What's In A Name? by Sr. Margie McGuire

Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Jesus, John of the Cross, and Elizabeth of the Trinity.

On October 15th we celebrate the feast of Teresa of Avila whose teachings on prayer have earned her the title of Doctor of the Church. Teresa insisted that all prayer be centered on the humanity of Jesus. There is a wonderful story rooted in tradition that reveals the intimacy of her relationship with the Incarnate Word. It seems that one day when she was caught up in an ecstasy of prayer, the risen Lord asked her: "Who are you?" She answered, "I am Teresa of Jesus. And who are you?" Christ answered, "I am Jesus of Teresa."

In Carmelite spirituality there is an ancient custom of choosing a name which uniquely expresses our personal relationship to the Mysteries of the Faith. Thus we have people like Teresa of Jesus, John of the Cross, and Elizabeth of the Trinity.

St. Therese, whose feast day is October 1, chose two mysteries as the focus of her religious life: Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. Her spiritual doctrine of holiness, called the “Little Way,” is deceptively simple, for it is not easy to surrender our opinion in small matters or to sacrifice our cherished way of doing things. Therese loved a painting she had seen of “Veronica’s Veil” depicting the suffering face of Christ. This devotion led her to combine her child-like approach to sanctity with a heroic charity that comes to full maturity only in the way of the cross. The short but spiritually intense life of Therese bears testimony to the integrity of her chosen name in Carmel and to the fruitfulness of these mysteries of faith at work in her.

I leave each of you, therefore, with the following questions. In keeping with the spirit of Carmel, what new name would you choose for yourself? What mystery of the faith has been central to your life-journey in Christ? And if the risen Lord were to ask you today, “Who are you?” How would you answer?