Quote of the day, 22 December: St. Teresa

O Son of the Eternal Father, Jesus Christ, our Lord, true King of all! What did You leave in the world? What could we, your descendants, inherit from You? What did You possess, my Lord, but trials, sufferings, and dishonor?

You had nothing but a wooden beam on which to swallow the painfully difficult drink of death. In sum, my God, it does not fit those of us who want to be your true children, and hold on to their inheritance, to flee suffering.

Saint Teresa of Avila

The Foundations, chapter 10

Teresa of Avila, St 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Christ carrying his Cross by Italian painter Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli, known as Giampetrino (active 1495–1549); oil on poplar, ca. 1510–1530. Image credit: National Gallery, London (Public domain)

#Advent #ChristTheKing #OAntiphons #StTeresaOfAvila #suffering

Quote of the day, 23 November: St. Teresa of Avila

O God of my soul, how we hasten to offend You and how You hasten even more to pardon us! What reason is there, Lord, for such deranged boldness? Could it be that we have already understood Your great mercy and have forgotten that Your justice is just?

The sorrows of death surround me [Ps 18:4].

Oh, oh, oh, what a serious thing sin is, for it was enough to kill God with so many sorrows! And how surrounded You are by them, my God! Where can You go that they do not torment You? Everywhere mortals wound You.

O Christians, it’s time to defend your King and to accompany Him in such great solitude. Few are the vassals remaining with Him, and great the multitude accompanying Lucifer. And what’s worse is that these latter appear as His friends in public and sell Him in secret. He finds almost no one in whom to trust. O true Friend, how badly they pay You back who betray You! […]

O you who are accustomed to delights, satisfactions, and consolations, and to always doing your own will, take pity on yourselves! Recall that you will have to be subject forever and ever, without end, to the infernal furies.

Behold, behold that the Judge who will condemn you now asks you; and that your lives are not safe for one moment. Why don’t you want to live forever? Oh, hardness of human hearts! May Your boundless compassion, my God, soften these hearts.

Saint Teresa of Avila

Soliloquies, 10

Teresa of Avila, St 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Kavanaugh, K & Rodriguez, O (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Cuzco School, The Second Conversion of Saint Teresa, ca. 1694, oil on canvas, Serie Chica sobre la Vida de Santa Teresa, Convento del Carmen San José, Santiago, Chile. Image credit: Mebold 1987, p. 77, viewed 21 November 2025, Project for the Engraved Sources of Spanish Colonial Art (PESSCA), https://colonialart.org, PI 208B.

#christTheKing #eternalJudge #love #mercy2 #stTeresaOfAvila

The Prayer to Christ the King reminds us that Jesus reigns over all nations 🌿. His kingdom is not of this world but of mercy, peace, and justice.

When we pray it, we ask for forgiveness and protection, trusting in His endless love 🙏. May His reign be known in our hearts and throughout the earth ✨.

https://young-catholics.com/12567/prayer-to-christ-the-king

#ChristTheKing #Faith #Prayer

This coming Sunday is #ChristTheKing or #ReignOfChrist. The feast was created in 1925 by Pope Pius XI as a way to cap off the Jubilee year of ‘25 AND as a way to theologically combat the rise of ultra-nationalism that was beginning to take root.

It’s just as important now, 100 years later, as it was then.
#Episcopal #SLECBuffalo #OnlyOneKing

The Solemnity of Christ the King celebrates Jesus as our true King 🌿. His reign is not about power or wealth but about love, mercy, and peace 🙏.

Jesus leads by serving others and offering forgiveness, even from the cross. His eternal kingdom welcomes all who believe and live in His love. Christ reigns forever with justice and compassion ✨.

https://young-catholics.com/3692/solemnity-of-christ-the-king-year-c

#ChristTheKing #Faith #Hope

Heavenly Father, We come before You with hearts full of gratitude, celebrating Christ our King. We thank You for His humble reign, His sacrificial love, and His unending grace. Guide us to live out the values of His kingdom— to act with love, mercy, and justice in our daily lives. May we be ambassadors of peace, bringing light to the darkness around us. Strengthen us to serve one another with the same compassion Christ has shown us. In His holy name, we pray. Amen.

#community #prayer #ChristTheKing