By Fr. Rudolph Juarez
Guest Column
I was thinking of some of the women in my life. There was my first girlfriend in junior high, Collen, who was so sweet and kind. Then in high school there was Karen who was a fiery red head who knew what was what. I may very well have married her had not the call to priesthood been so strong.
Then there was my mom Leonor. Her name coming from Leo, which means lion — a very appropriate name because she was courageous and a handful for my dad. Then of course, my Aunt Lucy who was like as second mother to me, she was very proud of her Texas upbringing and of course, as they say, “Don’t mess with Texas.” There were five boys and one girl in my family. But, please do not feel sorry for my sister Mary (of happy memory), she could and did take care of herself — just ask my brother-in-law, Steve.
I was thinking of these women on this feast day of St. Teresa of Ávila, the sixteenth century Spanish mystic and reformer. She was the first woman to be declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970. She was a wise, holy and determined woman whose love for God and the Church has inspired countless generations. One of my favorite stories about her is when she was thrown out of the one the convents she had founded by her sister nuns.
It was pouring rain and when the cart she was riding in turned upside down and she was thrown into the mud, she looked up to heaven and said: “Lord, if this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few.”
To this day I am grateful for the women in my life, because they complement us men who can sometimes be a bit rough around the edges. I am especially grateful for the holy women in my life, because their insight and wisdom inspires me in my personal journey of faith and the pastoral work I do. Reflecting on her own journey of life, St. Teresa of Ávila said: “The feeling remains that God is on the journey too.” “Therefore, since we ae surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us. And persevere in running the race that lies before us” (Hebrews 12:1). As Scripture says: God with us!
(Father Rudolph Juarez is the pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Davenport.)
