Anna Bacherini Piattoli (1720–1788).
Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart (1747-1770), 1770, Monastery of the
Discalced Carmelites, Florence, Italy
Sainte Thérèse-Marguerite Redi
Religieuse carmélite (+ 1770)
"Native d'Arezzo, ville très ancienne de Toscane, Thérèse-Marguerite Redi entra au carmel de Florence à l'âge de 17 ans. Elle y vécut une expérience contemplative exceptionnelle et comprit que sa vocation était de mener une vie cachée dans l'amour et le don de soi. Elle eut aussi maintes occasions de pratiquer une héroïque charité au cours de ses six années de vie au Carmel. Sa mémoire liturgique dans l'Ordre du Carmel est le 1er septembre"... source et suite: Thérèse Marguerite du Sacré-Cœur (Thérèse Marguerite Redi) 1747-1770 sur le site du Carmel au Québec.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/6019/Sainte-Therese-Marguerite-Redi.html
Sainte Thérèse-Marguerite Redi
1747 – 1770
Vierge de notre Ordre
Native d'Arezzo, ville très ancienne de Toscane, Thérèse-Marguerite Redi entra
au carmel de Florence à l'âge de 17 ans. Elle y vécut une expérience
contemplative exceptionnelle et comprit que sa vocation était de mener une vie
cachée dans l'amour et le don de soi. Elle eut aussi maintes occasions de
pratiquer une héroïque charité au cours de ses six années de vie au Carmel. Fête
liturgique le 1er septembre.
Sa Vie
Thérèse Marguerite naît
à Arezzo, en Toscane, le 15 juillet 1747 dans la noble famille des
Redi et elle est baptisée le 16 juillet sous le nom de
Anne-Marie. Dès son jeune âge, elle est habitée par une profonde piété et elle
manifeste un grand désir d’entendre parler de Dieu. On peut même la qualifier
de « petite contemplative » quand à l’âge de 6 ans, elle pose la
question : « Dites-moi, qui est ce Dieu ? » à qui peut lui répondre !
Son penchant au
recueillement et à la prière s’accentue au cours des années vécues au
pensionnat des bénédictines de Florence. Durant ses jeux d’enfant (car elle
demeure une enfant enjouée, espiègle et normale), elle passe cette réflexion
tout imprégnée de Celui qui l’habite : « Pendant que nous nous amusons,
Jésus pense à nous! » C’est aussi durant cette période chez les Bénédictines
que sa vie eucharistique et mariale, de même que sa dévotion au Sacré-Coeur
s’épanouiront malgré le contexte janséniste de l’époque.
À son retour dans le
cercle familial, elle attend une année avant de révéler son désir de vie
religieuse au Carmel. Cette vocation, elle l’a découverte durant les derniers
mois de ses études chez les sœurs Bénédictines. Son directeur spirituel et son
confident, son pieux père Ignace Redi, ne s’oppose pas à la vocation de
sa fille bien qu’il en ait le cœur brisé. Anne Marie entre donc au Carmel
de Florence, le 1er septembre 1764. Elle prend l’habit le 11 mars 1765 et
devient sœur Thérèse Marguerite du Sacré-Cœur de Jésus. Elle reçoit comme
maîtresse de novices une carmélite digne de former les « anciens Pères du
désert ». Mais jamais Thérèse Marguerite ne manifestera de mouvements
d’impatience, de susceptibilité ou d’amertume. À l’âge de 23 ans, deux
péritonites viennent écourter sa vie sur terre. Elle meurt le 7 mars 1770. Elle
sera béatifiée par Pie XI le 9 juin 1929 et canonisée le 13 mars 1934.
