"Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, 
all things pass away: 
God never changes."

~St Teresa of Avila

In this decima chaplet, magnificent 10mm handmade lampwork beds in earthy tones glow with a Raku finish.   The 1.25" bronze medal is rich with detail; even the tiny beads of Teresa's rosary beads are visible!

See our catalog for available rosaries and chaplets.
Below are examples of previous designs.
Write us to inquire about a custom design!

This decima chaplet swirls with the Carmelite colors of brown and cream.   The Aves are 14mm hearts, and the sterling-capped Pater is an 18mm oval.  The 1.25" sterling medal is rich with detail; even the tiny beads of Teresa's rosary beads are visible!

Prayers

The St. Teresa of Avila chaplet is available is decima or novena form:

A decade, or decima, chaplet may be prayed similarly to a single decade of the rosary: with an introductory prayer (or meditation) on the medal, Our Father on the large bead, Hail Mary on each of the ten small beads, and concluded with the Gloria.

A novena chaplet is prayed with an introductory prayer (or meditation) on the medal, followed by three each of Our Father, Hail Mary and Gloria, with a concluding prayer on the crucifix.

St. Teresa of Avila on the degrees of prayer

Quotations of St. Teresa of Avila

Prayers written by St. Teresa of Avila

Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks
compassion on this world
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things pass away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who has God
Finds he lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by You,
always follow Your plans,
and perfectly accomplish Your Holy Will.

Grant that in all things,
great and small, today and all the days of my life,
I may do whatever You require of me.
Help me respond to the slightest prompting of Your Grace,
so that I may be Your trustworthy instrument for Your honor.

May Your Will be done in time and in eternity -- by me, in me, and through me. Amen.

A Prayer after Individual Confession                              (This beautiful prayer by St Teresa was found in a pamphlet in the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle, Washington, District of Columbia for a Communal Prayer Service. The service was lead by Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington.)

Although I have often abandoned you, O Lord, you have never abandoned me. Your hand of love is always outstretched towards me, even when I stubbornly look the other way.  And your gentle voice constantly calls me, even when I obstinately refuse to listen.  When the sins in my soul are increasing, I lose the taste for virtuous things.  Yet, even at such moments, Lord, I know I am failing you and failing myself.  You alone can restore my taste for virtue. There are so many false friends willing to encourage sin.  But your friendship alone can give the strength of mind to resist and defeat sin.

What a good friend you are, Lord! You are so patient, willing to wait as long as necessary for me to turn to you. You rejoice at the times when I love you, but you do not hold against me the times when I ignore you. Your patience is beyond my understanding. Even when I pray, my mind fills with worldly concerns and vain daydreams. Yet you are happy if I give only a single second of honest prayer, turning that second into a seed of love.

Oh Lord, I enjoy your friendship so much, why is it not possible for me to think of you constantly?

Prayers inspired by St. Teresa of Avila

O God, who by your Holy Spirit moved Teresa of Avila to Manifest to your Church the way of perfection: Grant us, we pray, to be nourished by her excellent teaching, and enkindle within us a keen and unquenchable longing for true holiness; through Jesus Christ, the joy of loving hearts, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.

Almighty God, who, when the hearts of your people have grown Cold, send your Spirit to relight the flame of your love in their hearts, and raise up faithful ministers to recall your people to their former devotion and service: Mercifully grant that we, following the teaching and example of Teresa of Avila and others, may be filled with your Holy Spirit, may be aflame with zeal for your glory and love for your goodness and hunger for your love, and that our feet may be set upon the path that leads to true holiness; the which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever.

Biography

Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada (later known as Teresa de Jesus) was born in Avila, Spain, 28 March 1515, one of ten children whose mother died when she was fifteen. Her family was of partly Jewish ancestry.

Teresa, having read the letters of Jerome, decided to become a nun, and when she was 20, she entered the Carmelite convent in Avila. There she fell seriously ill, was in a coma for a while, and partially paralyzed for three years. In her early years as a nun, she was, by her account, assiduous in prayer while sick but lax and lukewarm in her prayers and devotions when the sickness had passed. However, her prayer life eventually deepened, she began to have visions and a vivid sense of the presence of God, and was converted to a life of extreme devotion.

In 1560 she resolved to reform the monastery that had, she thought, departed from the order's original intention and become insufficiently austere. Her proposed reforms included strict enclosure (the nuns were not to go to parties and social gatherings in town, or to have social visitors at the convent, but to stay in the convent and pray and study most of their waking hours) and discalcing (literally, taking off one's shoes, a symbol of poverty, humility, and the simple life, uncluttered by luxuries and other distractions). In 1562 she opened a new monastery in Avila, over much opposition in the town and from the older monastery. At length Teresa was given permission to proceed with her reforms, and she traveled throughout Spain establishing seventeen houses of Carmelites of the Strict (or Reformed) Observance (the others are called Carmelites of the Ancient Observance). The reformed houses were small, poor, disciplined, and strictly enclosed. Teresa died 4 October 1582. (She is commemorated on the 15th--why not the 14th, I wonder--because the Pope changed the calendar from the Julian to the Gregorian system, a difference of 10 days, on the day after her death.)

Teresa is reported to have been very attractive in person, witty, candid, and affectionate. She is remembered both for her practical achievements and organizing skill and for her life of contemplative prayer. Her books are read as aids to the spiritual life by many Christians of all denominations. Her Life is her autobiography to 1562; the Way of Perfection is a treatise on the Christian walk, written primarily for her sisters but of help to others as well; The Book of Foundations deals with establishing, organizing and overseeing the daily functioning of religious communities; The Interior Castle (or The Castle of the Soul) deals with the life of Christ in the heart of the believer. Most of these are available in paperback. 31 of her poems and 458 of her letters survive. Her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is 15 October. The Lutheran Church (Elca) commemorates her on December 14 together with St. John of the Cross.