Nor must you expect to find here a complete exposition on the subject of Teresa's personal poverty. This will be referred to in passing when it seems necessary, Moreover, the saint's conception of what the personal poverty of a Carmelite should be will be dealt with when we come to community poverty.

Here, then, is our theme: what was the Foundress's view of poverty for her monasteries? Certainly it would be very interesting if we could study the very heart of the Teresian spirit of poverty, drawing it out from its economic, social, political, religious and spiritual context in the Spain of that time. However, our scope cannot extend so far, and in any case, excellent studies have been made on this subject in recent years, on which we will draw when occasion offers.

What actually interests us is the prevailing spirit in which Teresa treated different questions pertaining to poverty, and even more, the concrete solutions she offered, in the setting of the social, economic and religious conditions of her time. A case in point would be the question of endowments and alms. This is all the more important in view of the fact that, in most countries of today's world, it is impossible to keep literally to the concrete dispositions laid down by the saint for the communities she founded.

However, it is no use approaching the matter in an abstract manner if we wish to understand perfectly her spirit of poverty, for she never regarded it from this point of view, even when dealing with it from a doctrinal angle. Even her theoretical explanations have to be seen in the setting of her time.

Our theme, then, is this: what are the important spiritual orientations of St Teresa with regard to poverty which, removed from their sixteenth century context, are still valid for her daughters of the twenty-first century?

I. WHAT DO WE UNDERSTAND BY "APOSTOLIC POVERTY?

We believe that a good way to get at what is original and essential ­ and also what is most actual, in the Teresian concept of poverty, is to look at what we may call its "apostolic" bent. What do we mean by this expression?

In modern terms, this word can have a double significance. In the first, and wider sense, the word apostolic applies to all that is involved in the divine work of salvation. The second meaning ­ understood above all of the earliest Christianity ­ refers to the lifestyle of Christ's Apostles. In this sense, the word apostolic describes a person or community, living a life which imitates that of the Apostles.

The word apostolic, along with the word evangelic, seem rarely to occur in Saint Teresa's writings. However, it seems possible to demonstrate satisfactorily that the reality described by this word, in both the meanings we have just explained, is found frequently in her writings when the saint speaks of poverty; and that the harmonisation of the two meanings of the word apostolic gives us the key to the Teresian thought on this evangelical counsel.

To sum up, we can say: we can find in the first meaning of the word apostolic, in that it refers to the salvation of the world, the ultimate end proposed by Saint Teresa for her daughters in their practice of poverty: if they are willing to accept the state of poverty, it is in order to cooperate in the divine work of salvation. The poverty of a Carmelite is a means for the apostolate.

The second meaning of the word indicates the manner in which this poverty is lived, its proper style: so that this poverty can be an efficacious instrument of salvation, it must approximate as nearly as possible to that which Christ counselled for his Apostles, inviting them to put it into practice.

1. To be poor like the Apostles in order to "aid" Christ in the work of salvation.

a) There is not the slightest doubt that the ultimate aim of the form of life proposed by Teresa for her sisters has an essentially apostolic aim, in the first sense of the word. It is enough to reread the beginning of the Way of Perfection in order to be convinced of this. For Teresa, the contemplative life of Carmel is a way of working for the salvation of souls, as she says in the Way: "And when your prayers, desires, disciplines and fasts are not directed towards obtaining these things I mentioned, reflect on how you are not accomplishing or fulfilling the purpose for which the Lord brought you together"⁽²⁾. Quite definitely, then, it is in the light of this apostolic end that we have to see the decisions taken by Teresa in ordering the life of the new Carmel.

b) The only means the saint can offer to the sisters in order to attain this objective, are those of the contemplative life, which Teresa sums up in the one thing ­ prayer. Prayer which, understood in this sense and realised with this end in view, cannot be other than apostolic, that is, praise and intercession.

c) This intercession, in order to be truly efficacious for the salvation of the world, must be a living intercession, as St Paul said to the Christians: "Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God"⁽³⁾. Put in another way, if Carmelite prayer is to be heard by God, it must proceed from a will united with the will of God in the depths of its being. It is necessary that the whole of life should be a response to the divine will. Its sole preoccupation should be the constant research for the best way to please God.

d) The sisters have an infallible way of achieving this objective, "we know the path by which we must please God, which is that of the commandments and counsels"⁽⁴⁾. In consequence, the more they strive to be faithful to the counsels of Christ, the more pleasing they will be to God, and so the more likely it will be that their prayer will be heard, and so they will be able to do more for the salvation of souls. Here we have Teresa's motive - the principle behind all her foundational activity ­ when, seeing herself incapable of doing anything else for the salvation of souls, she determined to "follow the evangelical counsels as perfectly as I could and strive that these few persons who live here do the same"⁽⁵⁾.

e) For Teresa, it is clear that the counsel, par excellence, is that of poverty; so much so, that the expression Christ's counsels, rarely used otherwise, is explicitly used, in at least three cases, to denote the counsel of poverty alone. These texts are so important that it seems best to quote them in full. The first two are to be found in chapter 35 of the Life and refer to the decision which St Teresa was so determined about, that she herself and the sisters of St Joseph's of Avila, should observe absolute poverty, in total renunciation of all endowments: "it would have been a great pleasure for me to think I was keeping the counsels of Christ, our Lord". "I answered him (Father Ibañez), that I didn't want to benefit from theology if it wasn't conducive to my following my vocation, my vow of poverty and the counsels of Christ with total perfection"⁽⁶⁾. The other text is in the second chapter of the Way of Perfection where she deals precisely with the perfection of poverty. Teresa encourages the sisters to practise it, showing them what they should think about it, they should not look for any other reward than this: "If we should do nothing else but what the Lord counselled us to do, the pay of just being able in some way to imitate Him would be great"⁽⁷⁾.

2) What is the content of the style of poverty lived by the Apostles?

It consists in being essentially inspired by the counsels Christ gave to them during his life on earth. Now, these counsels given them by Christ, have their beginning in his own practice. Consequently, apostolic poverty, in the second sense of the word, is definitely no other than imitation of the poverty practised by Christ himself. He, being rich, made himself poor for the salvation of all. So, those who would aid him in this work of salvation of the world must make themselves poor as he was. In taking Christ as model, this means choosing a manner of life as much like that of the Apostles as possible. In concrete, this meant for Teresa a return to the primitive Rule of Carmel, which was established precisely in a type of poverty totally apostolic.

a) Imitation of the poverty of Christ

On two occasions Teresa establishes an explicit union between this and the practice of the evangelical counsels, that is, between poverty and the imitation of Christ. In the first text she shows us the absolute incompatibility existing between the practice of the counsels of Christ and attachment to points of honour, one of the most pernicious forms that riches can take. Let us listen to her, "We are striving to be joined with God through union, and we seek to follow his counsels coming from Christ, who was weighed down by injuries and testimonies against him, and we desire our honour and credit to remain intact? It's not possible to reach this union, for we aren't taking the same road"⁽⁸⁾. The second text is to be found in the second redaction of the Way of Perfection in the Valladolid manuscript. We have just quoted it from the Escorial manuscript when speaking of the counsel of poverty. The second redaction adds these few words: "There is great reward in imitating His Majesty in something"⁽⁹⁾.

The first of the two texts, on the other hand, shows us how deep we have to go before we can really grasp in all its strength and truth, the poverty of Jesus Christ. He was poor, not only because he lived in material poverty, but because he was humiliated and despised. In the poor Jesus, Teresa could see him whom the Scripture names as the Servant of God. In him is summed up and brought to its greatest perfection all the justice and holiness of the Poor of Yahweh, above all, of Mary, the mother of Jesus and queen of the anawim. On the occasion of the Toledo foundation, Jesus said to Teresa, "You will grow very foolish, daughter, if you look at the world's laws. Fix your eyes on me, poor and despised by the world"⁽¹⁰⁾.

Jesus was poor from the first moment of his conception in the womb of his mother, Mary: "More. What a marvel it is that he who could fill a thousand worlds with his greatness, should enclose himself in so tiny a place (as the palace of my soul). In the same way he shut himself up in the womb of his most holy mother"⁽¹¹⁾. Afterwards, he willed to be born in Bethlehem in the most complete destitution⁽¹²⁾. Teresa loved to talk to her daughters about the profound mystery of the poverty of his mother, the hardness of the manger, the bitterness of the weather and the lack of all convenience in the stable⁽¹³⁾. The delightful pages should not be missed in which she describes the Presentation in the Temple, "However, Simeon did not see more in the glorious Child than what would lead him to take him for a little pilgrim, the child of poor parents, rather than the Son of the Heavenly Father.."⁽¹⁴⁾. During his public life, Christ had nowhere to lay his head, and often had to be content with sleeping under the stars⁽¹⁵⁾. But Christ's poverty reaches its culminating point when he dies on the Cross, stripped of everything and abandoned by all⁽¹⁶⁾. This mystery is marvellously prolonged in the Eucharist⁽¹⁷⁾.

b) Imitation of the poverty of the Apostles

The Apostles were the first to imitate Christ as they put into practice the counsels of poverty he had taught them. They therefore offer us a perfect example, inspired directly by Christ, of every form of communitarian life which claims to base itself on the poverty of the Gospel.