Son Message
Qu’a donc fait sœur
Thérèse Marguerite Redi pour que l’Église reconnaisse sa sainteté quelques 150
ans plus tard ? Le fondement de sa vie religieuse repose sur sa foi profonde et
vivante; et cette foi vivante provient de ce qu’elle demeure constamment
en présence du Seigneur. Son leitmotiv « Dieu est Amour » est le résumé de
toute sa vie. Rendre à Dieu amour pour amour, mais cachée dans le cœur du
Christ. La pensée de ce que le Seigneur a souffert, éveille en elle le «
désir de souffrir aussi un peu pour lui ». Aucune épreuve ne lui semble trop
pénible à cause de l’Amour qui l’habite. Mais cet amour pour Dieu passe
aussi par l’amour bien concret de chacune de ses sœurs. Après sa profession,
elle reçoit le travail d’infirmière dans la communauté. Elle prodigue les
soins avec patience et sans mouvement d’humeur. Au travers de ce quotidien, aucune
de ses sœurs ne soupçonne le feu d’Amour qui la brûle et commence à la consumer
de plus en plus en vue du grand passage !
Le témoignage de son
directeur spirituel, le père Ildephonse de St-Aloysius Gonzaga, au procès
canonique, nous permet de pénétrer le silence de la vie cachée de sainte
Thérèse Marguerite et de retrouver son itinéraire spirituel. Elle a été
conduite sur le véritable chemin thérésien d’une contemplation assidue de la
sainte humanité de Jésus, Verbe incarné. En fait, sa dévotion au Sacré-Cœur
explique tous les aspects de sa spiritualité et de sa vie religieuse.
Elle considère le
Sacré-Cœur comme le « centre de l’amour » par lequel la Parole de Dieu, dès le
sein du Père, nous a aimés de toute éternité, et avec lequel il a tant mérité
pour nous. Elle fait l’expérience, par le Sacré Cœur de Jésus, de «
l’Habitation divine », comme le dit saint Paul « vous êtes le temple de Dieu ».
Et sa grande épreuve intérieure sera d’aimer cet Amour mais de ne plus le
sentir; ce sera d’aimer sans croire qu’elle aime !
Une grande grâce
contemplative, reçue le dimanche après la Pentecôte de 1767, lui fait
expérimenter en toute vérité, dans son être de chair ce « Dieu est Amour » et
il deviendra la source de sa vie et de sa sainteté. C’est ce feu de l’Amour qui
consume par la suite la vie toute simple et cachée de sœur Thérèse Marguerite
du Sacré-Cœur. Sa vie humaine et spirituelle est brûlée par cette charité vécue
à « l’extrême ».
Thérèse Marguerite avait
une santé forte et solide. Mais le 7 mars 1770, quelques douleurs mal
diagnostiquées la conduisent à la mort après 18 heures de souffrances
affreuses. Elle meurt à 23 ans après 6 ans de vie au Carmel. Durant sa courte
maladie, à travers une douleur intolérable, elle trouve encore la patience et
la charité de conseiller une sœur sur les soins à donner à des sœurs malades.
Elle meurt paisiblement le regard fixé sur son crucifix qu’elle tient en ses
mains et qu’elle baise avec amour.
Le corps de la jeune
carmélite défunte était déjà très altéré et enflé après sa mort, à un point tel
qu’on songeait à ne pas exposer sa dépouille à la grille du parloir comme
c’était la coutume. Mais dès qu’on commença à la transporter un changement
étonnant se produisit. La couleur bleuâtre de son visage et de son cou fit
place à une délicate pâleur, le visage prit un éclat rosé, le corps devint
mince et souple. La défunte semblait d’une beauté rayonnante plus qu’elle ne
l’avait été de son vivant. On retarda l’inhumation de 15 jours et le corps
demeura dans le même état en répandant un parfum agréable. Son corps est
demeuré intact jusqu’à nos jours. Il repose maintenant dans une châsse en verre
au monastère de Florence.
La fonction de Thérèse
Marguerite Redi dans l’histoire de la spiritualité ne consiste pas à être « un
maître » mais « un témoin ». Elle a témoigné par sa vie au Carmel, que lorsque
cette vie est vécue sans compromis, dans son expression ascétique et
contemplative la plus pure, cette vie est capable de conduire l’âme à l’union
la plus intime avec Dieu. Le Sacré-Cœur de Jésus, où elle a su se cacher pour
aimer, est la demeure où elle nous invite.
