Prayer takes work—even for saints

A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Find today’s readings here.

The first reading from Romans seems a perfect fit for the feast of St. Teresa of Ávila—not only in its contents but in its style. Teresa, a well-known and well-loved mystical writer, produced honest, visceral work about the spiritual life, rich in imagery and metaphor. Her imagery was often quite physical, even disruptively so, as is the nature of the first reading we’re presented with today. (You know things are serious when the very beginning of the day’s selection reads “We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now…”)

When she was named the first woman doctor of the church by Pope Paul VI in 1970, Teresa was recognized as a doctor orationis, or doctor of prayer. Her writings revealed her own struggles with a disconnected prayer life and offered suggestions for readers to deepen their prayer lives by moving past mechanical recitation to more meaningful relationship. In her spiritual autobiography, Teresa offered perhaps her most human insight on prayer: “Prayer in my opinion is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.”

Paul echoes Teresa’s sentiment in the first reading today. “We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” God puts in the work to make up for our shortcomings, and in the exchange between us and God, a relationship forms. But the Holy Spirit’s labor is not easy in Paul’s telling; as all creation has groaned, so too does the Spirit in response as he tries to make up the difference, though that groan is, according to Paul, “inexpressible.” It’s an appropriately challenging image—not a smooth and peaceful process but a laborious one.

To pay attention only to our own side of the equation is to miss an essential part of prayer: the friend on the other side. There is another actor here, and this is, in fact, a joint endeavor. This doesn’t let us off the hook, but it can help us to remember that we’re not alone as we try to build a prayer life that lasts and that means something to us. Even Teresa, a saint, officially recognized as one of the church’s great exemplars of prayer, describes a period of struggle—and Paul’s contribution suggests that that struggle is not only normal, but essential to the process. 

It might not be the prettiest image, but we are all groaning together. If our ears were open to hear the honest struggle of our whole human community, that sound would be overwhelming. But that groaning is productive and relational. In the mess of effort, we’re bonding. We’re getting closer.