La verdad como principio de la contemplación

Abstract

Studies of St. Teresa of Jesus are countless but models of interpretation are very few. This present study takes its starting point from  the contemplative vocation of St. Teresa, fulfilled in the Carmel that she herself reformed. From there, we return to the notion  of truth, one that has not been sufficiently studied, and we make it the key to our understanding in order to achieve a more unified and  coherent understanding of this vocation, around which all teaching focuses on contemplative prayer and its Christological roots. The  truth, as the beginning of contemplation, requires an analysis the developmentof which demands that this principle not be treated as  just one interpretation alongside others but rather that the truth be treated as a concept that defines a point of view that, due to its  fundamental character, is necessarily prior to all other possible approaches. This leads us to a reading of selected Teresian texts  whose analysis has revealed the presuppositions that lie behind Teresa’s approach. In turn, all of this opensup a fruitful dialogue with  new approaches from the perspective of the works of St.Teresa.