SOURCE : https://lecarmel.org/_therese-marguerite-du-sacre-coeur_qui-es-tu
Santa
Margarita del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús. Iglesia del Santo Ángel. Sevilla,
Andalucía, España.
Also
known as
Ann Maria Redi
Anna Maria Redi
Anne Mary Redi
Teresa Margaret of the
Sacred Heart
Teresa Margherita Redi of
the Sacred Heart
Profile
Born to the Tuscan nobility,
the daughter of Count Ignatius
Redi and Camilla Billeti. Pious child who
saw God in
all things, and who was confused to learn that not everyone knew that God loved
them.
Educated at
the Saint Apollonia convent at Florence, Italy from
age nine. A gentle and mature child,
she was often left in to watch over her peers. Noted for an intense desire for
her First Communion,
and for a devotion to Our Lady.
Had an extensive correspondence with her father,
discussing her spiritual life in great detail; she asked that he destroy each
letter after reading it, and sadly, he did so.
In September 1763 she
received a message from Saint Teresa
of Jesus advising her to become a Carmelite.
Anna went home to Arezzo, Italy at
age 17, but returned to Florence almost
immediately. Became a Discalced
Carmelite, joining the convent of Saint Teresa
on 1
September 1764,
and taking the name Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart. She received the
veil on 11 March 1765,
and made her final vows on 12 March 1766.
Sister Teresa worked in
the convent‘s
infirmary, and appeared to have a gift of healing.
She predicted her own death less
than five years after making her final vows. Her short life and vocation were
spent in contemplative union with God as
she ever meditated on her favourite phrase, “God is love.”
Born
15 July 1747 at Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy as Anna
Maria Redi
7 March 1770 at Florence, Italy of
a severe and painful abdominal disorder
post-mortem, all the swelling
and discoloration in her body disappeared, her body was incorrupt several weeks
later, had a healthy glow, and exuded an odor of perfume
Additional
Information
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Book of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
websites
in nederlandse
spletne
strani v slovenšcini
MLA
Citation
“Saint Teresa Margaret
Redi“. CatholicSaints.Info. 24 May 2020. Web. 7 March 2022.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-teresa-margaret-redi/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-teresa-margaret-redi/
Saints of the Day – Teresa Margaret
Redi
Article
(Baptized as Anna Maria
Redi)
Born in Arezzo, Tuscany,
Italy, July 15, 1747; died March 7, 1770; canonized 1934. Teresa Margaret of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus was born of a distinguished family, baptized Anna
Maria, and raised by the Benedictine nuns of Santa Apollonia in Florence.
One day on entering her
room, she distinctly heard herself addressed with the words: “I wish to have
you among my daughters.” She felt herself irresistibly drawn to the chapel,
where the same voice said to her: “I am Teresa of Jesus, and I tell you that
soon you will be in my convent.”
Teresa Margaret returned
to her parents’ house for a few weeks, then, in the summer of 1764, was
received on probation in the convent of the discalced Carmelites in Florence.
The nuns were amazed at this novice, who set them an example of the perfect
conventual life. Her motto was: “To suffer, to love, to be silent.”
Under the spiritual
sufferings of the path of purification she matured quickly to mystical union
with God. On the evening of March 6, 1770, she was suddenly overcome by violent
pains, and the very next day she peacefully and joyfully gave back her soul to
God, whom she had always loved and for whom she had constantly yearned. She was
22 at the time of her death. The rumor that a saint had died rapidly spread
through Florence, and her body had to be kept above ground for 15 days
(Benedictines, Schamoni).
MLA
Citation
Katherine I
Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info.
24 May 2020. Web. 7 March 2022.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-teresa-margaret-redi/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-teresa-margaret-redi/
Saint Teresa Margaret
Redi (1747-1770)
“I am resolved to give complete obedience in
everything without exception, not only to my superiors, but also to my equals
and inferiors, so as to learn from you, my God, who made yourself obedient in
far more difficult circumstances than those in which I find myself.”