They and their followers constituted the new Israel, the true Poor of Yahweh. They too, like their Master, had been humiliated and rejected: "Oh illustrious race!" cried Teresa, "Open your eyes for the love of God; behold that the true knights of Jesus Christ and the princes of His Church, a St Peter and a St Paul, did not follow the road you follow. Do you think perhaps there will be a new road for you? Do not believe it"⁽¹⁸⁾. The saint, still thinking about them and the Carmelites wrote, "God should not be willing to honour us like great lords of this world, but like the little poor ones ­ such as were the Apostles so there is no need to bother about it"⁽¹⁹⁾. Saint Peter, the head of the apostolic college, was no more than a simple Galilean fisherman⁽²⁰⁾. Saint Paul worked for his living⁽²¹⁾. As with the rich young man, Jesus commands his disciples to leave everything in order to follow him⁽²²⁾. He asked them to abandon themselves without any reserve to divine Providence in all that concerned material needs⁽²³⁾. In conformity with the counsel of Christ the primitive Church held all its goods in common, sharing them among themselves in such a way that no one suffered want⁽²⁴⁾.

c) The "apostolic" poverty of the Primitive Rule

Referring to the necessity for reform in which the religious Orders found themselves, Teresa gives us the key to interpret her own foundations: "At least there would be offered an image of what Christ and his Apostles suffered, since now more than ever such an image is needed"⁽²⁵⁾. She found this image perfectly sketched out in the Rule of Carmel, especially in what it says with relation to poverty, the renunciation of all ownership⁽²⁶⁾; the obligation laid on all to work with their own hands to earn their bread⁽²⁷⁾; the explicit reference to the teaching and example of St Paul⁽²⁸⁾; and the obligation to hold all things in common⁽²⁹⁾.

That is the kind of poverty Teresa wanted to see flourish in her monasteries. As in other matters, she did not propose to her sisters anything that was not already to be found in the primitive Rule. There was to be found an exact blueprint for "apostolic" poverty, necessary for them if their prayers were to be heard: "For if we strive to observe our rule and constitutions very carefully, I hope in the Lord that our prayers will be heard. I am not beseeching you to do something new, my daughters, but only that we observe what we profess; to observe this is our vocation⁽³⁰⁾. For Teresa there was an absolute correspondence between the two formulas ­ "to follow the evangelical counsels as perfectly as I could"⁽³¹⁾ and "Keeping my rule as perfectly as I could"⁽³²⁾.

What, in concrete terms, does this mean for Carmelites? This is the point we will examine now with utmost care.

II.­ THE BASIC FUNDAMENTAL: ABSOLUTE ABANDONMENT TO DIVINE PROVIDENCE

The heart of the "counsel" of poverty given by Christ to his Apostles lies in the invitation to entrust themselves unconditionally to Divine Providence in all that concerned their material maintenance, without anxiety and with absolute confidence: "Do not worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and what you are to wear... It is the gentiles who set their hearts on all these things...Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God's saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well⁽³³⁾.

Teresa alludes twice to this passage of the Gospel, as the basis for her understanding of poverty; once, when speaking of her own personal life⁽³⁴⁾ and again when applying it to Carmelites⁽³⁵⁾. It can even be said that it formed the basis of all her thought. It is something constantly reaffirmed in her writing. It is like a refrain, echoing the Gospel, an affirmation which condenses into a few words her whole manner of understanding poverty: "So, if you give yourself wholly to God, as I have said, taking no care of yourself, he will take care of you and never fail you"⁽³⁶⁾. "If they strive with all their might to please the Lord, His Majesty will keep them from want"⁽³⁷⁾.

Although in the first place, the detachment Teresa is demanding depends on an attitude of faith in Christ's word⁽³⁸⁾ yet the said faith was well supported by experience. She did not hesitate to draw attention to the experience lived through by the sisters of St Joseph's, Avila, in order to strengthen their conviction. The events that accompanied the foundation of this monastery were still very recent. At the beginning the foundation had awakened violent hostility on the part of a great number of the towns-people, furious to find themselves obliged to find food for yet more mouths, when they could barely manage to relieve the necessities of the monasteries already in existence. But later, when tempers had been soothed, their view of these marvellous contemplative sisters changed for reasons not far to seek: "The Lord started to inspire our most vigorous persecutors to show us much favour; and they gave us alms", writes St Teresa⁽³⁹⁾. Referring to these events, the saint invited her sisters to see in them another invitation to abandon themselves with entire confidence to divine Providence: "Your eyes on your Spouse! He will sustain you. Once he is pleased, those least devoted to you will give you food even though they may not want to, as you have seen through experience⁽⁴⁰⁾.

1) Foundation of the attitude of abandonment

Far from daunting Teresa, such things only served to strengthen her unassailable faith in Providence. With respect to what she sometimes called natural reason⁽⁴¹⁾ such an attitude could be called folly, pure and simple. But in reality, when human intelligence allows itself to be enlightened by faith, it cannot see anything in this but supreme wisdom; for it seems so much more reasonable to abandon oneself without condition to the paternal solicitude of the creator of the world.

a) All belongs to God and all comes from him.

By whatever channels the means for our maintenance come to us, it is finally from God that we receive them. As the creator and ruler of the universe he is "richness itself"⁽⁴²⁾. Everything belongs to him. The "proprietors" and "tenants" of this world, are in reality no more than the administrators of the riches of God. He is the Lord of both owners and tenants⁽⁴³⁾. Goods are confided to their administration, to be used for their own maintenance and that of their families, and, once their personal needs are satisfied, anything over and above should go to alleviate the needs of those deprived of the minimum needed to live. So, as administrators they must render account to the owner of the goods confided to them, so the rich will have to render an account to God when they appear before him, who is Lord of all⁽⁴⁴⁾. But it is so easy for people to come to rely on material goods! And, on the other hand, how difficult it is for them to detach themselves from these goods, to donate them to the poor⁽⁴⁵⁾. This is why only God has the power to "touch the heart", to move it to so beautiful a work of compassion. That is why the sisters must never forget to show gratitude to their benefactors, especially by praying for their souls, even though the benefactor par excellence is the Lord himself, to whom they must give thanks, for everything "comes from him"⁽⁴⁶⁾.

The same is true of the bread earned by the sisters themselves by their work, it is still God who gives it: "They should help themselves with the work of their hands, as St Paul did; the Lord will provide what they need⁽⁴⁷⁾.

b) God gives us everything we need

This has its foundation in what Saint Therese of the Child Jesus would call with the greatest simplicity "God's nature", a nature revealed in detail by Jesus either in his words (the Sermon on the Mount) or by the example of his own life.

­ His love. The whole of Teresa's thought is profoundly with the idea of the infinite solicitude of the Creator for all his creatures, and especially those who, like the Carmelites, have no other desire than to "seek first the kingdom of God and his justice", and to fulfil in all things the will of his Son. He is the heavenly Father, full of tenderness for all his children: "He has to console us in our trials. He has to sustain us in the way a father like this must. For, in effect, he must be better than all the fathers in the world because in Him everything must be faultless"⁽⁴⁸⁾. The same must be said of Christ, whose will is one with the Father's. Teresa attributes to Christ ­ as to his Father ­ the role of looking after the needs of all people, and in particular, of Carmelites. Is he not their Spouse, for whom they have left all things: parents, riches, honours, friends? "Well now, daughters, your Spouse never take his eyes off you"⁽⁴⁹⁾. It is his business to see that they have all that is necessary: "Your eyes on your Spouse! He will sustain you"⁽⁵⁰⁾. "Leave this care, as has been amply pointed out, to your Spouse; he will care for you always"⁽⁵¹⁾.

­ His wisdom. As he is Wisdom Himself⁽⁵²⁾, he knows better than we do what are our needs⁽⁵³⁾, and the best means of providing for them. The sisters of San José, deprived of a regular income and the security this would give, might find themselves tempted to turn their eyes towards those who had possessions, and by "human artifices", seek to attract their benevolence to take pity on them. The saint warns them of this: "Indeed, your worrying won't make the other change his thinking, nor will it inspire him with the idea to give alms. Leave this worrying to the One who can move all, for he is the Lord of money and of those who earn money"⁽⁵⁴⁾.

­ His omnipotence. Elsewhere St Teresa uses the comparison of a Lord and a servant. She thinks of some human master who is good and just to his servant. If things are so, she says, it is enough for the servant to please his master in everything, without any anxiety whatsoever about his own maintenance: this is exclusively the master's business. Carmelites should be of the same mind in respect to the Lord. Though Teresa, with reference to the above example adds: "unless the master is so poor that he doesn't have enough either for himself or for his servant. In our case it isn't so; the Master always is, and will be, rich and powerful"⁽⁵⁵⁾.

­ Faithful to his promises. Jesus has revealed to us, in the Sermon on the Mount, the likeness of the heavenly Father, who takes care of his children, never allowing them to lack for anything necessary for their livelihood. Teresa continues: "His words are true; they cannot fail; rather, heaven and earth will fail. Let us not fail him⁽⁵⁶⁾.

2. True meaning of the attitude of abandonment

For fear of erroneous interpretation, Teresa made every effort to present her thought with clarity, showing how this unconditional abandonment to Providence ought to be understood and particularly, how it should be lived.

a) We quote two texts which are particularly enlightening in this respect. The first, taken from the first Spiritual Testimony (1560) refers to her personal life. She confides to her confessor that "It doesn't seem a year has yet passed since the Lord has given me this freedom"⁽⁵⁷⁾ with respect to any anxiety about the material maintenance of the monastery of the Incarnation; and how she desired to imitate as perfectly as possible the saints of other times in their abandonment to Providence. "I should like to find someone who would help me believe this, and not have to worry about what I must eat and wear, but be able to abandon that to God⁽⁵⁸⁾. Rereading these words later on, Teresa was afraid she had not made herself sufficiently clear. For this reason she added the following words in the margin so as to express precisely her thought on a matter of capital importance: "It shouldn't be thought that this abandonment to God in necessities means I don't try to procure them, but I mean I don't do so with a concern that makes me worry"⁽⁵⁹⁾.

