the Life of St. Teresa"
Translated by Edgar Allison Peers ]
11/25/79
"25th Nov.
She reaches Malagon,
She consents to make the foundation
in Villanueva de la Jara."
[ Foundations: Introduction:
Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
_____________________________
1580
1/28/80
"Fray Angel de Salazar
had sent the permission
five days before, i.e. 28th January"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #21 ]
28th Jan
Fra Angel de Salazar, 28th Jan.
gives the Saint authority
to make the foundation in Villanueva,
[ Foundations: Introduction:
Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
2/13/1580
13th Feb.
She departs from Malagon (for Villaneuva)
[ Foundations: Introduction:
Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
February 13.
Leaves Malagon for Villanueva de la Jara
2/21/1580
February 21
"arriving there February 21,
after making stops at Toledo and La Roda"
[Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila
Volume 1: Introduction
"An outline of the Life of St. Teresa"
Translated by Edgar Allison Peers ]
( First Sunday in Lent )
"arrives in Villanueva
on the first Sunday in Lent"
[ Foundations: Introduction:
"Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
February 21.
"Foundation of Convent
at Villanueva de la Jara"
[ Foundations: Introduction:
"Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
2/25/1580
25th February
"The devout ladies there waiting for her,
receive the habit, 25th February"
[ Foundations: Introduction:
"Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
3/20/1580
"March 20.
Leaves Villanueva de la Jara"
[ Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila
Volume 1: Introduction
"An outline of the Life of St. Teresa"
Translated by Edgar Allison Peers ]
3/25/1580
"arrives in Toledo 25th March
[ Foundations: Introduction: "Annals of the Saint's Life" ] |
▀ Background Notes of Villanueva de la Jara
■ Dona Catalina de Cardona
and
The Foundation of the Monastery
of Our Lady of Succour, La Roda,
of the Discalced Carmelite Friars
April 1572
Catalina de Cardona
• Hermit
• Given the habit of a Carmelite Brother
• Foundress of the Monastery
of Our Lady of Succour, La Roda,
of the Discalced Carmelite Friars
April 1572
____________________________
• "Her father was Don Ramon de Cardona,
descended from the royal house of Aragon,
and her mother was a near relative
of the princess of Salerno,
into whose house she was taken
on her father's death,
when she was but eight years of age."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #25 ]
• She practiced sacrifice and detachment
from an earlly age:
"She had a vision of her father in purgatory,
who told her that his release
would be the fruit of her penance.
Thereupon she at once began
to mortify and discipline herself
till she obtained her father's deliverance."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #25 ]
• "She led now a most austere life,
eating no flesh and
fasting four days in the week"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
• "Her desire
of penance, and
of withdrawing ...in solitude...
grew within her exceedingly.
she went to confession to a Franciscan friar.
Fray Francis de Torres...
and so he told her
she was not to hold back,
but to obey the call of His Majesty."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #19 ]
"She had the advice and encouragement
also of S. Peter of Alcantara"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #26 ]
"A hermit, ..."a priest Pina by name,
... approved of her resolution,
...found a cave for her,
and there left her
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #28 ]
"she made her way, dressed as a man,
to the desert,
where she spent her life
in the service of God
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #27 ]
"Her clothing was of kersey,
with a tunic of coarse cloth,
and so fashioned
that the people thought she was a man.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #23 ]
"She said
that she had been eight years in that cave"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #22 ]
• Envisioning a Monastery of Carmelite Friars
"She began wishing for a monastery of friars
in that place..."
While praying
"our Lord showed her ...a white mantle
and she understood
it belonged to the barefooted Carmelites"
"then, having learnt
that there was a (Carmelite) monastery
in Pastrana...
