Carmelite Online Advent Retreat 2023

With Saint Teresa of the Andes

Introduction: Our stunning God

Her life
“God is infinite joy!” This famous statement by Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
(1900-1920) sets the tone for this Advent retreat. This daughter of Chile, who never reached
the age of twenty, invites us to journey towards Christmas with the candor and ardor of
youth. Juanita Fernández Solar was born on July 13, 1900 in the Chilean capital,
Santiago, into a large, well-to-do Catholic family. But it also was a family in which the
parents became estranged, with the financial situation ultimately deteriorating to a
considerable degree.
The young woman sometimes referred to as Chile's Little Thérèse (also known as
Teresita) was not particularly predisposed to sainthood. She had a good heart and was
intelligent, but she was also stubborn and hot-tempered. She became aware of this when
preparing for her First Communion. That was the beginning of her journey to sanctity, driven
by prayer, grace, the sacraments, and countless resolutions! Those resolutions show us an
endearing saint because their sheer number comes from the fact that—Juanita made no secret
of it—she often forgot them and regularly relapsed, which is a real stimulus for our own
journey in following Christ!
As a teenager, Juanita tried to love her neighbor as much as she could. She didn't
hesitate to sell a beautiful watch she had received as a gift, to donate the proceeds to a poor
child. At age 15, she resolved to become a Carmelite nun. It was a period in her life when she
was nourished by reading about the great saints who would help her grow. And seen in this
light, Teresa of the Andes is a daughter of the Church in France! She was influenced by
reading Thérèse of Lisieux, enchanted by the writings of Elizabeth of the Trinity, and she was
strengthened and inspired by the biography of Margaret Mary Alacoque. And what can we
say about her fervor for Our Lady of Lourdes? May this retreat with Saint Teresa of the
Andes be an opportunity for her to offer her gratitude in return to the sons and daughters of
the Church in France...
When Juanita entered Carmel, receiving the name Sister Teresa of Jesus,1she was
already a saint. According to the testimony of her Carmelite sisters, Juanita became a saint
while she was still “in the world,” even before she entered the monastery. Then, just ten
months after entering Carmel, Teresa told her confessor that she would die within a month.
She contracted typhus, which worsened at a lightning-fast pace. Bedridden in the monastery
infirmary and surrounded by the affection of her sisters, she made her solemn profession on
her deathbed, before leaving for heaven on April 12, 1920. On that day, according to a nun in
Santiago who didn’t know Sister Teresa, “Suddenly my spirit was taken to the cell of a dying
1 During this retreat, her baptismal name, Juanita, and her better-known religious name, Teresa, will both be
used.
Carmelite nun [...] On the left side of her bed, about a meter high, was an Angel who seemed
to be clothed in white clouds; with a fiery dart, he pierced the nun's heart, and immediately I
was told: ‘She is dying of love.’ ”
The message of Teresa of the Andes
This Advent 2023 retreat proposes to follow the path opened up by this young Chilean
saint towards a life of love and joy, because, as Teresa wrote, “we must become more and
more inflamed with zeal for the divine glory” (Diary, 28). Saint Teresa of Jesus of the
Andes is a witness to the joy of living in communion with the Lord. And how much our
world today needs to rediscover the true definition of joy! “This is her message,” said St.
John Paul II at Juanita's canonization on March 21, 1993: “Happiness is found in God alone;
God alone is infinite joy.”
For the little saint from Chile, holiness is the goal of all Christian life—a holiness that
is based on love, and standing at the side of our neighbors, all made possible by union with
Christ. Knowing that human nature is prone to many weaknesses—and we must constantly
correct ourselves—Teresa will share with us throughout this Advent season her many
good ideas for resolutions to let God joyfully transform our lives. She also invites us to
discover a God so stunning, a God of “such beauty” that one day she says, “it took me
completely outside myself” (Letters, LT 122) ... Yes, truly, God is Love, and he comes to us,
born in a manger, because he desires the happiness of humankind.
Retreat outline
Saint Teresa of the Andes will lead us to the joy of Christmas through 5 stages:
- 1st Sunday: “Holiness as a goal”
- 2nd Sunday: “Humility is the way to know God”
- 3rd Sunday: “God is infinite joy”
- 4th Sunda: “Beside you”
- Christmas: “What beauty!”

Every Friday, an e-mail will be sent to you: you’ll be able to download the text (in 3
formats: PDF, Word, and PDF mobile format) and watch an accompanying video from our
friars. The content of the meditation will be based on the Sunday Gospel, enabling us to
learn from Saint Teresa of the Andes and benefit from her concrete resolutions for growing in
holiness! An Advent calendar (with quotes and images) also will help to nourish your prayer
each day, from Monday to Saturday.
Enjoy discovering this young saint!
Fr. Cyril Robert, ocd (Paris convent)