The Complete Works of St. Teresa

St. Teresa was born in Avila, Spain in 1515. She was the daughter of a business trader and his second wife. Her father died when Teresa was 15, being one of ten children. Shortly after this, Teresa was giving over to the care of a group of Augustinian nuns. After reading some of St. Jerome's works she resolved to enter a Religious order. In 1535, she joined the Carmelites. She lived in the convent, but often had severe illnesses that left her legs paralyzed for three years. However during this time she experienced a life changing vision of "the sorely wounded Christ."

From this point on, Teresa moved into a period of increasingly other-worldly experiences in which she came to focus more and more sharply on the passion of Christ. From these visions she set about reforming her order starting with mastering herself and following the rule. With a devoted group of supports Teresa tried to create a stricter form of the Carmelite order, known as discalced or shoeless Carmelites. During this time she wrote the Way of Perfection and the Meditations on the Song of Solomon. In 1567, she met with St. John of the Cross, who she encouraged to reform the male side of the Carmelite Order. Teresa died in 1582.

During her life St. Teresa founded many new convents, many of which still exist to this day. She also left a number of, now famous, writings, which are classics of Christian mysticism. These include the Way of Perfection and the Interior Castle. She also left two autobiographies, the Life of Teresa of Avila and The Foundations. Apart from these works a large collection of her letters, poems, prayers and maxims have also survived.

This collection brings together all of St. Teresa's known writings in a convenient single volume.