Saint Teresa Margaret Redi
Feast Day ~ September 1
Born Anna Maria Redi, to
a noble Italian family in 1747, Anna Maria from an early age, desired nothing
more than to live a humble, completely hidden life given over to growing in
virtue. Beginning around the age of five, she felt called to a life of prayer
and would spend much time alone in quiet contemplation, pursuing holiness while
carefully avoiding drawing attention to herself, and to appear ordinary to all
around her. Although drawn to the religious life, Anna Maria was not quite sure
of her vocation. It would be none other than St. Teresa of Ávila herself who
would dispel Teresa Margaret’s doubts inviting her to become one of her
spiritual daughters in Carmel with these words: “I am Teresa of Jesus, and I
want you among my daughters.” Teresa Margaret entered the Florence Carmel in
September 1764 at the age of 17.
Teresa Margaret served
her community as infirmarian and always presented a serene exterior no matter
how taxing her internal or external trials might have been. She was determined
to prove her love for God in all her deeds, to conform her will to God’s in all
things, to be – in her words – “motivated by love alone.” For those wishing to
grow in virtue, it is well worth getting to know St. Teresa Margaret and
following her quiet example.
SOURCE : https://carmelitesistersocd.com/2016/9carmelitesaints_day2/
II. 3 ST. TERESA MARGARET
OF THE SACRED HEART
On March 19, 1934, Pope
Pius XI entered Blessed Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart in the register of
saints. In Germany, the new saint is virtually unknown outside of our Order.
Her life was quiet and hidden. She died on March 7, 1770 at the age of 22, and
of this short lifespan, she spent five years in the Carmelite monastery in
Florence. She performed no brilliant, attention-getting deeds, nor did her
reputation reach the wider world. She was like a lily that, in a quiet vale
protected from storms, rises slim and straight and, in the warm light of the
sun, unfolds into a wondrous bloom. Her powerful and sweet fragrance charmed
everyone who lived around her. Even after her death it did not evaporate, but
spread wider and wider, and now it is to fill the entire church of God.
1. Childhood
Teresa Margaret is often
compared with St. Aloysius. Like him, she not only died early, but also shared
with him angelic purity and severe penance. Her home was Arezzo in Tuscany. Her
parents, Ignatius Redi and Camilla Balleti, came from noble families. She was
born on July 15, 1747, the eve of the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount
Carmel. She was baptized as Anna Maria. From early childhood on, she showed an
unusual desire to hear people speak of God. When anyone talked of heavenly
things in her presence, she fixed her eyes on the person's lips with such rapt
attention that it had to amaze and move those present. When her confessor later
asked her whether, from the moment she had gotten to know God she had also
begun to love him, she replied, "But everyone does that, and how could
anyone not do so?" This is how self-evident it was to her that one merely
needed to know God in order to love him. Another time she said, "Jesus
knows that from childhood on I never had any other wish than to please him and
to become holy."
People often observed her
even as a six-year-old gazing fixedly up to heaven for a long time as though in
deep meditation. From her seventh year on she understood how to "find God
in all things," in stars and flowers, in short, to read in all creatures a
challenge to praise the Creator. When she was nine, her devout parents sent her
to the Benedictine nuns at the monastery of St. Apollonia in Florence for her
education. She at once won the hearts of those in authority as well as her
contemporaries by her exemplary zeal and obedience, by her natural lovableness,
cheerfulness, and readiness to serve. With childish naïveté, she quite
unconsciously expressed her continual union with God. "While we are
enjoying ourselves, Jesus is thinking of us," she called to her playmates
in the middle of recess. So it is understandable that people took unusual advantage
of her reliability and would often entrust her with watching her companions,
without this evoking any dissension.