she set out for that place
to find how she could have
the monastery she desired."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #24 ]
"On the 3rd of May 1571,
she came to Pastrana..."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #33 ]
◦ She receives the habit
of the Carmelite Brother
at the Carmelite Monastery of St Peter
in Pastrano from the Prior Fray Baltasar
"There, in the monastery of S. Peter,
for that is its title,
she took the habit of our Lady
not, however, with the intention
of becoming a nun
and making her profession,
for she never had any inclination
to be a nun,
because our Lord was leading her
by another way;
she thought
that if she were once under obedience
they would thwart her in her purpose
of living austerely and in solitude."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #24 ]
"She would have
the habit of a lay brother,
for she thought the life
of the Carmelite nuns
too soft for her,
and she was accordingly so clothed,
6th May, (1571)
by the Prior Fray Baltasar of Jesus (Nieto)"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #34 ]
"In the presence of all the friars
she received the habit
of our Lady of Carmel."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #25 ]
"6th May 1571"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #35 ]
◦ Preparations for the new Monastery
"In Pastrana the saintly Cardona
began to seek the means
of founding a monastery,
and in order to do so
went back to Madrid,
At the court and other places
people gave her the means
to found the monastery,
and when she had the licence
it was founded."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #26 ]
"The license
to make the foundation
was obtained for her
by the king
from the provincial of the mitigation,
and
the visitor apostolic,
Fray Pedro Fernandez."
"She left Madrid
in the beginning of March, 1572,"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #38 ]
• The Foundation of the Carmelite Monastery
of Our Lady of Succour, La Roda,
April 1572
"and in April (1572)
took possession of the place
where the new monastery
was to rise over the cave
which she had dwelt in for eight years"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #38 ]
"the monastery of La Roda.
the monastery of our Lady of Succour,
... three leagues from Villanueva...
The monastery stands in a desert
and most pleasing solitude"
"The church is entered underground
as through a cave,
which figured that of our father Elias"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: # 17 ]
The 'Book of the Foundations' Introduction lists
the Monastery of La Roda
as the 6th foundation
of the Discaced Carmeite Friars,
founded in April 1572:
"The monasteries of friars
founded in (St. Tertesa's) lifetime
were these:
6. La Roda .
April, 1572
( Reforma bk. iv. ch. xvi. 4. )"
[ Foundations: Introduction:
(List of Monasteries ) ]
"The church was built
where her cave was,
and another was made for her
on one side having in it
a solid tomb.
There she remained both night and day
during the remainder of her life."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #27 ]
"After she had founded the monastery
she went still to the cave,
lived and slept in it,
and left it
only to be present at the divine office.
Before that she went to mass
in a monastery of the Mercedarians"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #23 ]
"Father Caspar de Salazar, S.J.,
sent by the Inquisition of Cuenca
to examine her spirit,
visited her in the cave,
and was
not only edified
but amazed
at what he saw and heard:
his report to the inquisitors
silenced all clamour"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #39 ]
"That was not long
for she lived only about five years and a half
after the foundation of the monastery"
"She died in the year 1577"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #27 ]
"The chronicler of the order says...
that she died 11th May 1577,
though others say
it was two years later.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #40 ]
"She (was then) lying in a chapel of our Lady...
till a larger church ....shall be built..."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #27 ]
St. Teresa in 1581 during her visit
to this Carmelite monastery
said
"I was very sorry
for the death of the saint
by whom our Lord founded the house;
I did not deserve to see her
though I desired it greatly."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: # 17 ]
◦ Relocation of the Monastery
"In 1603 the monastery was removed
to Villanueva de la Jara,
and the friars took with them
the body of their foundress,
and three years afterwards,
when Fray Pedro of Jesus Maria was prior,
placed it in an honourable place
on the gospel side"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #42 ]
"Her body was afterwards
transferred to Villanueva."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #40 ]
__________________________________
■ The 9 holy women who would be nuns:
They had lived some years
in a small house close by it,
and
in such recollectedness and holiness
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #7 ]
"there were four young ladies...
the daughters of pious and noble parents
Their intention was to serve God
under the guidance
of that holy anchoress,
Dona Catalina de Cardona
but she would not consent to this,
...Dona Catalina foretold them
that one day they should found
a convent of Carmelite nuns.
A widow, mother of four daughters
(with) a similar purpose,
invited them to join her household,
and soon after another lady
was admitted into it as well.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #14 ]
"Four young ladies went
to see Dona Catalina de Cardona
in her penance in the desert,
and were so moved of God
at the sight
that they wished
to follow her example.
they obtained the advice
of Don Juan le Rojas,
then parish priest
of Villanueva de la Jara.
By his direction
they lived together as religious,
and soon after a widow
with four daughters,
knowing of their way of life,
came and joined them.
They sent word of all this
to Dona Catalina
in the desert about the year 1572,
who comforted them by telling them
that they were to be the beginning
of a house of Carmel of the reform."
