Jesus, Mary, Saints

Over the last few days I baked pizzelles — Italian waffle cookies. It’s a tradition on the Italian side of my family specially in the seasons of Advent and Christmas!

There’s the Mary I grew up with — the statue-esque Mary who is lily-white enameled, calm and serene, but also otherworldly, untouchable and frozen in her statue-esque form. I liked this Mary but I really couldn’t connect with her.

Continuing my reflections on Saint Teresa of Avila … Finally, after all kinds of questioning, resistance, and prayer, Teresa happens to read the Epistles of Saint Jerome which must have truly edified her for she says she was filled with much courage. Courage was exactly what she needed for she knew that telling her father about her desire to enter the Carmelite monastery would be really, really tough

Although Teresa “suffered much” in the first days of being in the monastery, she grew to like being with the nuns.

Saint Teresa of Avila tells of a time when she was 7 and her brother was 11. After having read the lives of the saints, they decided that martyrdom was the quickest and easiest way to get to heaven.