When she saw the older
pupils go to the communion rail, her behavior showed such a deep desire to be
united with the Lord that she was given permission to receive her first Holy
Communion at ten years of age early for that time. She herself had not asked
for it, for she was not in the habit of expressing wishes. Nor did she say
anything about the result. But her increased faithfulness, her anxious
avoidance of any shadow of sin that often gave her sleepless nights for a
presumed fault, bore persuasive witness.
Her rich interior life
required discerning direction for her soul. Because she did not want to attract
attention at the boarding school by staying in the confessional too long, she
got the idea of confiding in her own father. In detailed letters she gave him
an account of her spiritual life. She also asked him to destroy the letters at
once. Since he did this conscientiously, none of this evidence has come down to
us except for the testimony of her father that they were full of the most
exalted love of God and the most sensitive Christian perfection.
Probably at the
suggestion of her father she also later consulted the confessor at the boarding
school, Monsignor Pellegrini, and received from him direction in prayer and the
regulation of her penances, which she had already begun in her family home at
an interior motivation.
A particular
characteristic of her piety was her love of the Mother of God, which she
harbored from early childhood on. At the boarding school she once slipped on
the steps while she was carrying a warming basin filled with glowing coals. She
cried aloud to the Virgin Mary, whose picture hung near the foot of the stairs,
and landed at the bottom completely unharmed; the coals had not even damaged
her clothing.
Her constant spiritual
recollection was evidenced by the calm, placid evenness of her disposition in
spite of her being naturally high-spirited. And the fruit of her love for God
was an untiring, loving readiness to serve everyone, not just the nuns and
fellow boarders, but also the servants, from whom she liked to take over the
heaviest tasks inconspicuously and as though for her own delight.
2. Religious Vocation
Anna Maria considered
herself lucky to be living under the same roof with the Lord. With holy joy she
participated in the monastery's routines. So it was only natural that the
desire to spend her whole life in the house of the Lord should awaken in her.
However, she still had no clarity about what order to choose. It was revealed
to her in a singular way. She was 16 years old when one day in September of
1763 she was called into the speakroom with the nuns. It was a farewell visit
of a childhood friend from her home town who was about to enter the Carmelite
monastery of St. Teresa in Florence. On the way back inside the monastery, Anna
Maria felt strangely uplifted and happy, and suddenly she heard a voice that
spoke to her: "I am Teresa, and I want you to be one of my
daughters." In doubt as to whether she should receive these words as
divinely inspired, she rushed to the chapel to ask for complete clarity before
the altar. Here that voice spoke for the second time and more clearly than
before: "I am Teresa of Jesus, and I say to you that you will soon find
yourself in my monastery."
Now complete calm settled
over the soul of the young girl, and she decided to consecrate herself to God
in Carmel. For the time being, she spoke with no one about this. And when
shortly thereafter her father took her back to her family home, she kept her
secret for several more months. She used this time to explore whether she would
be equal to the strict lifestyle in Carmel. Without in the least neglecting her
duties to her family, she remained in her room as much as possible to immerse
herself in prayer and to read spiritual books. As much as consideration of her
surroundings permitted, she practiced silence. She allowed no one to wait on
her; in fact, where she could, she sought to do some of the servants' work. She
let others choose her clothing without bringing up her own taste and, when
possible, avoided changing her clothes during the day. She knew how to exercise
secret mortifications during meals and to give to the poor some of what she
denied herself. Indeed, she did not shrink from inflicting severe penances on
her sensitive body.
After testing herself in
this way for several months, it seemed to her time to take the steps necessary
to carry out her decision. The first person in whom she confided was the Jesuit
priest Jerome Maria Cioni. He advised her to discuss it with her mother. She
chose her seventeenth birthday for this. Without her knowledge, her mother told
her father. In spite of their piety, both parents were painfully disconcerted.
However, it did not occur to them to refuse their consent outright. The only
thing Count Redi deemed necessary was a thorough examination by experienced men
of the spirit. Since everyone whose advice they sought definitely said that her
vocation was genuine, Anna Maria received permission to write a letter to the
mother superior of the Monastery of St. Teresa requesting admittance to the
Order.