The other text applies more generally and is more concerned with the very essence of what she called poverty of spirit⁽⁶⁰⁾. It is found only in the first redaction of the Way of Perfection. Here, Teresa is speaking about people living in the world, who, by the sole fact of having given themselves to a life of prayer, think they have reached true poverty, when their everyday conduct shows quite the reverse, as they get excited and troubled if any of their material interests seem at risk. In this instance, the saint gives us a magnificent definition of spiritual poverty, one both profound and balanced: "I don't say that he should give everything up but that he should strive to know whether what he is doing is good or not. For the truly poor person holds these things in so little esteem that, though for some reason he obtains them, they are never the cause of disturbance; he never thinks he will be in want. And if he does lack something, he doesn't care much; he considers this an accessory and not the main thing. Since he has higher thoughts, only reluctantly does he become involved with money"⁽⁶¹⁾.

b) How is abandonment to be understood?

If any doubt existed, these two texts would do away with any risk of equivocation. To abandon oneself without reserve to divine Providence means:

­ To do all that depends on oneself. True abandonment can never mean carelessness, lack of foresight, lack of effort, an irresponsible and childish attitude, passivity, laziness or parasitism. "God helps those who help themselves". The one who is truly poor does not from on high despise material goods. The saint knows we need them in order to live. "To do all that depends on oneself" simply means: We do not risk lacking what is necessary through our own negligence or laziness; we do our humble best to collaborate in the merciful and compassionate action of the heavenly Father who gives food to the smallest of the birds. This means that divine Providence does not dispense us from working in these two ways ­ using foresight and effort to earn our daily bread. Here we touch on the very heart of Teresian thought, the balance of which demands the greatest respect, while we admire its depth and coherence.

­ We must never be anxious. There is one kind of anxiety which is a good thing, and another which is bad. The good kind encourages search for "the true goods", the "true riches", that is to say, "the Kingdom of God and his justice". Speaking to Jesus, Teresa says, "O Wealth of the poor, how admirably you know how to sustain souls!"⁽⁶²⁾ This is the hidden treasure we must search for with all our strength, never wearying⁽⁶³⁾, and which, when found, will make us die with its sweetness⁽⁶⁴⁾. This is the good we must desire, not only for ourselves but for everyone, and particularly for those, rich or poor, who attach themselves to material goods, and risk separating themselves from the good worthy to be desired: that of the soul. The bad kind of anxiety leads to searching eagerly and with inner excitement for material riches, either necessary or superfluous. This comes from a lack of faith of two different kinds. In the first place, importance is given to that which deserves none; and secondly, a more or less voluntary forgetfulness of the promise of the heavenly Father never to abandon his children: "The truly poor person holds these things in so little esteem that, though for some reason he obtains them, they are never the cause of disturbance; he never thinks he will be in want. And if he does lack something, he doesn't care much..."⁽⁶⁵⁾.

In practice, this means for Carmelites that they should be content with what God sends them, for he knows better than anyone what is necessary for them. The thing they must seek before all others is that interior peace, so necessary for the contemplative life.

III. ­ THE QUESTION OF ENDOWMENTS, AN "APOSTOLIC" QUESTION

Saint Teresa asked the Superior charged with the visitation of her convents to investigate "in detail about the ration of food the nuns are given and about how they are treated, especially the sick, and he should see to it that the needs of the nuns are sufficiently taken care of⁽⁶⁶⁾. We find her constantly preoccupied with this point: that each one of the sisters should have all she needed for her maintenance. The problem she left them, as regards what was necessary was to reconcile the two demands we have just explained: unconditional abandonment to divine Providence together with the obligation to do everything possible to see that all could live decently.

The question becomes especially acute when it comes to dealing with the finding of a formula on which the whole maintenance of the monastery could rest. How is it to be assured of the minimum of material security necessary to it? There were two formulas to solve this problem to be found among the existing religious houses of her time.

One ­ which we can call the "current one" and which would be canonised by the Council of Trent in its decree De Regularibus⁽⁶⁷⁾ a year after the foundation of St Joseph's, Avila: the monastery should have an income, that is, principally derived from land and rural properties whose products provide the community with a living, so long as the number of religious does not exceed the number that could be provided for. This applied very much to the Incarnation, whose resources could not supply a reasonable diet for more than a third of the sisters! What happened then? Everyone had to manage as she could with results easy to imagine: deficiencies in the practice of poverty, inequality among the sisters, and their recollection continually disturbed. The solution offered by a settled income is relatively simple: it is necessary that it should be proportionate to the number of religious. Then they can live in peace.

The other solution was that adopted by the reform movement among the Franciscans, Capuchins and Observants. In Spain it was principally represented by St Peter of Alcantara who explained it in a fiery letter to St Teresa which is a jewel of the spiritual literature on poverty⁽⁶⁸⁾. This solution might be termed radical in its method, in that it involved the voluntary renunciation of all form of endowment or material security, trusting in God alone for the food which he would never fail to provide.

1) Variations adopted by Teresa

It is impossible here to give a detailed history of this question, so well known and arousing so much feeling that it deserves a study of its own. Here we can give only the most salient features.

Until 1568 Teresa thought it impossible for her monasteries to adopt any other formula than that of St Peter of Alcantara for his Discalced Friars: that is, the radical one of absolute poverty and the renunciation of all income. She found to her great satisfaction, early in 1562, that this formula was observed by the Order of Carmel in its beginnings⁽⁶⁹⁾. The first Constitutions of Avila bear the marks of this decision: "Let them live always on alms and without any income"⁽⁷⁰⁾.

From 1568 on, with the foundation at Malagon, she accepted, though not without some reservation, the principle of endowments for foundations made in small towns, places too poor for them to be able to count on a sufficient amount in alms. But she went on founding monasteries in absolute poverty whenever this was possible in practice, in the great cities.

A little more than a year before her death she wrote to Fr Gracián to give him instructions regarding the Constitutions which were to be approved at the Carmelite Chapter of Alcalá soon to take place. One of these instructions was concerned precisely with the evolution which had taken place in the matter of endowments from the beginning of the foundations: "In our Constitutions it says they should be founded in poverty, without endowments. As now it seems they are all in the way of having them, see if it would be better to take that out, and everything on this point in the Constitutions, lest anyone seeking them should think there has been a very rapid relaxation, and as the Father Commissary says that as the Council allows them, they should have them"⁽⁷¹⁾. In the event, the Alcalá Constitutions corresponded with the saint's wishes: "They are to live on alms without any income in convents that are located in rich and profitable places, where they can be supported; and in places where they cannot be sustained by alms alone, they may have an income in common⁽⁷²⁾.

Of the sixteen monasteries founded by St Teresa, nine were in absolute poverty (Avila, Medina del Campo, Valladolid, Toledo, Salamanca, Segovia, Seville, Palencia and Burgos) and six had endowments (Malagon, Pastrana, Alba de Tormes, Beas, Caravaca, Villanueva de la Jara and Soria).

2) "Apostolic" reasons behind Teresa's variations

Although it may seem paradoxical, it is, nevertheless, possible to affirm that the same reasons governed St Teresa's choice in whichever of the two systems she adopted: they were always essentially apostolic. We can here recall her stand on this matter ­ a marked preference for the principle of absolute poverty coupled with serene acceptance of endowments when no other course was feasible. In either case, the criterion was the same: the salvation of souls. When possible, it was preferable, for the sake of the salvation of souls, to found without endowment; but where this was not possible, the same apostolic objective demanded the sacrifice of what, in itself, would be more perfect.

a) Why did Teresa prefer the principle

of absolute poverty

We must begin by establishing the fact and the scope of this preference. In the first place, it is evident that the saint preferred absolute poverty in all that concerned herself, personally. The following text from her Life is sufficient evidence, representing as it does, the evolution of her thought in this field, "Had I been alone it wouldn't have held me back either little or much; rather, it would have been a great pleasure for me to think I was keeping the counsels of Christ, our Lord, since His Majesty had already given me great desires for poverty. Thus I didn't doubt that poverty was the best thing for me, because for a long time I had been desiring that it would be possible for me to go begging for love of God and not have a house or anything"⁽⁷³⁾. The same thought is expressed in the first two of her Spiritual Testimonies⁽⁷⁴⁾.

But what about her sisters? In the beginning she hesitated: "But I feared that if the Lord didn't give the others these desires, their lives would be unhappy"⁽⁷⁵⁾. These last words contain a whole theology of charism. Teresa was certain of having received from God the desire to live in an apostolic manner, as poor as possible; but she was not certain of this charism being transmitted to her sisters. This is why she had recourse to "learned" and "spiritual" men. The opinion of St Peter of Alcantara attracted her much more than that of the "wise" Ibañez⁽⁷⁶⁾. The "learned" man, however, soon cam around to the opinion of the "spiritual". The foundress had made her decision: the monastery would renounce all income and live in complete confidence in Providence. Avila, Medina del Campo, and Valladolid were all founded in conformity with this principle.

