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Novena to St. Teresa of Ávila

Day 3

10 min
Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.

Novena to St. Teresa of Ávila

Opening prayer:

St. Teresa of Jesus, valiant daughter of the Church and mistress of prayer, who found God dwelling within the castle of your soul, turn your gaze upon me. Teach me to converse with the Christ who loves me, and obtain for me the grace I ask in this novena. Amen.

Read the meditation and offer the intention of the day.

Day 3: The interior castle

St. Teresa saw the soul as a castle of crystal with many rooms, at whose center the King Himself dwells. She invites us to journey inward through prayer until we reach the chamber where God awaits us. Many souls, she lamented, linger in the outer courts, never suspecting the splendor within; yet the door is prayer, and self-knowledge is the threshold by which we begin to enter.

O God who dwell in the depths of my soul, lead me through the castle of my own heart to the room where You await me. By St. Teresa's guidance, draw me ever inward through faithful prayer, past every distraction, until I rest in the center where the King reigns. Amen.

Today's intention:

For the grace to seek God in the depths of our own soul.

Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Pater noster, qui es in cælis,

sanctificétur nomen tuum.

Advéniat regnum tuum.

Fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra.

Panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie,

et dimítte nobis débita nostra,

sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris.

Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem,

sed líbera nos a malo.

Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Ave María, grátia plena, Dóminus tecum.

Benedícta tu in muliéribus,

et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta María, Mater Dei,

ora pro nobis peccatóribus,

nunc et in hora mortis nostræ.

Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.

Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper,

et in sǽcula sæculórum.

Amen.

Closing prayer:

St. Teresa, whose heart was wounded by the fire of divine love, intercede that nothing may ever disturb the peace of my soul. Keep me steadfast in patience and trust, knowing that God alone suffices and that whoever has God wants for nothing. Amen.

Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.

About this prayer

A nine-day novena to St. Teresa of Ávila, Doctor of the Church and reformer of Carmel, who taught that prayer is friendship with the Christ who loves us. Through her example we learn to seek God within the interior castle of the soul.

History

Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada was born in Ávila, Spain, in 1515, and entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation as a young woman. After years of mediocrity she experienced a profound conversion before an image of the wounded Christ, and was drawn into a deep life of mystical prayer, including the famous transverberation in which an angel pierced her heart with a fiery dart. Despite poor health and fierce opposition, she founded seventeen reformed convents of the Discalced Carmelites, often aided by St. John of the Cross. Her writings, especially the Interior Castle and the Way of Perfection, became treasures of Christian mysticism; she died in 1582, was canonized in 1622, and was proclaimed the first woman Doctor of the Church by Pope St. Paul VI in 1970.

How to pray it

Pray once each day for nine consecutive days. Begin with the Sign of the Cross and the opening prayer, prayerfully read the meditation and offer the day's intention, then conclude with an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, and the closing prayer.

Portuguese text of the lines of *Nada te turbe* (closing prayer, Days 8 and 9): Canção Nova, "Nada te perturbe" (*Formação*, 2004) — [formacao.cancaonova.com](https://formacao.cancaonova.com/diversos/nada-te-perturbe/)

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