Objections raised by
companions in her household and relatives could not dissuade the young
candidate for the religious life in the least. Almost without meaning to, her
father put her through a more difficult test. He and his favorite child had a
habit of staying up together in the evenings to share their views on spiritual
questions after the rest of the family had gone to bed. These hours gave both
of them the greatest joy. One evening they were again sitting together. So far
Count Redi had avoided discussing Anna Maria's plan with her. She did not even
know that he was aware of it. On this evening he was suddenly overpowered by
grief. He burst into tears and asked, "Do you really intend to leave me,
my dear daughter?" Anna Maria loved her father tenderly. Not only was she
bound to him by a child's natural attachments, but, simultaneously, by a
supernatural love for her spiritual director and confidant. Therefore, this
surprising outburst must have touched her deeply. Count Redi himself described
her behavior at that moment: "At this shock, probably the strongest
possible to inflict on her sensitive heart under these circumstances, she
remained standing motionless before me for a time as though animated by a
higher spirit. Then she retreated to her room without saying a word."
When the answer from
Florence came assuring Anna Maria's acceptance as a postulant, her father
decided to take her to the monastery himself. Beforehand, at her mother's
suggestion, one more special pleasure was afforded her: a pilgrimage to the
nearby Mount Alvernia, to the holy place where St. Francis received the stigmata.
One day during the second
half of August in the year 1764 Anna Maria left her home forever. Her mother
was sick in bed. The departing daughter knelt before her to ask for her
farewell blessing. Countess Redi could not say a single word; tears were all she
had in reply. Anna Maria again remained very quiet and completely controlled
her pain. After a few consoling words to his wife, Count Redi led her to the
carriage. "After we had taken our places in it," he later said during
the process, "without letting her know that I was observing her, I saw my
daughter serious, motionless, and silent for a solid hour. Then her cheerful
disposition returned, and she engaged me in merry and spirited conversation,
continuing the journey in the most complete composure."
In Florence Anna Maria
once more visited the nuns at St. Apollonia's, who had raised her, to say
good-bye to them and to her two younger sisters who were now pupils there. Then
she stepped over the threshold of the Monastery of St. Teresa which was now to
become her home.
3. Life in the Order
The young sister used to
call the convent that had admitted her the "house of angels." She
considered all of her fellow sisters as angels. In her letter requesting
admittance, she had said that her goal was to "compete with them in the
holy love of God." She deemed belonging to this community an entirely
undeserved grace and was continually grateful to the nuns. She was always
convinced that she lived among them as someone entirely undeserving. With
complete sincerity, she once said to her confessor, "Believe me, my
Father, these nuns are saints and real angels. I tremble when I think of how
different I am from them and how far from their example. Believe me, I am
really unworthy to lay myself under their feet and to serve as a floor for
them. By constantly giving them annoyance, all I am good for is to enable them
to practice the virtue of patience continually. I do not know how they begin to
tolerate me." At the same time, her behavior from the day of her entrance
resembled that of a tried religious; so, from that point of view there was
never any doubt about her final acceptance after the probationary period.
But as the months of
testing neared their end, another circumstance put the happy outcome in
question: a virulent swelling above her right knee that would not go away for a
long time. At first she tried to hide the trouble and knelt on the floor as
always without support. But when she became feverish, the illness could no
longer remain a secret. What gave her even more distress than the bodily pain
was having to expose the affected part to the attending physician. She accepted
the painful operation patiently in remembrance of the suffering Savior.
Finally, the suffering abated and with it the impediment to her reception of
the habit.
The sisters assembled in
chapter to receive the postulant's request for acceptance. Fearful that she
might be excluded because of her unworthiness, she knelt before the mother
prioress and asked pardon for her failures, promising to do better. With great
joy she heard the comforting assurance of the sisters who were completely
convinced in their hearts of having obtained a consummate daughter of St.