[ The Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus: Ch 28
Transl. by David Lewis 1871 ]
"Not one of them had ever exercised
any authority over another,
but each one had
with great affection
laboured to the utmost of her strength
Two of them,
and they were the eldest,
managed all their affairs
when necessary;
the rest never spoke to anybody,
and would not do so.
The door of the house
had a bolt only, no lock,
and the eldest answered at it;
none of the others ventured near it.
They slept very little
that they might
earn their bread
and
not miss their prayer,
in which they spent many hours"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #35 ]
"They directed themselves
by means of the books
of Fray Luis of Granada and
of Fray Peter of Alcantara.
Most of the time was spent
in saying the divine office
— they could hardly read it;
only one (of them could read well
...
God accepted
their intention and toil,
but they must have said very little
that was correct.
When the father Fray Antonio of Jesus
began to know them
he made them say
the Office of Our Lady only.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #36 ]
_________________________________
■ The History of the Hermitage of St. Anne
in Villanueva de la Jara
▪ Origin of the hermitage of S. Anne.
"Diego de Guadalajara
...a friar of the order
of our Lady of Carmel...
had a devotion to the glorious S. Anne
and so he made this hermitage...
He made a will
and gave this house...
for a monastery of nuns
of our Lady of Carmel"
If and Until
a "monastery should be founded"
it was to be occupied by a Chaplain.
So a chaplain had lived there
"for more than twenty years"
"the property was ruined,
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #38 ]
▪ The 9 holy women are given possession
of the hermitage in 1574
The "nine women...
had lived some years
in a small house close by it,
and
in such recollectedness and holiness
that the whole population was moved
to make an effort to fulfil their desire,
which was that of being nuns.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #7 ]
"The municipality gave them
the hermitage.
[The book of the foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus: Ch. 28
Transl.by D. Lewis 1871 ]
"The people of Villanueva
with the parish priest at their head
received them and
led them in procession
to the hermitage of S. Anne"
"This happened in 1574."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #14 ]
"though the women
took possession of the house,
they had nothing but the house."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #38 ]
"The chaplain lived in another (house)
belonging to the chapel,
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #38 ]
St. Teresa said in 1580
"for nearly six years
...since they went into this house
of the glorious S. Anne.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #34 ]
▪ The hermitage becomes the site of the
Carmelite foundation at Villlaneuva
This was in accordance to
the bequest of the will of
Friar Diego de Guadalajara.
"Doctor Agustin Ervias...
as parish priest of Villanueva,
undertook to make
the necessary arrangements
with the municipality and
with Saint Teresa
for the new community
to be aggregated to her convents"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #14 ]
St. Teresa wrote regarding the
"The chaplain lived in another (house)
belonging to the chapel,
which he will now give up to us
with the rest,
and that is very little"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #38 ]
_______________________
█ The Account of the Foundation
of Villanueva De La Jara
▀ Envisioning a Foundation at
Villanueva de la Jara
▪ Request to St. Teresa in 1576
for a Carmelite foundation
at Villanueva de la Jara
"there came to me in Toledo
in the year 1576...
an ecclesiastic
from Villanueva de la Jara
with letters from the municipality'
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #7 ]
I received a letter also from a doctor,
the parish priest of the place,
Agustin de Ervias,
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #7 ]
he despatched a messenger
who met her at Toledo"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #14 ]
▪ Along with that request was the request
that nine women
( aready living together in a hermitage)
be received as Carmelites
"The purport was
to arrange with me
for the receiving into a monastery
nine women,
who were living together in a
hermitage of the glorious S. Anne,
which was in the neighbourhood.
...their desire,
which was that of being nuns."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #7 ]
In the interim, their is an interruption
in the founding of new monasteries
because of the current authority
and different viewpoints between
the mitigated and reformed rule.
Later, around 1579
"Fray Gabriel of the Assumption...
the prior of the monastery...
of our Lady of Succour,
which lies three leagues
from the town of Villanueva..
(and)
Father Fray Antonio of Jesus
... were friends of Doctor Ervias,
and began an acquaintance
with these saintly sisters.
