Translated from the original by Ana Giménez.
THE VIRTUE OF SELF-DETACHMENT
The option of living a Christian lifestyle is an art full of nuances, for the risk of being wrong and harmed. The soul is delicate. I´ll try to explain the virtue of detachment , that-along with love and humility-are the main virtues in Teresa´s trilogy.
To believe in the God of Jesus Christ (or for those who have doubts “to believe that we believe”), avoids the temptation to absolutize ideas or things that are not God. We believe in People, we don´t believe in ideas. They are an absolute that embrace and give meaning to life and death. We don´t need to believe in lesser gods, neither in persons or things.
A strong faith carried in earthen vessels, doesn´t make us superior or inferior to anyone. Mystery and unknown go with faith, all of them shrouded by a God-Love-Justice, without falling into fanaticism. Serious temptation in any religion. The fanatic person breaks the rest of the mirrors where the persons finds his/her identity. Fanatics focus only in their deified ideas, in a small god, a person, an idea, race, nation, class struggle, etc. They believe to be superior to others and the only owners of truth. It is not our case.
We believe and we continue looking at ourselves in all the mirrors of creation, people or things, respecting them, letting them fly freely, admiring their beauty without wishing to own them. The art of living, and letting human beings fly free, is called detachment. A word which has many synonyms and antonyms in Teresa´s writings “seizure” “to tie oneself down” “afflictions”…
Demonic temptations (Evil) that Jesus Christ suffered are lurking us to fall prey to temptations and kneel before them:
“These devils keep us in terror because we make ourselves liable to be terrorized by contracting other attachments to honours, for example, and to possessions and pleasures (The Life 25.21) Fame, to claw your way up, power ambition, accumulation of goods, and pleasures offered by the world. Three temptations to possess.
A struggle is necessary on our part in order to not to enslave anyone and become free to love. When she confirms that she is succeeding with God´s help, she says: ”Its own interests as to seem, in some measure, to have lost itself, so forgetful of self is it in this. Everything is directed to the honour of God, to the doing of His will more and more, and the advancement of His glory” (Relations 6.5)
When she is really busy working towards foundations, she hears Jesus voice deep inside “As it could not be outdone, my daughter; try upright intention in everything and detachment and try looking at me, so whatever you do, is in accordance to what I did” (Relations 11)
(If you have a moment, read and meditate today´s gospel proposed by Church and you´ll see Jesus healing and teaching and respecting His and other´s complete freedom)
To be continued
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