The statue sits in an alcove near the altar and is striking in its depiction.
St Teresa is being wounded by God's love in the form of a Cupid like angel piercing her with an arrow. This wound is painful and ecstatic at the same time. She surrenders to this ecstatic experience that has a sense of Eros without being erotic.
She prayed all her life for this kind of experience that didn't occur until much later in her life when she was praying in her chapel and God suddenly enveloped her in passionate love. She wept and wept tears we all hope to shed.
Teresa lived largely in a spiritual desert much of get life and like most of us. We wait and wait upon God to give us a concrete experience of his love. Not proof, just something we can experience not in our minds but in our hearts.
We "know " we are loved; that is certain. But to experience that love in the depths of our hearts is quite another matter.
Perhaps we are just not ready for that kind of experience. All we can do is keep praying like Teresa who reminds us that God is nearer to us than we can ever imagine. Our faith needs to be deepened by the trust that God is living in our hearts even if we don't sense his presence. Teresa knows how difficult God seems to make it for us who are his friends. She was very blunt in letting God know how difficult a life of prayer can be. Being faithful to our life of prayer is the most important value we must commit our lives to, especially when we feel empty, as if our prayer is useless. When we feel this way and still pray....is a sign to God of our commitment and love. Buen camino. Padre
I remember this statue from the Catholicism series. How wonderful to be there to see and experience it.
ReplyDeleteTom