"If we care nothing for any created things, but embrace the Creator alone, His Majesty will infuse the virtues into us in such a way that, provided we labor to the best of our abilities day by day, we shall not have to wage war much longer, for the Lord will take our defense in [...]
"I confess that, that in this important respect, I am not as perfect as I should like to be and as I know I ought to be; and I must say the same about all the virtues and about all the that I am dealing with here, for it is easier to write of such [...]
"Let us love the virtues and inward goodness, and let us always apply ourselves and take care to avoid attaching importance to externals." Source: Saint Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, Dover Thrift Editions, 2012.
"Our Primitive Rule tells us to pray without ceasing. Provided we do this with all possible care (and it is the most important thing of all) we shall not fail to observe the fasts, disciplines and periods of silence which the Order commands; for, as you know, if prayer is to be genuine it must [...]
"If the rule of poverty is truly kept, both chastity and all the other virtues are fortified much better than by the most sumptuous edifices." Source: Saint Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, Dover Thrift Editions, 2012.
"What do kings and lords matter to me if I have no desire to possess their money, or to please them, if by so doing I should cause the least displeasure to God? And what do their honours mean to me if I have realized that the chief honour of a poor man consists in [...]
"My daughters must believe that it is for their own good that the Lord has enabled me to realize in some small degree what blessings are to be found in holy poverty. Those of them who practice it will also realize this, though perhaps not as clearly as I do; for, although I had professed [...]
"It is when I possess least that I have the fewest worries and the Lord knows that, as far as I can tell, I am more afflicted when there is excess of anything than when there is lack of it." Source: Saint Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, Dover Thrift Editions, 2012. [...]
"However many consolations and pledges of love the Lord may give you, therefore, you must never be so sure of yourselves that you cease to be afraid of falling back again, and you must keep yourselves from occasions of sin." Source: Saint Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, Dover Thrift Editions, 2012. [...]
"Sometimes thinking yourselves so wicked may be humility and virtue and at other times a very great temptation. I have had experience of this, so I know it is true. Humility, however deep it be, neither disquiets nor troubles nor disturbs the soul; it is accompanied by peace, joy and tranquility." Source: Saint Teresa [...]