But can it not be said that after 1568 and the foundation of Malagón, things began to change? To this, the following answer can be given: it is true that from this time there was a noticeable change in the saint's thinking, but it would be untrue to say that there was a substantial transformation. Fr Bañez' advice, the experience she had acquired and her reflection on this, permitted some attenuation in the somewhat rigorous view she had had to begin with, strictly inspired by St Peter of Alcantara, that "true lover of poverty"⁽⁷⁷⁾. But it would be an exaggeration to speak of a "victory" of the "theologians" and the "learned" over the "spiritual". In fact, Teresa still considered it preferable to found without settled income whenever this was possible, even though it might mean having to confront greater difficulties or opposition from the ecclesiastical authorities, as almost always happened⁽⁷⁸⁾. Above all we have this categorical statement of the saint which permits no doubt whatsoever about what she preferred: "In founding many monasteries in poverty, without an income, I never lack courage or confidence; I am certain that God will not fail them. In founding them with an income that is small, everything fails me; I find it better that they not be founded"⁽⁷⁹⁾.

Now we come to the basic question: how explain this preference of Teresa's? It is because the renunciation of endowments is more perfect in itself (better for "keeping the counsels of Christ")⁽⁸⁰⁾. Doubtless, to be without income is more in conformity with the Rule of Carmel and more perfect⁽⁸¹⁾, not only for Teresa personally, but for the rest of her sisters. Faced with the arguments of her theologian friends, which at times came near to convincing her, the contemplation of Christ on the cross was enough to dissipate all her doubts: "I returned to prayer and contemplating Christ on the cross, so poor and so naked, I couldn't patiently accept the idea of being rich. I tearfully begged him to ordain things so that I would see myself poor, as he was⁽⁸²⁾.

However, we must search more deeply into Teresa's thought. Her way of conceiving the radical practice of poverty by the renunciation of any income deserves to be called "apostolic", not only because it resembles more closely the life of the Apostles themselves, loyal in putting into practice the "counsel" of Christ, but in the last analysis, it is more efficacious on the apostolic plane for the salvation of souls. Right, then, the "most perfect" way of following Christ's counsel is precisely that of the saintly Peter of Alcantara and his Franciscan friends; the first hermits on Mount Carmel did the same. The conclusion is clear: this way of life is one that gives the most power over the heart of God in being one that can lead even to heroism. In order to show her sisters just how far they should be prepared to go in the practice of this radical abandonment, Teresa supposes what in point of fact was never to happen: "If in following this advice you should die of hunger, blessed be the nuns of St Joseph's"⁽⁸³⁾! What is the reason for so surprising a blessing? The first redaction of the Way of Perfection supplies it; it is entirely apostolic: "Then, I tell you, your prayers will be acceptable, and we will be doing something of what we claim to do"⁽⁸⁴⁾. This is obviously an "exaggeration" which is no doubt the reason why Teresa omitted it in the second redaction (Valladolid ms.): this shows her great teaching ability.

At the beginning of the Way of Perfection Teresa says, in the most explicit manner, that ultimately, the reason that moved her to choose absolute poverty for her first monastery instead of providing income was of an apostolic nature: the evils taking place in France, "When I began to take the first steps toward founding this monastery....it was not my that there be so much external austerity or that the house have no income; on the contrary, I would have desired the possibility that nothing be lacking...At that time news reached me of the harm being done in France.."⁽⁸⁵⁾ This news, which changed her mind, she received at the beginning of 1562 while staying in the house of her friend Doña Luis de la Cerda in Toledo⁽⁸⁶⁾.

b) Why did Teresa sometimes accept the principle of an income?

Even here we can reply that it was for strictly apostolic reasons. For the same reason that we lingered long over the monastery of Avila ­ the first in the series of convents of "absolute poverty" ­ we now do the same over that of Malagon ­ the first for which she accepted an income, as she later did for Alba de Tormes.

It was Fr Bañez, her confessor, a "learned" man, who did most to influence her thought on this theme of poverty. He intervened twice at a moment of capital importance, when she was questioning whether she should accept a proposed foundation in a thinly populated district, where they could not dream of living on alms, owing to the small number of the population and their great poverty. They are the two towns we have just mentioned. With respect to Malagon, Teresa's first reaction was frankly negative⁽⁸⁷⁾ and at least hesitant in regard to Alba de Tormes⁽⁸⁸⁾, for the same reason each time: "I was not too keen about the idea because the town was a small one, which would make it necessary for us to have an income, and my inclination was not to have one"⁽⁸⁹⁾. Bañez' reaction was the same in both cases: he "reprimanded" the foundress and urged her to accept the proposals made to her. The reasons of this theologian can be reduced to three: 1) The Council of Trent authorized such foundations. Why should she want to be more rigorous than the Council itself? 2) "Whether the monastery had an income or not made little difference in regard to nuns being poor and very perfect⁽⁹⁰⁾. 3) The expansion of the Order is a greater good than the practice of "radical" poverty. "(He told me) ...I shouldn't, because of my own opinion, fail to found a monastery where God could be so much served"⁽⁹¹⁾.

Actually, it was the third reason that had the most effect on Teresa's heart, when it came to deciding whether to found a monastery without income: in the end it was the apostolic argument that counted. To increase as much as possible the number of the "Virgin's dovecots" was to work for the salvation of souls, a work so urgent as to preclude the waste of a single minute. Teresa was ready to sacrifice what would be more perfect in order to further the greater good of the salvation of souls. In a way it was to renounce another renunciation. However, she made three conditions for acceptance:

1) Only to accept an income in cases where it was not possible to do otherwise, that is, in towns so small and poor that they could not provide for the monastery by alms. Here we are dealing with a reason belonging to the social and economic order which demonstrates Teresa's good sense and realism. She had been able to state on various occasions, and especially in Avila that "since the monastery is to be founded in poverty, permission is everywhere difficult to obtain"⁽⁹²⁾ even in great cities where there were a sufficient number of the rich and generous. With the passage of time, this difficulty would grow even to the point that the foundress, nearly at the end of her life, was disposed to refuse the project of a foundation even in so great a city as Pamplona, unless the monastery could be provided with an income⁽⁹³⁾. However, it remains true that Teresa preferred to fact the greatest difficulties, almost always caused by the hostility of bishops ­ as in Seville and Burgos ­ rather than renounce a foundation in absolute poverty, especially in large and populous cities.

2) To do everything possible to ensure that the income should be sufficiently abundant for each monastery, to provide the sisters, especially the sick, with all they needed, without needing to have recourse to relatives and friends, as happened in the monastery of the Incarnation to the great detriment of religious fervour, the family spirit of sharing and contemplative recollection. "For in the case of monasteries founded with an income, my goal always was that they have enough to keep the nuns from dependence on relatives, or on anyone, and that food and clothing and everything necessary be given to them in the house, and that the sick be very well cared for. For when necessities are lacking, many troubles arise"⁽⁹⁴⁾. The Lord himself had promised that in houses for which an income had to be provided, "He would help us so nothing would be lacking"⁽⁹⁵⁾. In a letter dating probably from the end of 1579 or early 1580, St Teresa asks Gracián himself to be very careful to see that the amount of the income should correspond with the cost of living.

3) Apart from the system of having an income, there should be no difference between the monasteries that had them and those that did not. Teresa was most attentive to legislate on this point when dealing with the Malagon foundation: "I made every effort I could so that none of the nuns would possess anything, but that they would observe the constitutions in their entirety as in our other monasteries founded in poverty"⁽⁹⁶⁾. This disposition was to pass integrally into the Alcala Constitutions (1581). (Except for income), "in everything else, there should be no difference between the monasteries that have income and those founded in poverty"⁽⁹⁷⁾.

If all these conditions were complied with, then the word spoken by Our Lord to Teresa would one day be verified: "that those houses I founded in small towns should be like this one, for, by desire, as much could be merited as in the other houses"⁽⁹⁸⁾.

We should examine the contents of this Relation more closely for it gives us the key to the problem of what lay behind Teresa's decision to accept income in small towns. Her motives were essentially missionary. She was grieved to see how these people were left so abandoned as far as Christian life was concerned (for example in Tordillas near Alba de Tormes, or Duruelo)⁽⁹⁹⁾. Teresa deeply felt this abandonment which caused suffering to Christ as well. On the occasion of this vision at Malagon, the Lord gave her to understand that the wounds caused by the crown of thorns were as nothing compared with those caused by sin. He added that Carmelite monasteries gave him consolation for all the offences done, for "he found his rest with the souls living in them" (ibid).

From then on, all Teresa's scruples disappeared like snow in the sun. In fact the Lord said to her: "Now was not the time for rest, but that I should hurry to establish these; that he found his rest with the souls living in them; that I should accept as many houses as given me since there were many persons who did not serve him because they had no place for it; that those houses I founded in small towns should be like this one, for, by desire, as much could be merited as in the other houses" (ibid). From that time she took it as a duty to accept every proposal for a foundation, even in small towns or in the country, and there should be no difference in these last, apart from the possession of an income, for they "required that either I found the monastery with an income or not at all since without one there would be no means of sustenance"⁽¹⁰⁰⁾.

IV WITH OR WITHOUT INCOME, POVERTY RESEMBLING THAT OF THE APOSTLES

We have seen how determined St Teresa was to prevent any differences being introduced into her monasteries on account of the question of incomes. The Lord himself, in the course of the famous vision at Malagon, had suggested an efficacious means of preserving this unity: "I should strive to put all the houses under the government of a superior"⁽¹⁰¹⁾.

