Encounter With God

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In the Middle Ages, St. Teresa of Avila, the founder of the Carmelites communities, initiated what came to be known as the Teresian reform of the monasteries. It used to be that when gallivanting kings were fed up with their queens, their wives who were no longer attractive and beautiful, the kings would just dispatched them silently to the monasteries, scattered within their kingdoms, to become monks, oftentimes against their wills. So it happened that the monasteries were filled with misfits who never had vocations to monastic lives. These queens, who were used to worldly lifestyles, brought along with them in the hermitages their entourages of maids, dogs and cats, making monastic life unbearably chaotic. This was what St.Teresa of Avila wanted to change - to make monasticism a refuge for solitude and prayer and an encounter with God in silence. She limited the number of residents in every monastery to 13 monks. Moreover, queens who fell from grace were no longer accepted in the monasteries, especially those who never exhibited religious callings. The Teresian Reform was credited for renewing the Catholic Church, especially on its emphasis on poverty, contemplation and prayer. Photo Credits: Pixabay