A Vision of St. Teresa of Avila

 

October 15 is the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila.  In a vision, Teresa received a veil and necklace from Our Lady and St. Joseph. Read more at Fountain of Elias.

St. Teresa of Avila as a Chess Player

Upcoming on October 15 is the feast of St. Teresa of Avila.  Here is an interesting facet of this great Saint:

One finds in the writings of the saints, and in art, powerful figures of speech depicting God as a lover in ardent pursuit of the human soul. An example is Francis Thompson's poem, The Hound of Heaven.

St. Teresa of Avila, however, in writing about contemplative prayer, reverses the chase. She uses a breath-taking metaphor where the human soul is a chess player seeking to capture Christ the King:

"I hope you do not think I have written too much about this already; for I have only been placing the board, as they say. You have asked me to tell you about the first steps in prayer; although God did not lead me by them, my daughters I know no others, and even now I can hardly have acquired these elementary virtues. But you may be sure that anyone who cannot set out the pieces in a game of chess will never be able to play well, and, if he does not know how to give check, he will not be able to bring about a checkmate. Now you will reprove me for talking about games, as we do not play them in this house and are forbidden to do so. That will show you what kind of a mother God has given you -- she even knows about vanities like this! However, they say that the game is sometimes legitimate. How legitimate it will be for us to play it in this way, and, if we play it frequently, how quickly we shall give checkmate to this Divine King! He will not be able to move out of our check nor will He desire to do so.

"It is the queen which gives the king most trouble in this game and all the other pieces support her. There is no queen who can beat this King as well as humility can; for humility brought Him down from Heaven into the Virgin's womb and with humility we can draw Him into our souls by a single hair. Be sure that He will give most humility to him who has most already and least to him who has least. I cannot understand how humility exists, or can exist, without love, or love without humility, and it is impossible for these two virtues to exist save where there is great detachment from all created things.

"You will ask, my daughters, why I am talking to you about virtues when you have more than enough books to teach you about them and when you want me to tell you only about contemplation. My reply is that, if you had asked me about meditation, I could have talked to you about it, and advised you all to practice it, even if you do not possess the virtues. For this is the first step to be taken towards the acquisition of the virtues and the very life of all Christians depends upon their beginning it. No one, however lost a soul he may be, should neglect so great a blessing if God inspires him to make use of it. All this I have already written elsewhere, and so have many others who know what they are writing about, which I certainly do not: God knows that.

"But contemplation, daughters, is another matter. This is an error which we all make: if a person gets so far as to spend a short time each day in thinking about his sins, as he is bound to do if he is a Christian in anything more than name, people at once call him a great contemplative; and then they expect him to have the rare virtues which a great contemplative is bound to possess; he may even think he has them himself, but he will be quite wrong. In his early stages he did not even know how to set out the chessboard, and thought that, in order to give checkmate, it would be enough to be able to recognize the pieces. But that is impossible, for this King does not allow Himself to be taken except by one who surrenders wholly to Him."

Source:
St. Teresa of Jesus, The Way of Perfection.

Image:
Giovanni di Paolo's, "Madonna of Humility", from the Web Gallery of Art. In the public domain.

A Procession for Rosary Sunday in the 1940s

This is an updated republication of a post originally published here on October 4, 2009

Tomorrow, October 5, 2025 is Rosary Sunday.

The Rosarian's Handbook (1942) describes a procession for Rosary Sunday to be sponsored by the Rosary Altar Society.

Before the procession, the priest blesses the roses with a special blessing. According to the handbook, the blessing, reserved to the Dominican Order, was granted to the Rectors of the Rosary Confraternity. After the blessing, the priest distributes the blessed roses at the communion rail to the members of the Rosary Altar Society and to all the faithful who then venerate the roses. (Or, the Rosary roses are blessed in advance and distributed as dried petals wrapped in special envelopes.)

After the distribution of the roses, the procession begins:

"The cross-bearer and two acolytes head the procession, starting at the main sanctuary gates. They are followed by the choir boys.

"The large banner of the Rosary Altar Society -- carried by an altar boy -- follows the choir.

"Then the children symbolizing living Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Be to the Fathers fall in line after the bearer of the Society banner.

"The Our Father is symbolized by a young man wearing dark clothes with a white shoulder sash imprinted with black lettering 'Our Father'.

"The Hail Mary is symbolized by girls wearing shoulder sashes, imprinted with silver block lettering 'Hail Mary'.

"The 'Glory be to the Father' is symbolized by three baby boys (suggesting Our Lord's words 'whose angels are ever before the face of the Father in heaven'). All three of the children carry on the right shoulder one long white cloth band or ribbon printed in gold lettering 'Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.' Since the Trinity is symbolized by the triangle -- a three-cornered or triangular head crown of gilded material may be worn by each of the boys.

"Either the five mysteries or the entire fifteen mysteries according to local resources are interpreted by small banners ornamented with the particular mystery or gospel scene depicted on a print and surrounded by floral designs. The bottom of each banner should be fringed.

"The Joyful Mysteries carry the white color motif, the Sorrowful Mysteries violet, and the Glorious Mysteries gold.

"Thus the first decade of the Holy Rosary -- the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to the ever Blessed Virgin Mary -- would be portrayed in a living way by a child in white dress carrying the processional banner depicting Mary being addressed by the Archangel Gabriel. The banner carrier is followed by one young man with the Our Father imprinted on his white sash.

"Ten girls in white dresses and with white shoulder sashes lettered in silver, 'Hail Mary' typify the decades of ten Hail Marys.

"Following these girls and walking in single file, three baby boys in white suits, holding the white cloth, lettered with the 'Glory be to the Father,' etc., as stated before.

"Each decade follows the same routine. If instead of the children, circumstances favor the use of Rosarian members as symbols of prayer in the living procession of the Most Holy Rosary, this usage will be according to approved tradition.

"The route of the procession is usually around the aisles of the church, although when permitted by public goodwill it may be around the streets of the square on which the church building is located. This matter is left entirely to the discretion of the Rector of the Rosary Confraternity.

"In the last position of the Rosary Procession walks the celebrant wearing surplice, white stole and white cope.

"When the procession is finished the celebrant stands before the step of the Rosary Altar Shrine, and sings:

"V. Dignare me laudare te, Virgo Sacrata.
R. Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos.
V. Regina Sacratissimi Rosarii, ora pro nobis.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.

"OREMUS: Deus, cuius Unigenitus per vitam, mortem et resurrectionem suam nobis salutis aeternae praemia comparavit, concede, quaesumus, ut haec Mysteria Sanctissimo Rosario Beatae Mariae Virginis recolentes: et imitemur quod continent, et quod promittunt assequamur. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

"The function will then be closed with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and the singing of the Te Deum, or Holy God, We Praise Thy Name."

Source:
Dolan, Dominic, O.P. (Ed.); The Rosarian’s Handbook of the Society of the Rosary Altar (Marchbanks Press, New York, 1942), pp. 90-93.

All material from The Rosarian's Handbook used with the kind permission of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph.

Image:
Caravaggio's, "Madonna of the Rosary" (St. Dominic receiving the Rosary from the Virgin), from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.