Another means was to establish exactly for all of them the same ideal of poverty in all except what touched immediately on the question of income. Well then, this ideal was already in writing in the Primitive Rule of Carmel, and had been practised by the "apostolic college itself" and by the primitive Jerusalem community.

It can be summed up in three points: 1) the sisters should do all that depends on themselves; 2) they should content themselves with what is necessary as God gave it to them, without any anxiety; 3) hold all things in common.

1) The sisters should do all that depends on them

Teresa's basic conviction, which she wished to transmit to her sisters was, as we have seen, that everything necessary for subsistence comes, in the last resort, from God alone. This was true not only for the monasteries founded in absolute poverty⁽¹⁰²⁾, but also for those provided with an income. With respect to these last Christ had promised: "He would help us so nothing would be lacking"⁽¹⁰³⁾. This did not mean that the sisters should do nothing on their part. They would be assured of heavenly help, in fact, only when these two conditions were fulfilled: 1) "They should help themselves with the work of their hands... (and) want no more than this and are content to live simply" and 2) "They strive with all their might to please the Lord"⁽¹⁰⁴⁾.

For the moment we will consider only the second condition. What does it mean in fact for the Carmelites to "strive with all their might to please the Lord"? In the first place we must say that this applies to the whole of their life. If they expected the Lord to give them their necessary food, the Carmelites ought to be perfect, or at least, tend to that with "all their might". What would happen if they were not so? In a very audacious text of the first redaction of the Way of Perfection Teresa considers this possibility. Although, out of delicacy towards the sisters, she applies it to herself, it is evident that it is really meant to apply to all. The reply is categorical. If a Carmelite does not strive, as far as possible, to tend to the perfection of her vocation, she should cease to ask God for the food necessary for her, for why should she go on living if not to serve God with all her strength? The reply is so categorical that Teresa wished it to be omitted from the later redactions. She recalled and often repeated to the sisters this principle: "Don't worry about the other bread, those of you who have sincerely surrendered yourselves to the will of God". But on this very point, the first manuscript continues thus: "And indeed, daughters, I say for myself, if I should maliciously fail in this surrender, as I have many other times, I would not beg that he give me this bread or anything else to eat. Let me die of hunger. Why should I want life if with it I am daily gaining more of eternal death"⁽¹⁰⁵⁾.

However, from the point of view of poverty, this "doing all that depends on ourselves" involves two obligations which we find treated together in the same place in the Way of Perfection, though separately according to whether we are using the first or second manuscript. Teresa has just been telling the sisters that, when in prayer, they have no need to ask God for any other "bread" than that of the soul, the Eucharist, the real "bread of heaven", without troubling themselves about "material bread". The text continues then, the same in both redactions: "there are other times" but the Escorial manuscript goes on "for the one whose duty it is to take care of this to give you what you need" where the Valladolid manuscript says "there are other times for working and for earning your bread"⁽¹⁰⁶⁾

The two conditions then are: 1) that material goods should be well administered by the sisters in charged of that office, and 2) work by which the sisters earn their bread. We will begin with the second condition.

a) Work after the example of St Paul

Why should the sisters be committed to working? We begin by observing that in the matter of work there is no difference at all between the monasteries that are endowed and those that are not. The Alcalá Constitutions which officially admitted, as we have seen, the existence of two types of monasteries, reproduce integrally the Avila text relating to the matter of work, inserting it directly after the paragraph which lays down the principle of equality between the two types of communities⁽¹⁰⁷⁾. We note, too, that Teresa is emphatic that those monasteries with an endowment should have one that is sufficient to provide for their living: "in founding them with an income that is small, everything fails me; I find it better that they not be founded"⁽¹⁰⁸⁾. It is understandable that she should have imposed work on those monasteries not provided for by an endowment, so that they could compensate for any scarcity of alms⁽¹⁰⁹⁾. But "so that they may have no anxiety, the income should be sufficiently large to provide a living for the monastery". So here, the motive is of an "apostolic" nature, that is, it relates to the manner in which the Apostles practised poverty.

1) Teresa's first argument is precisely of an "apostolic" nature, related to what is said in the Carmelite Rule about the teaching and example of St Paul the Apostle⁽¹¹⁰⁾. This is the argument which dominates all the rest, as Teresa does no more than take the Apostle's reasoning as she found it in the Carmelite Rule: "Great importance should be given to this point of the Rule: he who would eat, must work, as Saint Paul did".

2) She comments on the Apostle's reasoning in her own way. It is not the work itself that brings us our daily bread, but it comes only from God himself. Work, then is no more than the condition laid down by God, for us to receive the material food necessary for our maintenance: "they should help themselves with the work of their hands, as St Paul did; the Lord will provide what they need⁽¹¹¹⁾. The Valladolid Manuscript of the Way of Perfection ends with "it is a good thing for you to work to sustain yourselves"⁽¹¹²⁾. Teresa took this obligation of her state very seriously as she makes clear when her confessor wanted her to set down the story of her life in writing (1560) "and almost stealing time, and regretfully because it prevents me from spinning and this is a poor house with many things to be done"⁽¹¹³⁾. She detested idleness, not only for herself, but for her sisters; to the point that she had them bring their work to recreation to do it there. It would not prevent them from relaxing. We give here the prescription which appears in the redaction of the Alcalá Constitutions: "After dinner and supper the Mother Prioress may permit all the Sisters to speak with one another of whatever they please, but their conversations must always be those of good religious, and they must all have their distaff or other work"⁽¹¹⁴⁾.

We will return later to this matter of work, to speak of the spirit in which it should be done, that is, a spirit of contemplation and abandonment to divine Providence.

b) Sound administration

(as in the primitive Church): "the sharing out"

One of the aspects of Teresa's genius which claims the greatest admiration is her capacity to weld together into a harmonious whole, qualities that seem, at first sight, to be incompatible. We have here a beautiful example of this capacity: we see co-existing in Teresa, one of the highest forms of mysticism and heroic poverty, with, at the same time, and in equal strength, realism ­ a flair for organisation and an ability in negotiation which makes her a veritable model in matters of administration and economy. She was always alive to this aspect of things, and the importance of material realities. However, her true motivation was not primarily of a human order, but rather, of a spiritual, or more precisely, in this case, of an "apostolic" order.

1) It is above all in her short work On Making the Visitation that she has left us the clearest expression of her thought in these matters. The first instruction she give to the superior charged with making the visit, is precisely on this point: "It seems an inappropriate thing to begin with temporal matters. Yet I think that these are most important for the promotion of the spiritual good"⁽¹¹⁵⁾. This is evident in the monasteries provided with an income. Further on Teresa ends this subject of good administration in this type of house with the words: "A lack of care in temporal matters can cause great harm in spiritual matters"⁽¹¹⁶⁾. It may seem, at first sight, that such preoccupation could be discounted in monasteries where they live only on alms and the work of their hands. But Teresa says, in fact: "But in all monasteries it is necessary to have good order and attend to matters concerning government and the harmonious organization of everything"⁽¹¹⁷⁾.

2) But is there not a contradiction between what Teresa has said so insistently about having no anxiety and living in total abandonment to Providence? Not in the least. Here she is dealing with only a particular aspect of what she has taught concerning the origin of all material goods (see above II: 1a). God alone is absolute master over all goods, and especially material goods. People, and above all, rich people, are no more than "administrators". Goods should be shared out so that everyone, and especially the poor, should have what is necessary for life. The case of a monastery of Carmelites is only a particular application of this general principle. It is a microcosm of the great human community. Wherever, humanly speaking, the resources on which they depend, come from, alms, income from endowments, earnings from work ­ ultimately they all come from God. So, as in the whole of human society, there are "majordomos" charged with the administration of material goods and their distribution, so, in the monastery, the whole administration depends finally on the Prioress. So much so, that Teresa would call her "a sort of majordomo in charge of those of God's goods reserved for the sisters: Prioresses "must not spend as if the money were their own but according to reason and with great care so that their expenditures are not excessive"⁽¹¹⁸⁾.

3) Here is the reason for Teresa's anxiety in organising everything concerning the administration of the goods of the monastery in the best possible way, fixing the duties of each in the most exact manner: the chief portress, whose duty it was to see to the purchase of whatever was needed for the life of the monastery⁽¹¹⁹⁾; the council sisters to whom she should give an account every month in the presence of the Prioress⁽¹²⁰⁾; and, lastly, the prioress herself, the key of the whole organisation⁽¹²¹⁾. The different account books should be presented to her at the end of the day, so that the superior could keep abreast of the exact way things were going in the house. In houses with an income, she should know if expenses exceeded income or not⁽¹²²⁾; she should see that no debts were contracted in monasteries of absolute poverty; and be vigilant in whichever type of house, that the sisters were not given anything beyond what everyone has, for their maintenance, and she should have special care of the sick⁽¹²³⁾.

4) We can see in all the preceding, that the "model" present to Teresa's mind was that of the primitive Church, that is, an "apostolic" model. "None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from the sale of them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any who might be in need"⁽¹²⁴⁾. For such a distribution to be carried out under the best conditions, good administration is absolutely necessary. If the financial equilibrium of the convent begins to falter, the results for the sisters can be very grave: "Otherwise, if the community begins to go into debt, it will gradually be ruined. For in the event of great need, it will seem inhuman to major superiors to forbid individuals to keep money earned from their work or that relatives provide for them or similar things that are the practice now in different monasteries. I would unquestionably prefer to see a monastery dissolved than to see it reach such a state"⁽¹²⁵⁾. As we shall see, later, in speaking about the distribution of things, Teresa showed great care for the sick, insisting they should receive everything they needed.

