St. Teresa of Ávila, or Saint Teresa of Jesus, was born on March 28, 1515, in Spain and was canonized in 1622.
A significant figure in the Roman Catholic Church, she was renowned for her spiritual writings and as a reformer of the Carmelite order.
Her efforts emphasized returning to the austerity and contemplative nature of early Carmelite life.
Despite facing health challenges and a brief period of spiritual struggle, she initiated the Carmelite Reform in 1562, facing much opposition.
Her reforms gained support from figures like John Baptist Rossi and St. John of the Cross.
She founded 17 convents, but her efforts sparked a jurisdictional dispute between different Carmelite factions.
However, in 1579, with King Philip II’s aid, the Carmelites of the Primitive Rule achieved independent jurisdiction.
Teresa’s notable writings include “The Way of Perfection”, “The Interior Castle” and her autobiographical “Life of the Mother Teresa of Jesus”. Many of her poems and letters remain extant today.
Below you will find the most inspiring quotes by Saint Teresa of Avila.
Best Saint Teresa of Avila Quotes
Thank God for the things that I do not own. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Pain is never permanent. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God. ~ St. Teresa of Avila.
What a great favor God does to those He places in the company of good people! ~ Teresa of Ávila.
Never affirm anything unless you are sure it is true. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
If this is the way You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few! ~ Teresa of Ávila.
What a miserable life is this! There is no happiness that is secure and nothing that does not change. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
All times are dangerous times. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
If you fall sometimes, you must not be discouraged. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
True perfection consists in the love of God and our neighbor, and the better we keep both these commandments, the more perfect we shall be. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Prayer is a friendly conversation with the One we know loves us. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Everything seems to me to pass so quickly that we must concentrate on how to die rather than on how to live. How sweet it is to die if one has lived on the Cross with Christ. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Anyone who truly loves God travels securely. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes with which Christ looks out his compassion to the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Hope, O my soul, hope. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience turns a very short time into a long one. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Famous Saint Teresa of Avila Quotes
It is a dangerous thing to be satisfied with ourselves. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Never exaggerate, but express your feelings with moderation. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
I have always had this failing – that I cannot explain myself, as I have said, except at the cost of many words. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
May nothing wind you up, nothing affright you; everything comes and goes. God, still, just there; through patience all will be achieved. If you have God, you lack nothing: God alone will do. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
For pity’s sake, don’t start meeting troubles halfway. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Every part of the journey is of importance to the whole. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Before prayer, endeavor to realize whose Presence you are approaching, and to whom you are about to speak. We can never fully understand how we ought to behave towards God, before whom the angels tremble. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
After you die, you wear what you are. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Top Saint Teresa of Avila Quotes
Always think of yourself as everyone’s servant; look for Christ Our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for them all. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
The surest way to determine whether one possesses the love of God is to see whether he or she loves his or her neighbor. These two loves are never separated. Rest assured, the more you progress in love of neighbor the more your love of God will increase. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Let nothing disturb thee, let nothing affright thee. All things are passing. Patience obtains all things. He who has God has everything – God alone suffices. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Love draws forth love. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Patience obtains everything. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
I would never want any prayer that would not make the virtues grow within me. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
In a state of grace, the soul is like a well of limpid water, from which flow only streams of clearest crystal. Its works are pleasing both to God and man, rising from the River of Life, beside which it is rooted like a tree. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
We may speak of love and humility as the true flowers of spiritual growth; and they give off a wonderful scent, which benefits all those who come near. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Be gentle to all and stern with yourself. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
If we plant a flower or a shrub and water it daily it will grow so tall that in time we shall need a spade and a hoe to uproot it. It is just so, I think, when we commit a fault, however small, each day, and do not cure ourselves of it. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Popular Saint Teresa of Avila Quotes
I fully realize that this gratitude of mine is not in the least a sign of perfection: it must be my nature – I could be suborned with a sardine… ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
In all created things discern the providence and wisdom of God, and in all things give Him thanks. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Don’t be curious of matters that don’t concern you; never speak of them, and don’t ask about them. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Teach by works more than words. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
