Our Spiritual Doctors: 4 Extraordinary Female Saints
St. Teresa of Avila
For the next 4 weeks, I will be musing on the 4 female doctors of the Church: Saints Therese, Catherine of Siena, Hildegard, and Teresa of Avila. I am doing this because I want to learn more about why these four have been bestowed with the title of doctor. What doctrinal and spiritual insights did they have that so greatly contributed to the church?
The word “doctor” comes from the Latin root word “docere” which means “to teach.” So, the doctors of the Church lived in such a way that taught Catholic doctrine in a unique, powerful, and exemplary manner. There are 36 doctors of the Church. For a full list, click here.
To be considered for the title of doctor, a saint must:
1. Demonstrate holiness even more so than other saints.
2. Demonstrate a profound and deep insight into Catholic doctrine.
3. Has provided many works, such as writings, that upholds and enforces Church teachings.
Then, the cause is presented to the pope, who makes the decision whether to name the saint a doctor.
This first week, I’m musing on St. Teresa of Avila, who was made the first female doctor of the Church by St. Pope Paul VI in 1970 (Catherine of Siena was just a few days later). What made her so outstanding in the way she transmitted the faith? Her profound writings and teachings on prayer.
I find this very interesting because Teresa struggled through prayer for many years after becoming a nun. Apparently, she waited and waited for the clock to strike, signaling that prayer time was over. How very human of her! Because of this, as she grew as a Christian through prayer, Teresa knew all levels of prayer extremely well. She had a great understanding of the spiritual life and taught it very well in her writings.
If you are interested in St. Teresa’s writings, two well-known books that she wrote are Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection (Personally, I think the latter is an easier read). Interior Castle is about entering the castle of our interior life through prayer. Each experience of prayer leads us from room to room on the way to divine unity with God. The Way of Perfection guides us to divine unity with God through detachment, humility, and charity. Teresa went from being lukewarm to being passionate for God, so she does know the spiritual journey step-by-step.
“There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.”
“Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.”
-St. Teresa of Avila
St. Catherine of Siena
This week I am musing on St. Catherine of Siena, our second female Doctor of the Church. She was well-known in her time (the 14th century) for her wisdom, charisma, and deep prayer life. I think what Catherine teaches us, most importantly, is that we must be people of prayer.
Her most famous work is the Dialogue, which is a treatise on conversation with God. The book teaches us how to deepen our relationship with God and includes dialogues between Catherine and God during prayer. I have only read pieces of the Dialogue, but what I have read I found to be quite beneficial. The Dialogue was written in the 14th century, yet it remains helpful for us even today.
Her prayer life serves as a model for us all. She spent a lot of time in prayer (at one point spending 3 years as a recluse) and thus was able to discover the secrets of the spiritual life (we are not all called to be hermits, but we are called to devote time to prayer!). This tells us that when we spend time with God, we discover more fully who he is.
Catherine’s writings communicate her understanding of her own dignity. She uniquely and profoundly expressed the truth that God loved us first and loved us into existence. His love is unconditional. She wrote in her Dialogue: “I loved you without being loved by you, even before you existed.” Catherine desired to return God’s love and learned to do so by loving him in her neighbors, friends, and family with an unconditional love.
Lastly, St. Catherine was known to be a mystic, which means she had experiences of ecstasy resulting from intense oneness with God to such an extent that she experienced euphoria and even visions. The word “ecstasy” comes from the Greek word ekstasis, meaning “standing outside oneself.” It includes a very heightened awareness of God in one’s soul. These experiences guided her writings on prayer.
St. Catherine of Siena was, indeed, a unique and special saint. She reminds us how important prayer is; if she hadn’t spent so much time in dialogue with God, she would not be able to teach us, nor would she be a Doctor of the Church!
“The human heart is always drawn by love.”
“To the servant of God, every place is the right place, and every time is the right time.”
“There is nothing we can desire or want that we do not find in God.”
St. Hildegard
Before writing this musing, I knew hardly anything about St. Hildegard of Bingen. But learning about her has been fun and I’ve been surprised by her for various reasons. Pope Benedict XVI canonized and named St. Hildegard a Doctor of the Church in 2012. She lived in Germany during the Middle Ages and became a Benedictine nun at a young age.
Hildegard was well-respected and admired. She was granted permission to preach to crowds. She wrote on various topics such as theology, philosophy, and physiology. She practiced medicinal healing. She was a poet, artist, musical composer, and playwright. Hildegard was obviously very gifted, intelligent, and had a well-developed personality!