1. After the example of the Apostles, the sisters should be content with what is necessary, without being disturbed.

This appears more or less explicitly wherever Teresa writes on poverty. There is one passage where she is more expansive on the matter, so it would be well to dwell on it for a little.

It is in the second chapter of the Meditations on the Song of Songs where she speaks of the true peace that the bride of the Canticle begs from her Spouse. It is here that Teresa speaks of riches and the anxieties they stir up in their possessors. Her reasoning is as clear as daylight.

Whoever possesses more than is strictly necessary can be termed rich. Well then, such people despite their exceeding riches should consider themselves as responsible before the poor. Whatever they think, they are not proprietors, but only administrators, as we have seen. Far from giving tranquillity, these excessive riches only create care and anxiety, and then, the day will come when an account concerning this administration will have to be rendered to God who confided these goods to be managed⁽¹²⁶⁾.

The poor person, on the contrary, does not have what is necessary for life, or has to be content with less. Well then, Carmelites have voluntarily chosen the lot of the poor, being ready to receive from God what is strictly necessary for their maintenance. Far from grumbling over such a choice, they should be thankful to God for having thus set them free from the cares that come from the possession of riches: "Oh, my daughters, what a great relief it is, even with respect to our tranquillity here below, not to have these burdens; as for the final day, you can't imagine. The rich are the slaves and you are the masters"⁽¹²⁷⁾.

Poverty, thus conceived and lived, situates the Carmelites in the community of all those who follow the same ideal as the Apostles, faithful to the Lord's "counsel" given them in the Sermon on the Mount⁽¹²⁸⁾. "We should not wish the Lord to honour us like the great ones of the earth, but like the poor, as were the Apostles"⁽¹²⁹⁾.

However the peace and tranquillity brought by true poverty has its obligations. The sisters are obliged to be satisfied with what God gives them and have no anxiety to own more. They should never fail to belong to the number of the poor in spirit whatever their situation may be as regards external poverty. They must not desire for themselves what is not strictly necessary, and which really belongs to the poor: "What is necessary, daughters, is that we be content with little...... As for you, daughters, look always for the poorest things, which will be enough to get by on; in clothing as well as in food. If you don't, you will find yourselves frustrated because God is not going to give you more, and you will be unhappy. Strive always to serve His Majesty in such a way that you do not eat the food of the poor...."⁽¹³⁰⁾.

This should be the Carmelite spirit if they would be faithful to the "counsel" of Christ which he gave to the Apostles when inviting them to abandon themselves without reserve to divine Providence. We shall see now in some points, a more detailed application of this spiritual attitude.

a) House and clothing

The principle regulating Teresian thought on this matter is always the same: all that is necessary but nothing beyond that; a principle valid at all levels, both communitarian and personal.

­ The House. "The house, with the exception of the church, should never be adorned, nor should there be anything finely wrought, but the wood should be rough. Let the house be small and the rooms humble: something that fulfills rather than exceeds the need"⁽¹³¹⁾. It seems as if in this particular field of housing Teresa was inspired directly by the Constitutions of the Discalced Franciscans of St Peter of Alcantara. What were her motives?

1. The number of sisters was much reduced (thirteen or fourteen in monasteries without income and twenty for the others, say the Alcala Constitutions in Chapter II, On the reception of novices, their profession and the number of religious in each convent: (ibid 8, 10). She also wrote, "It looks very bad, my daughters, if large houses are built with money from the poor. May God not allow it. The houses must be poor and small in every way.... Those who build large ones know what they are doing; they have other holy intentions. But for thirteen poor little women, any corner should be enough"⁽¹³²⁾. This Visitator "should not easily consent to houses that are too large, or allow the nuns, without great necessity, to go into debt in order to build or add on to them......it is better that the nuns suffer the trouble of not having a good house than that they be worried and disedifying to others, because of debts and lack of food"⁽¹³³⁾.

2. The sisters have been called to the great honour of imitating Christ in his poverty. Once when Teresa was troubled because the future house of the sisters at Avila was so small and short of space, Our Lord said to her, "'I've already told you to enter as best you can.' And by way of exclamation he added: 'Oh, covetousness of the human race, that you think you will be lacking even ground! How many times did I sleep in the open because I had no place else!'"⁽¹³⁴⁾ "Let us in some manner resemble our King, who had no house but the stable in Bethlehem where he was born and the cross where he died"⁽¹³⁵⁾. "We will see that the less we have here below, the more we will enjoy in eternity, where the dwelling places will be in conformity with the love with which we have imitated the life of our good Jesus"⁽¹³⁶⁾.

If the house was to possess nothing superfluous, it was, nevertheless, to be equipped with everything necessary for the life of the community. And, in the first place, it must be the property of the sisters. Certainly Teresa had said of herself, "for a long time I had been desiring that it would be possible for me to go begging for love of God and not have a house or anything"⁽¹³⁷⁾. But when it came to the sisters, she did not reason thus, but considered it absolutely indispensable, for the equilibrium of their lives, that they should have full ownership of their houses: "I never would, or did, leave any monastery until it was in fit condition, had a spirit of recollection, and was adapted according to my wishes"⁽¹³⁸⁾ . About a house well arranged for the sisters, she would say, "It should be as strong as possible. The wall should be high, and there should be a field where hermitages can be constructed so that the Sisters may be able to withdraw for prayer as our holy Fathers did"⁽¹³⁹⁾. This was made particularly necessary by the strict enclosure in which the sisters had to live; the foundress was progressively conscious of this need (see for instance, Way 2:9, also her advice to Mary of St Joseph concerning the garden at Seville which she wanted them to use more⁽¹⁴⁰⁾).

b) Food.

Teresa constantly returned to this subject: the sisters should not be preoccupied about what they are to eat. Let them do as they should and their Spouse will not abandon them. In practice this means there should be no anxiety or nervousness.

c) Work.

The food a sister received was never to be in proportion to the amount of work she could do. It was definitely God alone who gave it. Her work was no more than a condition demanded of her before she could be given her food. She should do as much as she could, and Teresa's hostility towards all idleness is well known. But Carmelites must also be wary to avoid all restless anxiety. This is why Teresa was opposed to monasteries accepting outside work which imposed terms on the sisters, obliging them, for instance, to produce the work that day. If there was no other way "they should not be given a penance if they did not manage to finish"⁽¹⁴¹⁾. For the same reason, the saint forbad the sisters to accept very delicate work, which might be much more profitable, but could be a cause of spiritual distraction. They should be content with work that required little absorption, like spinning and sewing. ""Nor should they do work with gold or silver. Nor should there be any haggling over what is offered for their work. They should graciously accept what is given. If they see that the amount offered is insufficient, they should not take on the work"⁽¹⁴²⁾.

However, an examination of the account books dating from Teresa's time, gives the impression that the earnings of the sisters from their work formed only a modest part of the resources necessary to them. Not that this means that Teresa was not interested in the results of such work, on the contrary. She has this word of advice for the visitator: "In both kinds of monasteries he should take note of the work that is being done and even record what the nuns have earned by the work of their hands. This is useful for two reasons: first, so as to encourage and thank those who have done a great deal; second, so that in those monasteries where there is not so much care taken about work, because there is not so much need, the nuns may be told about what others earn"⁽¹⁴³⁾.

What was most important to her was, "Let the body work, for it is good that you work to sustain yourselves; let your soul be at rest. Leave this care, as has been amply pointed out, to your Spouse; He will care for you always"⁽¹⁴⁴⁾. The type of work they do should "not occupy the mind so as to keep it from the Lord"⁽¹⁴⁵⁾.

d) No begging.

In houses of absolute poverty, the foundress asks that they "should live on alms, and not possess any fixed income". She adds these words, which are very significant when we think what was done at that time in monasteries: "As far as possible, you should never ask for anything" which means there should be no outside begging. The same is to be observed in monasteries provided with an income. The reason the saint was so anxious that the income should be sufficiently abundant was precisely to avoid having the sisters find themselves deprived of necessities (as was the case at the Incarnation) and be tempted to have recourse to their relatives and friends. When she wrote the Way of Perfection she was still deeply impressed by the disastrous results of this practice at the Incarnation. That is why the second chapter is full of warnings on this subject: "Never seek sustenance through human schemes..... your Spouse...will sustain you. Once He is pleased, those least devoted to you will give you food even though they may not want to as you have seen through experience....For us to worry about money would amount to deceiving the world, making ourselves poor in an exterior way but not poor in spirit.....it would seem to me as though a rich person were begging alms.... If you should start worrying like this, I would prefer that you have an income....in no way let your thoughts be taken up with these cares"⁽¹⁴⁶⁾. This is why, at the beginning of the Teresian foundations, there was no fixed hour for dining: Teresa says in the first constitutions "The time for dinner cannot be fixed since this depends on how the Lord gives. When possible, during winter, on Church fast days, the bell for dinner should be rung at eleven-thirty....⁽¹⁴⁷⁾.

e) Dowries.

The sisters should show themselves disinterested. In this same matter the thought of Teresa remained constant, although, as we shall see, it continued to be enriched as time went on, by her experiences as foundress. The basic principle is formulated in the first Constitutions of Avila: "An applicant with whom the nuns are pleased should not be turned away because she has no alms to give the house; and this has always been the procedure....Let them be careful so as not to be motivated by self-interest. Little by little greed could so enter that they would look more to the alms than to the goodness and quality of the person. This should in no way be done, for doing so would be a great evil. They must ever keep in mind their profession of poverty that they might always in everything give off its fragrance. Let them reflect that it is not money that will sustain them but faith, perfection, and trust in God alone. This law should be considered carefully and be observed; it is appropriate and should be read to the Sisters"⁽¹⁴⁸⁾. Teresa mentions this point in her On Making the Visitation (44). She wrote to Fr Bañez, "Believe me, Father, it is a delight to me to accept someone with nothing, for then she is taken for the love of God alone"⁽¹⁴⁹⁾.

f) Prayer.

