Not just a Manual of Prayer

We were studying St Teresa’s Life in a Secular Group recently and it occurred to me that one of the precious aspects of this book is that in it we learn principles of prayer and the spiritual life at the same time as we are taken into the heart and soul and experiences of a beautiful and deeply spiritual person.  This book is the very opposite of a manual, it takes us into the heart of a lived experience of God as we move with the author along the path of her inner growth and share in her encounters and in her dilemmas.  It is a real fountain of truth, but it is also entertaining and absorbing – and all with a touch of humour. I have always loved memoirs and life stories but this one has a beauty all of its own.

Intercessions

RIP Fr Jon Bielawski, Jacqui, Sister Maisie, Ann Widdecombe

Cancer: Brian Davis, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Catherine, Alex (43 with five children), Theresa K, Elena

Sophie – newborn having heart surgery; Sianna, young child in the post-operative phase; James, recovering from heart surgery

Ivy – sick child

Brian (recovering from Pneumonia)

Kevin (heart attack)

William Gove (in recovery)

Illness:  Katy Keeling

Siena, Elara – sick children

David OCDS – housebound

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)

Mark – brain infection

Michael, Kira – vulnerable youngsters

Defence of the unborn and the elderly