Attracted by their goodness, and
persuaded by the people and the doctor,
they
took up the matter
as if it was their own,
and
began to persuade me,
writing very earnest letters"
"25th Nov. (1579)
She reaches Malagon"
[ Foundations: Introduction:
Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
The Saint had arrived in Malagon
25th November 1579.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #20]
and when I was
in S. Joseph's in Malagon,
which is twenty-six leagues
and further from Villanueva,
the father prior himself came
to speak to me on the subject.
He told me
how it could be done, and
that, the monastery once founded,
the Doctor Ervias would endow it
with three hundred ducats a year
out of the revenues
of the living he held;
that leave to do so could be had
from Rome. [19]
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #10]
This offer of Doctor Ervias
was made in 1580...
Fray Antonio had accompanied
the prior to Malagon,
to press the matter on the Saint
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #19]
"They sent me a messenger
with very pressing letters
from the two fathers,
as well as from the municipality,
by which they bound themselves
to furnish whatever was necessary
Doctor Ervlas, too,
undertaking to perform
what I spoke of before."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #12 ]
▪ St. Teresa's Response
◦ Initially, she thinks it is not feasible:
"I thought
it was wholly out of the question
that I should accept the monastery,
for these reasons: —
1. Because they whom I was to accept
were so many,
and
because I considered
it would be a very difficult thing
to train in our way those
who had been accustomed
to live in their own.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #8]
My dread of receiving these sisters
was very great;
I thought they would be a faction
banded together against the sisters
whom I might take thither,
as it usually happens,
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #12 ]
2. Because they had scarcely
any means of subsistence,
and
the place has hardly
more than a thousand inhabitants,
which would furnish but scanty help
to those who have to live on alms:
though the municipality did offer
to maintain them,
I did not think that was to be relied on.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #8]
and also
because I saw no certain means
of maintenance for them,
for that which was offered
was not such
as I was bound to accept:
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #12 ]
Regarding the revenues promised,
which included an endowment
from the Father, Doctor Ervlas,
St. Teresa wrote:
"This seemed to me very uncertain,
for I thought
it might fail us
after the foundation was made,
yet with the little
which the sisters possessed
it might be well enough"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #11 ]
3. They had no house.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #8]
4. They were far away
from the other monasteries.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #8]
And, though I was told
they were very good,
yet as I had not seen them
I could not know
whether they had those gifts
which we claim for our monasteries,
and so I made up my mind
to a thorough refusal.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #8]
so I was in great doubt.
Afterwards I saw
it was the work of Satan,
for, though our Lord
had given me courage,
I was then so faint of heart
that I seemed to have
no trust in God at all.
The prayers, however,
of those blessed souls
prevailed.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #12 ]
▪ St. Teresa considers the benefits
of founding the Convent
for the nuns themseves and
for the community:
"the reason
why I answered favourably before
was the fear I had
(that) I might be hindering
the progress of some souls,
for my desire ever is
- to help in any way
to advance the glory of our Lord
and
- to increase the number
of His servants —
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #13 ]
She recalls when the founding
of new monasteries was forbidden:
"and that was the greatest trouble
I had to bear...
for to give up helping
in the furtherance of this work,
which I saw clearly was for
- the service of our Lord
and
- the advancement of our Order,
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #2 ]
◦ She seeks Consultation and would obey
rather than rely on her own will
"...I must first speak
to my confessor,
the Doctor Velasquez,
canon and professor in Toledo...
for I am in the habit
of never doing anything
of my own will,
but only at the will of persons
such as he is.
...he bade me not to refuse...
for if God made so many hearts agree
together on a thing
it was plain
He intended to be served thereby.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #9 ]
" 1576...
She confesses in Toledo
to Dr Velasquez"
[ Foundations: Introduction:
Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
▪ St. Teresa prays to know God's will
"One day after communion,
while I was commending
the matter to God,
as I was often doing...
His Majesty rebuked me severely,
saying,
'Where was the treasury
that supplied the means
for the foundations already made ?'
I was to accept the house
without any misgiving:
it would be greatly
to His honour and
the progress of souls.
So mighty are the words of God,
they
not only enter the understanding,
but also enlighten it to
- see the truth
and
- make the will ready to act:
so it was with me,
for I was
not only glad to accept the monastery,
but felt that I had been to blame for
holding back so long,
and
clinging so much
to human considerations,
seeing that His Majesty
had done so much
for our holy (Carmelite) Order
in ways undiscoverable by reason.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #13 ]
▪ St. Teresa agrees to the foundation
"Having resolved
to accept the foundation,
...thinking I should please our Lord
by going,
I wrote to the superior in order
that he might command
as he should judge best.