Is it possible for the sisters to ask their bread from God? This question might appear superfluous, given that Jesus, in the Our Father, invites us to do just that. Teresa however, thought it better for them, when reciting the Our Father, to have only in mind the bread of heaven present in the Eucharist, and not material daily bread. In the first redaction of the Way of Perfection she goes so far as to deny that Christ could encourage us to pray for so low a thing as material bread. But Fr Garcia returned the manuscript to her with this passage crossed out and the following marginal note: "Christ prays for everything needed for the maintenance of both soul and body, whether it be material bread or the Eucharist out of reverence for the soul; and thus the Church prays in the litanies". Because of this, Teresa omitted this passage in the second redaction. But basically her thought remained the same: Carmelites should not be worrying about material bread when at prayer ­ "I mean during these times of prayer when you should be dealing with more important things; there are other times for working and for earning your bread"⁽¹⁵⁰⁾. The "more important things" they should have in mind when they pray for the Eucharistic bread are the great apostolic intentions of which she had spoken in Chapters 1 and 3 at the beginning of the book. For the rest, her reasoning is always the same: "Leave this care, as has been amply pointed out, to your Spouse; He will care for you always"⁽¹⁵¹⁾.

g) To give to the poor,

­ whatever the sister have above what is necessary. Certainly this will always be exceptional, for the sisters are poor: they do not have more than is strictly necessary to live on. "For without worry we eat what the Lord sends since His Majesty takes care that we lack nothing. We don't have to give an account of what is left over because His Majesty provides in such a way that what is left is so small that we are not obliged to share it with others"⁽¹⁵²⁾. However, as the years passed by, especially in monasteries provided with income, their financial affairs may have improved to the point that they do have a surplus which they generously share with others. As for the point on which Teresa herself insisted with the visitator that he should see that prioresses were not too generous in gifts to outsiders, which might imperil the financial equilibrium of the monastery: "It is also necessary to counsel the prioresses not to be too generous and liberal but to keep in mind that they are obliged to reflect on how they spend money. They are no more than stewards and must not spend as if the money were their own..."⁽¹⁵³⁾. Teresa was only concerned with the good of the sisters, wishing to prevent any harm coming from excessive liberality. She herself practised it abundantly, and urged the sisters to give whatever they might have above what was necessary⁽¹⁵⁴⁾.

3) After the example of the Apostles, the sisters should hold everything in common.

The poverty practised by the Apostles and the first Christians can be summed up in two strong characteristic themes: they were not to have any anxiety about what they should live on, for God would provide for all; and they should not keep for themselves what they have received but hold it in common so that no one should be in want. The second part of this program as described in the Acts of the Apostles (2:45; 4: 32-35) is reproduced almost word for word in the Rule of Carmel, with particular application to the original Carmelite community: "None of the brothers must lay claim to anything as his own, but you are to possess everything in common; and each one is to receive from the Prior ­ that is from the brother he appoints for the purpose ­ whatever befits his age and needs"⁽¹⁵⁵⁾.

St Teresa once made an explicit reference to the communal sharing practised in the primitive Church. This was when writing of the foundation of Palencia. This text deserves a whole commentary, showing as it does just how the saint visualised the sharing of goods in a society totally inspired by the Gospel. She had greatly admired the charity of the people of this city, as she had often learned from experience when "the monastery is to be founded in poverty, permission is everywhere difficult to obtain"⁽¹⁵⁶⁾. She says, "Truly, it seemed to me like being in the early Church, at least it is not usual now to see such a thing in the world. We had no income and they had to provide us with food, and not only were they not opposed to the foundation but they said that God was doing them the greatest favour⁽¹⁵⁷⁾.

But is it not the providential function of the religious life in the heart of a Christian society precisely to witness to the values of the Gospel, and to be a constant reminder of them to the faithful? Such is the case with the integral sharing of goods within the Carmelite community. The text from the Acts, is quoted in this context, even to using almost the same wording: "I want you to be free here sisters; as everything is in common and no one has anything of her own, there is no need for presents from relations"⁽¹⁵⁸⁾. "In no way should the Sisters have any particular possessions...But everything must be held in common"⁽¹⁵⁹⁾.

a) To possess nothing as their own

This precept, formulated from the beginning with great clearness has never been modified, even after Teresa consented in 1568 to found monasteries provided with a revenue. "I made every effort I could so that none of the nuns would possess anything, but that they would observe the constitutions in their entirety as in our other monasteries founded in poverty"⁽¹⁶⁰⁾. She returned to this matter in a letter to Fr Gracian on the eve of the Alcalá Chapter, where the Avila Constitutions were to be revised and approved: "Be very firm that it is put down in the acts, as I have asked, that no prelate should give permission for them to possess anything"⁽¹⁶¹⁾. Teresa obtained full satisfaction in this respect as the following was decided in the Chapter: "The Prioress should see that this point of the constitutions (individual poverty) is strictly observed, and not permit any violation of it: and should it be found that she has been negligent in this matter, the General or Provincial should punish her severely"⁽¹⁶²⁾. As in the original constitutions it was the Prioress who was made responsible for this point of the observance. "This is very important because through small things the devil can bring about a relaxation of the perfection in which poverty is observed. For this reason the prioress should be very careful. If she sees that a Sister is attached to something, be it book, or a cell, or anything else, she should take it from her"⁽¹⁶³⁾.

In fact, there was to be no exception at all to this rule: the sisters should have "nothing" as their own, whether "diet or clothing" (ibid). Contrary to what was done in other places, particularly at the Incarnation "nor should they have any coffer or small chest, or box, or cupboard, unless someone have an office in the community. But everything must be held in common" (ibid). Similarly, they could not receive any personal present from their family or friends, but all should be handed over to the community: "Since everything is held in common and no one can have any special comfort, the alms they (relatives) give you are given in a general way; and you are freed from trying to please them on this account, for you know that it is the Lord who provides for all in common"⁽¹⁶⁴⁾. This was how Teresa reacted from the current practice at the Incarnation where each sister arranged as best she could for herself, so as not to die from hunger.

No one was exempt from this rigorous enactment, save perhaps the sick sisters. In a letter to Fr Gracian already quoted, Teresa says in fact: "And even if they are ill, unless the infirmarian leaves them something they may need in the night; this is very great charity if the nature of the illness requires it"⁽¹⁶⁵⁾. "The sick should be cared for with fullness of love, concern for their comfort, and compassion in accordance with the poverty we practice. And they should praise God, our Lord, when they are well provided for. If they lack the things the wealthy possess for bringing relief in their illness, let them not become sad. In joining us one must be very resolved about such matters. . This is what it means to be poor: to be in want, perhaps, at times of greater need"⁽¹⁶⁶⁾. "Remember how many sick people there are who are poor and have no one to complain to; now it is nonsense to think one can be poor and live in comfort"⁽¹⁶⁷⁾.

If Teresa made such demands on the sick sisters, it is not surprising that she asks even more of the others, including the Prioresses: the visitator of the monastery should make careful inquiry "whether any money gets into the hands of the prioresses without the knowledge of the key-bearers, for this could happen without her adverting to it, or even whether she possesses anything except in conformity with the constitutions"⁽¹⁶⁸⁾.

The saint was not ignorant of how difficult so radical a detachment could be, even to the point of religious being capable of deluding themselves on this point⁽¹⁶⁹⁾. Although she knew the great virtue of her Carmelite sisters in this matter as in all the rest, she did not fail to urge vigilance on them, showing them how they can come to understand "whether or not you are truly stripped of what you have left behind. For little things happen even though not of this kind, in which you can very well test and know whether or not you are the rulers of your passions...Since we may not have reached this stage ­ humility, as I have said... is the ointment for our wounds because if we indeed have humility, even though there may be a time of delay, the surgeon, who is our Lord, will come to heal us"⁽¹⁷⁰⁾. Above all, the very best remedy is the Eucharist, this true bread from heaven which gives us strength to comply with the Father's will and be poor as his Son was⁽¹⁷¹⁾.

b) To hold all in common

The dowry appears a very good way of sharing everything in common after the example of the first Christians: "They sold their goods and possessions and distributed the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed"⁽¹⁷²⁾. This is what happened in the monasteries according to the particular situation of each sister, at the time of her entrance. Some came absolutely poor and each time this happened it appeared to Mother Teresa as "a joy to take them for the love of God alone"⁽¹⁷³⁾, but with the condition that such persons were not seeking only a solution for future economic and social problems ("not only to better themselves"); and she adds with some realism, "as happens in many cases," but continues with kindness and mercy, "the Lord can bring this intention to perfection if she has good intelligence"⁽¹⁷⁴⁾. Teresa wanted, above all, that her monasteries should be completely disinterested in this matter, as we have seen. That is why she congratulated the sisters of Avila for not asking anything from their postulants⁽¹⁷⁵⁾. In fact, the four first sisters were admitted under those conditions. This did not prevent her from being quite explicit and strict in her counsels on this matter. Thus she could write to Valladolid, "I wish to remind you that, as far as I rememger, I have never asked you to receive a nun without dowry, nor anything else of much importance, which has not been the case with others. For one has received eleven without a penny..."⁽¹⁷⁶⁾

In fact, it seemed to her quite normal that a person with a fortune in this world presenting herself to a poor monastery ­ as was the case at Valladolid or Seville ­ should understand it to be conformable to the call of God that she should share her worldly goods with those who would be her sisters in religion; on condition, however, that such people should not consider it to give them the right to special privileges as, for example, to remain in the monastery against the opinion of the community.

