The course of my Catholic journey means that the Feast Day of any Carmelite saint is special to me, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross's especially so.
When I became interested in Catholicism in 1995-6 she (along with Cardinal Newman) was one of the first saints whom I met along the Way.
After I converted at Easter 1996 I did spend some time buying and reading books about and by her but I have to confess that in the years since, though I have never forgotten her, I haven't asked myself 'what is the basis of that attraction?' - because I still find both her and Newman very attractive - often enough.
I guess at the beginning it was her intellectualism. When I converted I was still at university so living that kind of life. That's certainly what I liked about Newman. Today, I still respect her intellectual abilities - they were very, very great - but I bet if I spent just a little more time in her spiritual company, I'd find more to not just respect but absorb and let influence me. Same with Newman.
Well, I guess (today, it seems, is a day for guessing) I know what to do next.
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