[ Foundations: Ch. 28: #14]
"25th Nov. ( 1579 )
She reaches Malagon...
She consents to make the foundation
in Villanueva de la Jara."
[ Foundations: Introduction:
Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
______________________________
▀ Plans and Preparations
▪ Legal, Financial, and Material support
"Doctor Agustin Ervias...
as parish priest of Villanueva,
undertook to make
the necessary arrangements
with the municipality
and
with Saint Teresa
for the new community
to be aggregated to her convents..."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #14 ]
"the two fathers,
... the municipality,
... they bound themselves
to furnish whatever was necessary
Doctor Ervlas, too,
undertaking to perform
what I spoke of before."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #12 ]
"Doctor Ervias would endow it..."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #10 ]
Later, on the way to Villanueva
at their arrival at the monastery of
Our Lady of Succour, La Roda
where Fr. Gabriel of the Assumption
was the Prior, St. Teresa wrote:
"The friars there gave us
some of the furniture
of their church
for use in that
which we were going to found"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #28 ]
▪ The License
"The superior, Fray Angel de Salazar
..sent the licence
for the foundation"
[ Foundations: Ch. 28: #14]
"1580 ( 1/28/80 )
Fray Angel de Salazar
had sent the permission
.... 28th January"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #21 ]
"Fra Angel de Salazar,
28th Jan.
gives the Saint authority
to make the foundation
in Villanueva,
[ Foundations: Introduction:
Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
▪ Selection of the Prioress and the Nuns
for the Foundation
Fray Angel de Salazar
"...sent...an order for me
to go there myself,
and
to take with me
the nuns I preferred, [21]
which made me very anxious
because they would have to live
with those who were there already."
[ Foundations: Ch. 28: #14]
"Having resolved
to accept the foundation,
I thought it right
to go thither myself
with the nuns
who were to remain there"
[ Foundations: Ch. 28: #14]
"Earnestly commending the matter
to our Lord,
I took
- two nuns out of the monastery
of S. Joseph in Toledo,
one of whom was to be prioress,
and
- two out of that at Malagon,
one to be sub-prioress;
and, as we had prayed so much
to our Lord,
the choice could not
have been better..." [22]
[ Foundations: Ch. 28: #14]
"The Saint had a general procession
in the monastery
to obtain light for the purpose
of choosing the nuns.
With the Sister Elvira,
she took Anne of S. Augustine,
and then, going with them and
Anne of S. Bartholomew,
together with the friars
who came for her, to Toledo,
she took from that monastery
Maria of the Martyrs
whom she appointed prioress
—not Anne of the Mother of God,
as Ribera relates —
and Constance of the Cross"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #22 ]
The Saint, writing...
(on) 1st February 1580,
that she meant to take with her
as sub-prioress,
Elvira of San Angelo,
professed in Malagon"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #21 ]
▀ Journey to and arrival at Villaneuva de la Jara
▪ It appears that St. Teresa traveled with
From Malagon:
Elvira of San Angelo,
as sub-prioress,
Anne of S. Augustine,
Anne of S. Bartholomew,
They traveled first to Toledo with
Fray Antonio of Jesus
Fray Gabriel of the Assumption
From Toledo:
Maria of the Martyrs
whom she appointed prioress
Constance of the Cross"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
#15 and Foot note #22 ]
Later on arrival at Villaneuva, she refers to
"us seven poor Discalced nuns
who were there.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: # 33]
▪ Departure from Malagon to Toledo
"....we left Malagon
on the Saturday before Lent,
13th February 1580.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #15 ]
"The father Fray Antonio of Jesus
and the father prior
Fray Gabriel of the Assumption
came to fetch us. [23]
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #15 ]
"12th February 1580...
the two friars were come
that day to Malagon, and
that they had brought with them
a carriage and a cart."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #23 ]
▪ From Toledo, they then journeyed
to the monastery of La Roda,
of our Lady of Succour,
which is three leagues from Villanueva"
and
of which, Fray Gabriel of the Assumption
was the prior.
