CBB Review: 30 Days with Teresa of Avila

Julie Abell makes her debut this week here at CBB with her review of Dan Burkes’ 30 Days with Teresa of Avila, the third book in his Navigating the Interior Life Series. I reviewed the second book in the series Finding God Through Meditation in May 2015. Read on to see what Julie though about this one.

I cannot remember, since it has been about a year, why I picked this book up off the shelf at my local Catholic bookstore, A & B Religious Store, but I am very glad I did.  Maybe it was the fact that it was about St. Teresa of Avila of whom I knew very little or maybe it was because it dealt with navigating the interior life of which I am always focused on.  Regardless, 30 Days with Teresa of Avila by Daniel Burke and Anthony Lilles is now one of those books I have on my shelf that I can never give away because 1) I know I will read it many more times, and 2) it is underlined extensively with numerous comments like “ah, Yes!” and “ugh!” in the margins.

In a culture such as ours, where the overall sentiment seems to be that we are under assault from every possible angle, the saint’s 30 letters that the authors use to express her wisdom demonstrate that she and her receiver “are on a dangerous mission together.” St. Teresa of Avila “ leads them across the waves and storms of all kinds of interior and exterior trials, around traps laid by political intrigue and potential for self-deception, and straight into a life and death struggle with the titanic cultural forces of her time and demonic powers of darkness.”  In short, things really haven’t changed all that much and, therefore, I could relate.

Each day starts with an excerpt from a letter St. Teresa wrote along with the date, the recipient, and a succinct description of the overall theme of the letter.  What follows then is a reflection, by the authors, on the wisdom that can be gleaned from St. Teresa’s words.  Where St. Teresa’s medieval writing style may be cumbersome, the authors pick apart the lessons of the letter and deliver an excellent analysis of what we can take away to use in our lives.

Here are some gems that I underlined that really spoke to me:  “How important it is to remind ourselves that the secret of serving the Lord has so little to do with the success of the programs we are involved in!” And “The secret of witnessing to the presence of the Lord instead is love.” And finally, “God withholds Himself from no one who perseveres.”

One who is seriously pursuing the goal of becoming a saint cannot go wrong with adding this book to their list of “must reads.”  It is a book that you will return to time and again and will always uncover new bits of wisdom to add to your travel bag as you journey through this life.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Julie Abell joined the Catholic Book Blogger in April 2016. She is a homeschooling mom of three. Additionally, Julie is a former Army MP.  Julie also is an avid reader that already enthusiastically recommends great Catholic books to her friends and family and is eager to get the word out to rest of the world.