Saturday, April 12, 2014

Few more thoughts and questions on St. Teresa of Avila’s book “The Way of Perfection”

“What do kings and lords matter to me if I have no desire to possess their money, or to please them, if by so doing I should cause the least displeasure to God? And what do their honors mean to me if I have realized that the chief honor of a poor man consists in his being truly poor?”. St. Teresa of Avila – The Way of Perfection

Do you care for the honors?

What are the honors that you seek?

“For my own part, I believe that honor and money nearly always go together, and that he who desires honor never hates money, while he who hates money cares little for honor”. St. Teresa of Avila – The Way of Perfection

Do you think that the honor St. Teresa is talking about is the same thing as pride?

“Understand this clearly, for I think this concern about honor always implies some slight regard for endowments or money: seldom or never is a poor man honored by the world; however worthy of honor he may be, he is apt rather to be despised by it”. St. Teresa of Avila – The Way of Perfection

Do you honor the poor man?

Can you see the honor on being poor and not working for your food and living?

“With true poverty there goes a different kind of honor to which nobody can take objection. I mean that, if poverty is embraced by God’s sake alone, no one has to be pleased save God. It is certain that a man who has no need of anyone has many friends: in my own experience I have found this to be very true”. St. Teresa of Avila – The Way of Perfection

What is the honor in poverty?

Do you need others?

How could you only need God?

Could you sell everything you have and give it to the poor and follow Jesus?

“Our life lasts only for a couple of hours; our reward is boundless; and, if there were no reward but to follow the counsels given us by the Lord, to imitate His Majesty in any degree would bring us a great recompense”. St. Teresa of Avila – The Way of Perfection

What is the recompense in following Lord and imitating Him?

How can imitating Him be better than all material things we can obtain?

“It seems very wrong, my daughters, that great houses should be built with the money of the poor; may God forbid that this should be done; let our houses be small and poor in every way. Let us to some extent resemble our King, Who had no house save the porch in Bethlehem where He was born and the Cross on which He died. These were houses where little comfort could be found”. St. Teresa of Avila – The Way of Perfection

Is your house big or small?

Do you have many comforts?

Could you imitate your King and live with only what you need?

Do you enjoy the thoughts and questions that rise from the St. Teresa of Avila's text The Way of Perfection?

Maybe you would like to read the first post I wrote about the book: Thoughts and questions on St. Teresa of Avila's book "The Way of Perfection"

If you enjoyed that there is also another post you might enjoy: More thoughts and questions on St. Teresa of Avila's book "The Way of Perfection"

24 comments:

  1. Wow, it sounds like this is a really thought provoking book! Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. It has been really interesting to read. And I'm not done yet. There are so many things that it seems that one read won't be enough. I actually have read some parts few times over and over again.

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  2. Book or not, I still love seeing all your photos! Was this from a parade?

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    1. First four are from a parade, Scott. The last one is from a speech the president of Ecuador gave in Quito.

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  3. My sister, believe it or not is going to Ecuador either this month or next. She has a friend who is living there at the moment while her husband teaches school. I am going to send her your blog link. I can't wait to hear all about my sister's trip. Thanks for all the info here - it looks like a beautiful place to visit.

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    1. Hope she has a lot of fun, Kim. There are so many beautiful things to see and interesting things to do. Tell her to contact me (in G+) or my FB page if she's coming to Tena.

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  4. Sounds like a fantastic read - very interesting. The questions you asked - are really making me think!

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  5. Wowm sounds like a great book, and I really enjoyed the photos!

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  6. That's awesome that she put everything down in one place like that so others could benefit from reading them too. I can see how you could love a book like this one.

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  7. I think there is honor to be found in living a simplified life. You really got me thinking this afternoon. :)

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  8. Seems like a great book Johanna! And interesting questions, you got me thinking!

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  9. Very interesting book, and and I love all of the beautiful, vibrant pictures you showed to go with it.

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  11. Your photos always blow me away! It is so beautiful in Ecuador!

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  12. This book sounds really great. The photos are gorgeous!

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  13. the book sounds like it'd be a great read. I so enjoyed looking at the colorful clothes on your photos. Beautiful.

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  14. I totally want to go to Ecuador now. I will have to check out this book.

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  15. I guess I don't give value to people based on what they have or don't have. This is an interesting thought starter.

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  16. We often make time to help others, especially the working poor. I've always known it was important to honor others, but never thought about my own sense of honor.

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  17. While I don't think God calls us to live with only the necessities I think we should be imitating Him regardless of our social status. ...and focusing on why we're here and not what we have. ...and believers should be willing to go or give up things to serve God if/when He calls us to. That sounds like a great thought provoking book!

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  18. Thank you for sharing thought provoking parts of this book. I love looking at the cultural dress and traditions presented in these photos.

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  19. This book sounds interesting and I think that I would enjoy it. I definitely would love to live a simpler life.

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  20. What thought-provoking questions! I'll bet the book is a very interesting read.

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  21. Definitely sounds like a great read! We definitely have more "stuff" than we need.

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