“Grant me whatever you wish, life or death!” said St Teresa. Such courage! But Teresa exceeds in bravery when she goes further and says “grant me either hell or paradise!”
Can you imagine that? Would you have the courage to say such a thing to God? Well, Saint Teresa did.
It seems madness, however, in fact, is love. It is abandonment. Absolute trust, unrestricted. Total self-giving in the hands of God: He knows what is best for me. Attention! Not what I deserve – because I deserve nothing – All is God’s grace – but what is best for me.
On the other hand, this is Teresa being smart. She knows well that God is love. She knows that He gave His life for us. That He is God of life, not death. She knows that Jesus’ cross opened Heaven for us, not hell.
How smart Teresa is!! She asks God to choose what He has already chosen: Life and Heaven. Happy eternal life! Wise and smart, Teresa submits herself, calmly, to God’s Will that only wishes her well. She prefers to entrust herself to His Will other than to her own, which is a will of a “little woman who is weak and blind”, as she portraits herself. She conquered ‘in one take’ eternal life, the resurrection of the dead and Heaven.
Emmir Nogueira
Cofounder of Shalom Catholic Community