"and halt there to give warning
of our arrival"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #17 ]
"One day after Communion
in that hallowed church
I became profoundly recollected
In that trance
I saw the holy woman
(Dona Catalina de Cardona)
by an intellectual vision...
she told me not to grow faint,
but strive to go on
with these foundations.
I understand thereby...
that she helped me before God.
and I hope,
in the goodness of our Lord,
that, with such good help
as her prayers are,
I may be able to serve Him
in some measure.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #30 ]
■ Arrival at Villanueva de la Jara
21st February 1580.
"On the first Sunday in Lent [45]
we reached Villanueva de la Jara".
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #31 ]
"21 St February 1580"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #45 ]
"it was the eve of the feast
of the Chair of S. Peter, and
the feast of S. Barbatian, 1580"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #31 ]
________________________________
▀ The Carmelite Foundation is established
at the Hermitage of St. Anne
at Villanueva de la Jara
21st February 1580
"February 21 (1580)
Foundation of the Convent
at Villanueva de la Jara"
[ Foundations: Introduction:
Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
"On that very day
the Most Holy Sacrament
was brought into the
Church of the Glorious S. Anne
at the time of High Mass.
The whole municipality and
certain others with Doctor Ervias"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #31 ]
"The joy of the people was so great
...in receiving the Order
of the Most Holy Virgin our Lady.
...they carried
the Most Holy Sacrament
on a bier,
and on another our Lady,
with crosses and banners.
The procession moved on
in great pomp;
we, and
our barefooted friars,
(from the monastery of
our Lady of Succour, La Roda)
the Franciscans
— for there is a monastery
of S. Francis there —
and a Dominican
who was in the place..."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #32 ]
■ The 9 holy women receive the nuns
into their house at the Hermitage of St Anne
"When we entered the house
they were standing at the door within
They received us
with tears of great joy"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #35
After meeting them,
St. Teresa wrote:
"It is true the sisters
who were already there
had been in trouble
for nearly six years
...since they went into this house
of the glorious S. Anne.
.... their poverty and toil
in earning their food,
for they never would ask alms;
the reason of that was
that they would not
have their neighbours think
they were there to be supported
by them
their great penance,
their long fasts,
their scanty food,
their hard beds,
and
the small house,
the strict enclosure
they always observed,
was hard enough to bear.
What was hardest to bear...
was the earnest longing they had
to put on the habit,
and which
was a most grievous torment
to them night and day,
for they thought
they were never to wear it;
and accordingly
their constant prayer,
and that most frequently with tears,
was that God would bestow
that grace upon them.
...
They stinted themselves in their food,
that out of their earnings
they might have the means
of paying the messengers
who came to me,
I see clearly myself
ever since I conversed with them
and saw how saintly they were,
that they must have obtained
their admission into the order
by their prayers and tears,
and so I looked on the possession
of such souls as these
as a much greater treasure
than a rich endowment,
and my hope is
the house will prosper greatly."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #34 ]
"each of them dressed as usual...
and would never put on
the habit of beatas,
hoping for ours;
...they had been living
a most penitential life.
Their great virtue shone forth
in their joy,
in their humility,
and
in their obedience
to the prioress and
to all those
who came to make the foundation
...
All the fear they had
was lest the nuns should go back
when they saw
their poverty and
the smallness of the house."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #35 ]
St. Teresa said of these women:
"The effect on me
was to make me
give thanks to our Lord,
and
the more I conversed with them
the more glad I was
that I had come.
I believe that,
whatever difficulties I might have
had to undergo,
I should not have shrunk from them
to bring consolation to these souls.
Those of my companions,
who remained,
told me
that in the beginning,
during the first days,
they were conscious
of a certain unwillingness
to live with them,
but that when they came
to know them,
and saw how good they were,
they were very glad to stay,
and conceived
a great affection for them.
Sanctity and goodness
can do great things."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #36 ]
"The truth is,
those who came with me
were so good
that, even if they met
with many difficulties and trials,
they would have borne all nobly
by the grace of our Lord,
for they desire to suffer
in His service;
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #37 ]
▀ The 9 holy women receive the Carmelite Habit
2/25/1580
"25th February (1580)
The devout ladies there
waiting for her,
receive the habit, 25th February"
[ Foundations: Introduction:
Annals of the Saint's Life" ]
"On the feast of S. Mathias,
25th February,
the Saint gave the habit
to the nine women
who had shut themselves up
in the hermitage of S. Anne.