Like the previous 2 female doctors I’ve written about, Hildegard was a prolific writer; she wrote books and over 300 letters to people who asked her for advice. I have not read anything written by Hildegard, but I have read that her writings are incredibly rich and nourishing, although highly poetic and symbolic.
Her trilogy, which was inspired by visions that she started seeing as a child, is the most well-known of her works. She was encouraged to write of her visions and insights by Pope Eugene III and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Scivias (You Know the Ways) is the first book of her trilogy. The second book is The Book of the Merits of Life, and The Book of the Divine Works is the last.
This trilogy explains Hildegard's visions which center on the telling of salvation history, from creation to the end times, and divine revelation. Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “In her many writings Hildegard dedicated herself exclusively to explaining divine revelation and making God known in the clarity of his love,” (Apostolic Letter from Benedict XVI on Proclaiming St. Hildegard a Doctor of the Universal Church, 3).
Hildegard understood well that humankind is the summit of God’s creation and lives in communion with the Holy Trinity, which is the focal point of men and women’s lives. Human beings are “living sparks” of God’s love. But sin has ruined the harmony between God and man.
To recreate this lost harmony, people must live virtuously and rid themselves of anything that causes separation from God. So, Hildegard focused on the relationship between God and human; what it is meant to look like and what keeps us separated from him (virtue versus vice).
Hildegard understood with great clarity the dignity of each human person and the respect that each person is owed. For example, during her lifetime heretics were burnt for their beliefs. She condemned this practice; she preached that although someone is a heretic, they still mirror the image of God!
Here is another example. While Hildegard was superior of her monastery, restrictions were placed on her community because she allowed someone who had been excommunicated to be properly buried after passing away. This again demonstrates her conviction that every human life is precious and should be loved and respected.
To end, here is a prayer I found from Pope Benedict XVI:
“Let us always invoke the Holy Spirit, so that he may inspire in the Church holy and courageous women like Saint Hildegard of Bingen who, developing the gifts they have received from God, make their own special and valuable contribution to the spiritual development of our communities and of the Church in our time.”
“Holy Spirit, the life that gives life: You are the cause of all movement. You are the breath of all creatures. You are the salve that purifies our souls. You are the ointment that heals our wounds. You are the fire that warms our hearts. You are the light that guides our feet. Let all the world praise you,” St. Hildegard.
St. Therese of Lisieux
St. John Paul II declared St. Thérèse of Lisieux a Doctor of the Church in 1997 on World Mission Sunday, 100 years after her death. The hallmark of Thérèse’s writing is about child-like spirituality. You may have heard of or read her autobiography, Story of a Soul, in which she writes of her childhood memories and presents her spiritual insights.
Thérèse is often known by her “little way.” To summarize, her spirituality is all about being a small child in the arms of her Father. Littleness brings us closer to him, not our wealth or status. Thérèse is also known for writing on the themes of abandonment and confidence in God’s love, as well as her mission, given to her in Baptism, for the sake of the Church.
I have read Story of a Soul, Thérèse’s autobiography which includes many of her childhood memories. It is full of wonderful quotes and I think that everyone has something to learn from Thérèse. The spirituality that she teaches is beneficial in learning how to trust God, be humble, and love others.
Did you know that Thérèse is the patron saint of missionaries? Although she was a cloistered Carmelite nun, Thérèse still played her role in the missionary nature of the Catholic Church. St. John Paul II said in his homily on Thérèse:
“By fully practicing the commandment of love, she would be immersed in the very heart of the Church's mission, supporting those who proclaim the Gospel with the mysterious power of prayer and communion. Thus she achieved what the Second Vatican Council emphasized in teaching that the Church is missionary by nature. Not only those who choose the missionary life but all the baptized are in some way sent to the nations,” (Proclamation of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face as a “Doctor of the Church, Homily of Pope John Paul II, 2).
Thérèse’s mission was to pray for others; everyone around the world and sisters in her own convent. She fulfilled her vocation in the depths of heart through prayer. Thérèse broadens the way we think of mission!
I hope you have enjoyed my musings on the 4 women Doctors of the Church. I have learned a lot over the past 4 weeks! What I appreciate the most is how different these 4 women are from each other, yet they are all important in the life of the Church. We will likely relate to one more than others and that is okay. This is why diversity in the Church is so important; we are all unique! Thérèse understood this: “The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.”
“When one loves, one does not calculate.”
“The world is thy ship and not thy home.”
-St. Thérèse of Lisieux