The closer one approaches to God, the simpler one becomes. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Truth suffers, but never dies. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Great Saint Teresa of Avila Quotes
Humility must always be doing its work like a bee making honey in the hive: without humility all will be lost. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
All things must come to its roots from where it is planted. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
God is even kinder than you think. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Ah, how true it is that we love ourselves too much and proceed with too much human prudence, that we may not lose an atom of our consideration! Oh, what a great mistake that is! The Saints did not act thus. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
However much we do to avoid them, we shall never lack crosses in this life if we are in the ranks of the Crucified. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Souls without prayer are like bodies, palsied and lame, having hands and feet they cannot use. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
I know the power obedience has of making things easy which seem impossible. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Powerful Saint Teresa of Avila Quotes
Consider seriously how quickly people change, and how little trust is to be had in them; and hold fast to God, Who does not change. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
The tree that is beside the running water is fresher and gives more fruit. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
From heaven even the most miserable life will look like one bad night at an inconvenient hotel. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Don’t let your sins turn into bad habits. ~ St. Teresa of Avila.
Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
He who has God finds he is lacking nothing. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Out of suffering comes the serious mind; out of salvation, the grateful heart; out of endurance, fortitude; out of deliverance faith. Patient endurance attends to all things. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Oh, my Lord! How true it is that whoever works for you is paid in troubles! And what a precious price to those who love you if we understand its value. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
May God protect me from gloomy saints. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Spiritual Saint Teresa of Avila Quotes
The saints rejoiced at injuries and persecutions, because in forgiving them they had something to present to God when they prayed to Him. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Reflect upon the providence and wisdom of God in all created things and praise Him in them all. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Settle yourself in solitude, and you will come upon God in yourself. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
I made you, dear, and all I make is perfect. Please come close, for I desire you. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. Everything passes away except God. God alone is sufficient. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
God has no hands or feet or voice except ours and through these He works. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Prayer is an act of love. Words are not needed. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Love turns work into rest. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Any real ecstasy is a sign you are moving in the right direction. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Never compare one person with another: comparisons are odious. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
How is it, Lord, that we are cowards in everything save in opposing thee? ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Those seeking the life of the spirit should be cheerful and free, and not neglect recreation. Married people must act in conformity with their vocation – but their progress will of necessity be but the pace of a hen. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
What peace can we hope to find elsewhere if we have none within us. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
God never changes; Patient endurance Attains to all things; Who God possesses In nothing is wanting; Alone God suffices. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth will be seen to be no more serious than one night in an inconvenient hotel. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
We need no wings to go in search of Him, but have only to look upon Him present within us. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Souls who do not practice prayer are like people whose limbs are paralyzed. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
In order that love be fully satisfied, It is necessary that It lower Itself and that It lower Itself to nothingness and transform this nothingness into fire. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Ultimate Saint Teresa of Avila Quotes
It is a great folly to be willing to violate the friendship of God, rather than the law of human friendship. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Life is a night spent in an uncomfortable inn. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Don’t imagine that, if you had a great deal of time, you would spend more of it in prayer. Get rid of that idea; it is no hindrance to prayer to spend your time well. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
A slight failing in one virtue is enough to put all the others to sleep. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
It is love alone that gives worth to all things. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
The important thing is not to think much but to love much; do, then, whatever most arouses you to love. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
If we practice love of neighbor with great perfection, we will have done everything. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
From silly devotions and from sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
It constantly happens that the Lord permits a soul to fall so that it may grow humbler. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
Let us remember that within us there is a palace of immense magnificence. ~ Saint Teresa of Avila.
So these were the 99 top Saint Teresa of Avila quotes and sayings.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Nicholas Sparks quotes and Neal A. Maxwell quotes.
