“To lead me where God wanted me to be”. An enquiry into the Spiritual Accompaniment of Maria Petyt by Michael of St. Augustine

Abstract

In the present article the spiritual fellowship of Michael a S. Augustino (1621-1684) and Maria Petyt (1623-1677) is described in  relation to the spiritual heritage of Teresa of Avila as it was valid within the Ancient Observance of the seventeenth century. The  research question is how did the Teresian sanctity take shape in their contact and are we able to discover the value of this  accompaniment for the reform of the Observantia Strictior in the Flemish-Belgian province. The enquiry is done on basis of the  features underpinning this Teresian model of sanctity. In this article will be treated the Teresian bond of priests and religious  women, the esteem for the intercessory prayer of women, spiritual warfare, reforming Carmel, combatting heretics and developing  methods to distinguish true from false visions. These features are studied against the background of the Flemish spirituality of the seventeenth century.The article  is structured as follows: first some comments on the Teresian model of sanctity, then a brief introduction to the life stories of Michael  and Maria, Michaels instruction during Maria’s novitiate, how the Teresian model unfolded thereafter and the function of this model  for the Observantia Strictior in the Flemish-Belgian Province. In the end we will describe a few developments by which the functioning  of the Teresian model weakened during the seventeen eighties.