Father Dave and Brett joined Lino Rulli and Tyler Veghte of “The Catholic Guy Show” on SiriusXM’s Catholic Channel for the “Spanish Saints, Sacramentals, and Sangria Pilgrimage.” They traveled with 95 listeners to famous Catholic churches and cities across Spain, including Madrid, Ávila, Toledo, Barcelona and more;
One highlight of the pilgrimage included visiting the city and convent where Saint Teresa of Jesus lived, more commonly known as Saint Teresa of Ávila. She is a Doctor of the Church, and Lino explains this title saying, “It’s not based on medical expertise; It’s about their writings and inspiration. It’s not just the lives they lived, but what they said about God and the Church that gives them the title. It’s almost like getting an honorary doctorate at a University.”
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Father Dave adds that Saint Teresa of Ávila is a Doctor of the Church “because of her mysticism and her contributions to spirituality and contemplative prayer. She had a lot of these otherworldly experiences of God and Jesus.” One famous instance is known as her transverberation, where she experienced pain and joy as an angel pierced her heart with an arrow.
Father Dave celebrated Mass for the pilgrimage group in the Chapel of the Transverberation where Saint Teresa had this vision. “She said it was like feeling herself pierced with an arrow of divine love. Have you ever felt that God loves you that much? That it actually hurt, that it was like being on fire and having your heart pierced? That’s what Saint Teresa experienced right here,” he reflects in his homily.
“Most of us won’t feel that. But she also invites us to experience what she called contemplative prayer, or oración mental, prayer of the mind. She defined it saying, ‘Contemplative prayer is nothing else than a close sharing between friends,’” Father Dave continues. “It means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us. If you’ve never felt the arrow of an angel on fire piercing your heart, that’s okay. Teresa knew that her experiences were just for her, but she also knew that every one of us could take time frequently to be with him who we know loves us. Teresa said we seek him because to desire him is always the beginning of love.”
LISTEN: On Pilgrimage in Spain: Experiencing La Sagrada Familia With Father Dave
After Mass, Father Dave discusses becoming emotional while preaching this homily. “It would almost be like standing in Gettysburg where Lincoln gave the address. It’s like, this is where that happened,” he says. “For Teresa, it was this amazing experience of God’s love, and it wasn’t thousands of miles away or hundreds of years ago, it’s right here. We’re having Mass on that site, and that’s amazing and powerful.”
Lino adds, “The thing about religion is, while it can be studied, it’s more to be lived. In other words, you can study Saint Teresa of Ávila. You can create art, look at art about her life, and read books about her. But if nothing about her and her relationship with God touches your heart, then I don’t want to say we’re wasting our time, but in a sense, we’re not really getting into it. We’re not allowing ourselves the emotions.”