The sermon on the occasion
was preached
by Fray Antonio of Jesus
[ Foundation: Ch. 28:
Foot note #49 ]
__________________________________
▀ St. Teresa's Instruction to her nuns:
▪ Reasons for and Benefits of her writing
In addition to writing in obedience
to the directions of her superiors,
St. Teresa wants the writings to inspire:
- Praise and Thankfulness to God
- Rememberance and Appreciation
for those who labored and suffered
for the establishment and maintenance
of these Foundations.
- Prayers for them.
- All to diligently resolve to profit by this
Carmelite legacy and opportunity
to "progress in perfection".
- The emulation of those Carmelite predecessors
as models of Humility, Detachment,
Obedience, Perseverance, and all Virtues
◦ Her writing regarding the difficulties
that the Carmelites suffered
"I do but touch the matter,
that the nuns
who shall come after us
may know how great
are their obligations
to make progress in perfection
when they find
that (which is) made easy to them
has cost so much to us
who are now alive."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #4 ]
Here she is referring to
Fray Pedro Fernandez
and others who supported the
foundations of the primitive rule:
"We are under very great obligations,
my sisters, all of us,
to remember him
in our prayers to our Lord,
together with those
who undertook
His (God's) cause and
that of our Lady the Virgin,
and so I earnestly recommend you
to do so.
You will understand now...
what opportunity there was
for making foundations;
we were all intent
on prayer and penance
without ceasing,
begging God to prosper
our foundations already made,
if they were for His service.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #6 ]
▪ Her writing regarding the new Foundation
"I have given you
at such length
this account of the honour done
to the habit of our Lady,
that you may
- give thanks to our Lord and
- beseech Him to make use
of this foundation,
for I have a greater joy
when a foundation is made
under persecution and with trouble"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #33 ]
The procession...
- was all in praise
of the great God there present,
and
- that so much was done
for us seven poor Discalced nuns
who were there.
Nevertheless,
when I reflected upon it
I was filled with confusion,
remembering
- that I was among them, and
- that everyone there ought to have
turned against me
if they would but have treated me
as I deserve.
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #33 ]
Regarding Dona Catalina de Cardona,
St. Teresa said:
"Let us strive now
for the love of our Lord,
to follow this our sister:
hating ourselves
as she hated herself,
we shall finish our journey,
for everything
passes rapidly away
and
comes to an end."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #30 ]
"the monastery (she) founded
has been of so much advantage
to many souls
in the country round about.
I do so that you, my sisters,
beholding the penance
done by this saint,
- may see how far
we are behind her,
and
- make efforts to serve our Lord
with renewed courage;
for there is no reason why
we should do less
than she did"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #18 ]
"the great work of God
wrought in His saints,
men and women,
who serve Him in the deserts,
is almost forgotten,
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #19 ]
▪ Trust in God and Courage
"my wickedness and weakness
have put me very often
in fear and doubt,
but I cannot call
to mind any occasion...
in which,
of His mere compassion,
He did not enable me by His grace
to overcome these temptations,
and
to venture upon that,
however difficult it might be,
which I understood to be
for His greater glory.
I see clearly that
what I did myself
was very little,
but God asks no more
than a resolution of this kind
to do everything Himself."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #16 ]
"how important it is for us
never to think of our own infirmities
when we are employed
in the service of our Lord,
whatever the difficulties before us
may be,
seeing that He is able to make
the weak strong and
the sickly healthy;
and
should He not do so
it will be better for our soul
if we suffer and forget ourselves
with our eyes fixed
on His honour and glory.
Why are life and health given to us
but to be lost for
so grand a King and Lord ?
no harm will ever befall you
if you travel on this road."
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #15 ]
"His Majesty never fails
to further true desires to their end"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #19 ]
▪ The aim of our desires:
"the aim of our desires must be,
not rest
but suffering,
that we may in some measure
be like unto Him,
our true Bridegroom.
...that sister
who does not feel this desire
must not look upon herself
as a true Carmelite nun,
for they desire
to suffer in His service...
by the grace of our Lord"
[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #37 ]
____________________
End of the Discussion
of Chapter 28
of the
Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
________________________