This was why she was so interested in offering to the sisters as an example, the case of a religious who entered at Toledo, Anne of the Mother of God. Before entering the Order she had lived in luxury: "She wanted instead to choose the poverty and submission of our order.... What edified me, and the reason I am recording this here, is that before she made her profession she offered everything she owned ­ and she was very rich." The foundress, moved by this gesture, still wished to test the sister, "telling her that perhaps afterward either she would be sorry she entered or we might not want to admit her to profession. ... She answered that if this were to happen she would beg for the money out of love of God"⁽¹⁷⁷⁾. Teresa wrote in similar strain to the future Isabel of Jesus when she was preparing to take the Carmelite habit in the monastery of Salamanca, in October 1570: "Our Lord is pleased with your determination to give so much in alms when you enter, and you may feel much consoled, for you are doing what he counselled in giving yourself to him and your possessions to the poor for love of him".

The sharing out of the goods within the monastery is to be done in accordance with what is laid down by the Rule of Carmel, that is, through the Prioress and council sisters with the assistance of the portress. "The money the Lord gives in alms should be placed at once in the chest of three keys, unless it is less than nine or ten ducats, when it can be given to the bursar as the Prioress thinks fit; she will give it to the procurator to be laid out as the prioress has arranged and every evening, before the Great Silence she should give a detailed account to the prioress or to the bursar; and the amounts should be entered at once in the account book of the convent, so that the visitator may inspect the accounts each year"⁽¹⁷⁸⁾.

Each of the sisters named should be diligent in fulfilling her office with regard to providing the sisters' necessities. This applies in the first place to the prioress: "It is the duty of the Mother prioress to take great care.....to see that both spiritual and temporal needs are provided for; and these things should be done with a mother's love"⁽¹⁷⁹⁾. In the same way, the chief portress, appointed by the prioress, "is to take care of providing in due time" (ibid 38). In the Way of Perfection Teresa strongly criticised particular friendships in monasteries, especially as they could be the source of a failure in observing poverty⁽¹⁸⁰⁾ and injure the unity which ought to reign within the monastery. She puts the prioresses on guard particularly against this defect which she terms "a pestilence"⁽¹⁸¹⁾.

All the sisters have the right to expect what is necessary, but not to be demanding or difficult. "Let no Sister comment on whether the food given to eat is much or little, well or poorly seasoned. Let the prioress and the provider take care so that what is given (depending on what the Lord has given) is well prepared and the nuns will be able to get along with it, for they have nothing else. The Sisters should be obliged to tell the Mother prioress of their needs, and the novices to tell the novice mistress; this with regard to both clothing and food. And if they need something more than the usual things, they should, even though this may not be great, commend the matter to our Lord first. Our human nature often asks for more than what it needs"⁽¹⁸²⁾.

When, after 1568, the saint began to accept lay sisters in her monasteries she had no thought of abandoning the principle of absolute equality laid down so vigorously in the Way of Perfection: "All the Sisters must be equal"⁽¹⁸³⁾. So they are to be treated with charity in a family spirit and given food and clothing like the rest.

However, the sick have a special place in the solicitude of the prioress and of the sisters. On this point Teresa had only to turn to the Primitive Rule which says, concerning the distribution of necessities, that account should be taken of "the age and needs" of each" (10), and she goes on to lay down that attention should be paid "more so to the needs, for sometimes those who are older have fewer needs"⁽¹⁸⁴⁾. "The Mother prioress should be very careful that the healthy nuns be deprived of something necessary rather than have the sick ones go without some deeds of kindness....They should be treated with much charity and cleanliness⁽¹⁸⁵⁾

CONCLUSION

With what justice could Saint Teresa compare the community of sisters at St Joseph's in Avila with the "college of Christ" ⁽¹⁸⁶⁾! We see in them its living image. While the sisters laboured to reproduce in their own persons the poverty of the Apostles, after the image of Christ, the Carmelites at the same time were contributing to the work of salvation of the world.

TOPICS TO PONDER

1. For Teresa what was more important: radical or apostolic poverty? Why?
2. Note the various stages of change in Teresa on poverty and highlight the deeper motivations.
3. What would you suggest to yourself and to your community so that the sharing emphasised by Teresa become real in our Order?
4. To be apostolic how can your community live poverty in the social contest that surrounds it?
5. With regard to the flexibility Teresa had towards income, what other flexibility in other aspects would you suggest in your life?

______________________________

1. Way 2:5. All quotes from ICS Publications, Washington, 1980.
2. Way 3: 10.
3. See Rm 12:2.
4. VI M: 7:9.
5. Way 1:2.
6. Life 35: 2,4.
7. Way 2:7.
8. Life 31:22.
9. Way 2:7.
10. Spiritual Testimonies 5, Toledo, 1570.
11. Way (Escorial) 48:3.
12. Way 2:9; Foundations 3:13; 14:16.
13. Talk to the Nuns of Valladolid on Christmas Eve 1568, Reforma: TI, L II, ch.16:3.
14. Way (Escorial) 53:2.
15. See Luke 33:12.
16. Lk 35:3, Way 2:9.
17. Foundations 3:13.
18. Foundations 10: 11.
19. Letter Sept. 17^th 1581: 3.
20. Way 27: 2.
21. Avila Const. 9; Alcala Const. 7: 2.
22. 3 Mansions 1: 6.
23. Way 2:2.
24. Foundations 29:27.
25. Life 27: 15.
26. Life 35: 2, 3.
27. Avila Const. 9; Alcala Const. 7: 2.
28. Avila Const. 9; Alcala Const. 7: 2.
29. Avila Const. 10; Alcala Const. 7: 3.
30. Way 4: 1.
31. Way 1: 2.
32. Life 32: 9.
33. Mt 6: 25-33.
34. Spiritual Testimonies 1: 14.
35. Way 2: 2.
36. Way Escorial 61: 1.
37. Alcalá Constitutions 9.
38. Way 2:2.
39. Life 36: 25.
40. Way 2: 1.
41. See Life 32:13.
42. Way Escorial 37: 2.
43. See Way 2:2.
44. See Meditations on the Song of Songs 2: 8-9.
45. See MSS ibid, Way Escorial 66: 7, 3 Mansions 2: 3-4.
46. Way 2: 10.
47. Alcalá Constitutions: 9.
48. Way 27: 2.
49. Way 26: 3.
50. Way 2: 1.
51. Way 34: 4.
52. Life 27: 14.
53. See Way 17: 7.
54. Way 2: 2.
55. Way 34: 5.
56. Way 2: 2.
57. Ibid 14
58. Ibid
59. Ibid
60. Way 2: 3, 5.
61. Way Escorial 66: 7. See notes to Way 37: 4 - p. 476.
62. Life 38: 21.
63. See 5 Mansions 1: 2.
64. See Life 38: 20.
65. Way Valladolid 66: 7. See Notes to Way 38: 4 (p. 475).
66. On Making the Visitation: 11
67. Section 25: ch. 3
68. April 14, 1562.
69. Life 35: 2; Way 2: 7.
70. Avila Constitutions: 9.
71. Letter 21 Feb. 1581: 9.
72. Alcalá Constitutions 7: 1 ­ On Poverty and Temporal Things
73. Life 35: 2.
74. Avila 1560: 9 & 14; 1562 Toledo: 3-4.
75. Life 35:2.
76. Life 35: 4, 5.
77. Life 35: 5.
78. See especially the foundations of Toledo, Seville and Burgos.
79. Foundations 20: 13.
80. Life 35: 2.
81. See Life 35: 3.
82. Life ibid.
83. Way 2: 1.
84. Way Escorial 2: 1.
85. Way 1: 1-2.
86. Life 35.
87. Foundations 9: 2.
88. Foundations 20: 1.
89. Foundations 20: 1.
90. Ibid
91. Foundations 9: 3.
92. Foundations 3: 1.
93. See letter Valladolid-Medina, 15-17 September 1582 to Mother Catalina de Cristo, Soria: 6. (Last letter preserved).
94. Foundations 20: 13.
95. Spiritual Testimonies 6: 2. (Malagón, Feb. 9, 1570)
96. Foundations 9: 4.
97. Alcala Constitutions 7: 1.
98. Spiritual Testimonies 6: 2. (Malagón, Feb. 9, 1570).
99. Foundations 20: 2; 14:8.
100. Foundations 24: 17.
101. Spiritual Testimonies 6: 2. (Malagón, Feb. 9, 1570)
102. Avila Constitutions 9.
103. Spiritual Testimonies 6 (Malagón, Feb. 9, 1570)
104. Avila Constitutions 9.
105. Way 34: 4.
106. Way Escorial 60: 4, Way 34: 4.
107. Alcalá Constitutions ch. 7, On poverty and temporal things.
108. Foundations 20: 13.
109. See Avila Constitutions 9.
110. Avila Constitutions 9; Alcalá Constitutions 7:2.
111. Avila Constitutions 9.
112. Way Valladolid 34:4.
113. Life