October
October 1 – St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, of the Holy Face, Virgin | Feast
Thérèse Martin was born at Alençon, France in 1873. At the age of fifteen she entered the Carmel at Lisieux. She practiced heroic humility, evangelical simplicity and trust in God, and taught the novices these virtues by word and example. She offered her life for the salvation of souls and the spread of the faith. She died 30 September 1897.
She was canonized by Pope Pius XI on 17 May 1925. The same Pope proclaimed her Universal Patron of the Missions, alongside Saint Francis Xavier, on 14 December 1927.
On August 24, at the close of the Eucharistic Celebration at the Twelfth World Youth Day in Paris, in the presence of hundreds of bishops and before an immense crowd of young people from all over the world, Pope John Paul II announced his intention to proclaim Thérèse of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face a Doctor of the Universal Church on World Mission Sunday, October 19, 1997.
October 15 – St. Teresa of Jesus, Our Holy Mother, Virgin and Doctor of the Church | Solemnity
Teresa de Ahumada was born in Avila, Spain on March 28, 1515. In the atmosphere of a strict, pious family of Castile, Teresa’s desires for God emerged early when she and her brother Rodrigo escaped in the middle of the night to go off to be martyred for the Faith. When her uncle happened upon them, Teresa’s famous words were, “I want to see God.” Later as a teenager, she was sent to an boarding school run by Augustinian nuns; and it was here that she received the first serious impressions of religious life. At age 21 Teresa decided to join the convent of Carmelite nuns at the Incarnation. There she lived for 27 years before embarking on her Reform. In that time she continually struggled in her allegiance to God or to the world.
Beginning in 1554, Teresa began to experience a greater spiritual fervor that efficaciously drew her to follow Jesus in greater freedom and love. In this time, she received many mystical favors, which led her to desire to establish a convent of more intense devotion to the Carmelite life in apostolic prayer and sacrifice. With the Lord’s help and that of many others, the first convent of San José in Avila was founded. With this step, Teresa took on the identity of ‘Teresa of Jesus,’ no longer seeking to be identified with the worldly customs of her time but only with the Lord who called her for His Glory.
Over the next 20 years she founded many more convents all over Spain, and with the addition of an Order of friars, begun with St John of the Cross. As a member of the Carmelite Order she made great progress in perfection and received numerous mystical favors from the Lord, all of which brought her to greater service of the Church and the Reform. As reformer of her Order she underwent many trials which she intrepidly overcame. Teresa was adept at handling problems with prudence, tact, persistence, and patience, all born from her own self-knowledge. She also wrote numerous books of the greatest spiritual value which reflect her own experiences. Many of these accounts of her spiritual experiences were written in faithful obedience to her many spiritual directors. Among these are the Way of Perfection, The Interior Castle, and her Life. She died in Alba de Tormes in 1582 proclaiming her faithfulness to the Church with the words, “I am a daughter of the Church.”
Teresa was canonized on March 22, 1622, along with St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, and St. Philip Neri. She was proclaimed the first woman Doctor of the Church in 1970 as the Mater Spiritiualium along with St. Catherine of Siena.
October 30 – Bl. Maria Teresa of St. Joseph, Virgin | Optional Memorial
Anna Maria Tauscher was born June 19, 1855 in Sandow, East Prussia (now Poland) to devout Lutheran parents. From the beginning of her life, her parents imbued deeply Catholic sympathies in her. After moving to Berlin with her family in 1870, she began work as a sister at the boarding school where she was sent. She felt drawn to serve the poor and needy in many respects. In 1886, Maria began work as a head nurse at a home for the mentally ill in Berlin. While working here, Maria felt drawn to give herself completely to Christ in her service and prayer. She received the opportunity to learn more about the Catholic faith through a priest and, despite her father’s objection and disowning of her, Maria converted in 1888. After being disowned and fired from her job, Maria lived a life of deep poverty and menial labor while growing deeper in her faith until she was inspired to found an order. After reading her Autobiography, Maria took St Teresa of Avila and Carmelite spirituality as the model for her life and the life of her community. She founded her first community in 1891 and many more followed in Europe and America. She sought to found an order of contemplative prayer in silence, solitude and sacrifice, while serving the poor, especially neglected and homeless children. Mother Maria Teresa died at age 83 on September 20, 1938 and was beatified on May 13, 2006.