Santa Maria della Vittoria

Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil. - 1 Peter 3:16a-17

If you've read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, you are familiar with this church and its infamous statue of St. Teresa of Avila. In fact, most people come to this church only to see the statue, and since the publication of the book (and the ensuing popularity of Brown after The DaVinci Code) the church has seen a massive increase in tourism. Perhaps if people were willing to put the conspiracy theories aside, they would learn a lot more about an amazing woman and her faith.

St. Teresa of Avila was a Spanish mystic who dedicated her life to poverty, prayer, devotion, and writing. She is heavily credited with reforms of the Catholic church, especially in the cloisters. She was blessed with many visions and was dedicated to writing down her experiences, leaving behind multiple writings and devotionals still used today. She is another of the Catholic Church's Doctors of the Church, and one of only three women among the 33 Doctors.

However, she was not without great suffering. First of all, she was originally convinced that her visions were actually the work of demons, and so she subjected herself to extraordinary forms of mortification. Even once she was convinced otherwise, she maintained a strong ascetic lifestyle. Her work to form another Carmelite order was almost destroyed when she fell under the Spanish Inquisition, and only years of pleading with the king could stop it - only after she and her followers had been severely punished. Even her visions themselves were physically painful; the statue in Santa Maria della Vittoria portrays her in the midst of a vision where an angel pierced her heart and left her in combined pain and joy.

For many women of the early church, service as a mystic and ascetic were the only options available. Still, they suffered greatly to bring their vision forward and serve the church. While today we hope that people no longer have to suffer for their faith, we know that there are those across the world in suffering either mentally, socially, or even spiritually because of their belief in Christ. The life of people like St. Teresa remind us that while suffering might be inevitable due to faith, it can be endured with the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit.

Merciful God, be with those who suffer in this life because they proclaim your Son as Lord. Grant them relief, give them strength, and join us in solidarity with them. Help us always to do what is right for the good of our faith, and to never back down even when it might hurt. We ask these things in Christ's name, Amen.