28 April 2008

a la Avila

St. Theresa of Avila was full of life, with a quick tongue, mischievous spirit, and ready wit. One story night she found herself in an old cart, holding the reigns of two oxen, as she bumped over a muddy road in Spain.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared; in a panic, the startled oxen sped up, and the wheel of the wagon caught in a deep hole, throwing Theresa off the cart, where she landed face first into the mud.

Theresa knew that she was supposed to thank God for everything, but this wasn't going to be easy. Just then she heard the voice of her beloved Jesus say, "Theresa, be not dismayed, but only strengthened - I offer this only to my most faithful friends."

Theresa - her face and clothing covered with mud - though for a moment and then said "Perhaps that's why you have so few"

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