Courtney McGrailSt Teresa and the Our Father: A Catechism of Prayer
Aloysius Rego OCD
(Teresian Press, £6.00)
This little book provides a presentation of St Teresa’s commentary on the Pater Noster, the universal prayer to the Father, the very words of which derive from Jesus himself, which has been, from the very earliest days of the Church, a central expression of Christian devotion.
Aside from a scholarly work on the theology of Edward Schillebeckx, Fr Aloysius Rego is also the author of a popular guide on the spiritual message of St Thérèse of Lisieux.
This book is also for a popular readership. St Teresa’s works can prove a difficult read, yet a great many people, especially in this the Fifth Centenary of her birth, desire some contact with her teaching and her spirituality. This little book will prove ideal. Being built up around one of the most familiar prayers in the life of the Church, Fr Rego’s book begins on a ground which will at once appeal. From there, many small steps can be made in time towards understanding and appreciating St Teresa’s meaning.
In his preface Fr Rego points out that though the saint was addressing herself to her own community of nuns, today she can be taken as talking also to every one of us who reads her words.
His brief account of the historical context makes clear just what was special about the approach of St Teresa at a time when many feared both the excesses (as it seemed) of the Reformation, as well as the mystical movements that emerged in response in Catholic Spain. He points out that St Teresa is always grounded in experience, and hence the special quality of her account of prayer and its interior nature and exterior manifestation.
Fr Rego through nine concise chapters outlines the saint’s commentary, elucidating where needed assume of the more puzzling sections, especially those rooted in the special circumstances of Spanish Catholicism.
“We must never pray merely with our lips,” he concludes, “rather, we must pray from the depths of our heart and with the commitment of our will, surrendering ourselves to God’s action within us. In this way, we will be disposing ourselves for the gift of contemplation, should the Lord in his mercy desire to grant it to us. And thus we will be united with the One who gave us the Our Father.”