St. Teresa

"I am more afraid of those that fear the devil than the devil himself'' said St.Theresa. Born in March 28,1551 she was nothing but extraordinary. When she was young she was a pretty normal child. However she did have a strict father that had very strict and orderly rules. Even though her father was strict she did have a very loving and caring mother. Her mother helped her when her father did not understand her. So she was a pretty happy child until she was 16. When she was 16 her mother died leaving her alone with her father. This is when her father took over her life completely. Scared of her father she often did what he said, but sometimes rebelled because he was just so commanding. This made her father extremely angry so he sent her to a convent while she was still only 16. As much as she wanted to leave her father's house she was not excited about going to the convent.

Teresa then started her new life at the convent. She loved it at the convent because they were much less strict than her father. Although she did wonder for some time if the convent life would be the life for her. She ended up choosing to live a peaceful life at the convent. Also with her mother dead she turned to her new mother, Mary the mother of God. She loved her new life but one day got sick. Her sickness was deadly and very painful. However she remained close to God and through her pain got closer to Jesus, and when she got better found out that the other nuns had already dug a grave for her. Even though she was better, she was very weak and left the convent life for many years. One day a priest came and told her to come back to her faith and to continue being a nun. She accepted and become a nun again when she was 41. She grew even closer to Jesus when she came back. She often wrote about Jesus and his divine love. However she got weaker and weaker, and finally died on Oct 4, 1584.

In her convent life, she had a deep connection with Jesus and his teachings. When she was sick and very close to death she saw visions of Jesus and many different dreams about the Divine Christ. One of which was an angel with a spear which stabbed her heart and when the angel pulled out the spear, she was filled with the Holy Spirit. And when she came back to her faith she was even closer to Jesus than before. She often went into a deep prayer. Some of these prayers were so deep and powerful, she started to float in the air. She soon had to ask if someone would come with her so she would not start floating away. However she did not like all the attention that it brought and did it alone, or with one other person. With all these abilities and her deep connection with Jesus and his divine love she became canonized on March 12, 1622.

Her love for Christ had her become a Saint. She often showed humbleness because even with her gift to fly in the air when she prayed, she didn't want people to be amazed by her. Service is another one of her virtues because she served the Lord. Even when she was sick and expected to die she continued to try to pray and serve the Lord the best she could. Also Tolerance is another virtue that she showed in her life, often because after she was very sick and very weak she never blamed the Lord for what happened but instead willingly accepted her life with open arms. With these strengths she became the Saint to go to when you have a headache. For her symbols they are of a book, heart, or a bow or golden heart because of her love and divine connection to Jesus. Her love for Jesus was so strong she floated from time to time.

She is my Saint for confirmation because of her endless love for Christ and all she did for Jesus in her life. Even her sickness did not stop her love for Jesus. With her connection with God she floated when she prayed to him. Although I do not expect to fly when I pray, I want a long lasting love for Jesus in all that I do. To be connected to Jesus like she was is what I would like to try to become in my life. Also she left her faith for some time but came back with open arms. I too would like to always know that I can come back to Jesus with open arms, no matter what happens to me in the future. Her connection to Christ is why she is my hero.