Teresa. But, in accord with the custom of that time, she had to wait two more
months for the final vote and during this time even had to leave the enclosure.
She spent the time in quiet withdrawal with Isabella Mozzi, a friend of her
mother's in Florence.
March 11, 1765 was chosen
for the clothing. On the eve, Anna Maria was permitted to return to the
monastery. A large crowd of acquaintances and practically all the nobility of
Florence were at the church where preparatory devotions were held to welcome her.
They accompanied her to the door of the enclosure. Just as many participated at
the clothing ceremony the following morning. At that time she received her
religious name, Teresa Margaret Marianne of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The novice mistress into
whose hands the young nun was entrusted, Teresa Maria Guadagni, had set as her
goal the formation of her charges on the model of the oldest father of our
Order, the strict hermit of Mount Carmel. The more she considered the
perfection of which the new novice was capable and to which she was called, the
sharper the weapons she believed herself permitted to use to foster the
practice and to gain proficiency in the basic virtues of a religious: humility,
obedience, self-abnegation. She knew how to find faults and shortcomings in
everything that Margaret did and would reprimand her sharply. And when the
young sister acknowledged the correction by the customary prostration on the
floor, the mistress was in no hurry at all to give her the signal to rise. But
no one ever saw a hint of bitterness or sensitivity in Margaret. However, when
she was finally allowed to rise, she did so with a friendly and cheerful
expression and with the words, "God reward you for your good deed."
Before her profession of
vows, she had an experience of suffering similar to that before her clothing.
It was the same physical illness and, after this had been successfully healed,
there was the fear that they would not allow her to make her profession because
of her many faults and imperfections. She could hardly believe it when the
acceptance was finally confirmed, and was full of gratitude for the undeserved
grace. She zealously examined herself to see whether she had any attachment
that might impede her complete union with the Lord. Her great love for her
father was the only thing that still caused her doubt. So she decided to
sacrifice the exchange of letters that she had been maintaining up to then. She
informed him that from now on they would meet in the heart of Jesus and would
see who could love God the most. When incidentally another sister asked her,
right after a visit from her father, whether the farewell had not been
difficult for her, she smiled and showed her a scrap of paper on which some
words of St. Augustine were written: Minus te amat, qui tecum aliquid amat.
"They love you too little who continue to love anything other than
you."
An eyewitness recounts of
her profession on March 12, 1766: "At the solemn moment of profession, she
seemed to be transformed into a seraph, and so deep and powerful was the
impression of love that her outward appearance made on the circle of sisters
around her that they were too moved and amazed to be able to restrain their
tears."
The foundation of her
life in the Order was her deep and living faith. As during her childhood, so
also later, she wanted to hear about God and to enrich her knowledge. Even more
than by books and priestly instruction, this desire was satisfied by
illumination from on high. Out of this living faith there arose a holy
reverence for everything connected with things of faith: for priests, for the
other sisters as brides of Christ, for all the altar vessels which she cared
for as sacristan, for all the rites during worship. Above all, the fruit of
this living faith was constant living in God's presence. Her confessor and
spiritual director during her years in the Order, Fr. Ildefonse, said during
the process that in his judgment "her prayer had reached the level of
unity in faith where these kinds of souls seem unable to continue to live much
longer naturally. So in accord with the usual way of God's providence, they
tend to be called early into the better world, there to see and to enjoy
unveiled the Source of all being and all reality, the highest Lord whom they so
eagerly sought to know on this miserable earth."
Her favorite expression
was "God is love." And to requite this divine love with love in
return was self-evident to her even from childhood. The thought of what the
Lord suffered for us aroused in her the burning desire "to suffer a little
for him, too." Therefore, she found no trial too hard; she discovered ever
new sacrifices and penances. But she also knew that the Lord saw the proof of
our love for him in the love we show to others. She found the occupation
ideally suited for her love of neighbor in caring for the sick, when this
responsibility was given to her after her profession. She was tireless in her
care for those who were ill, and no impatience, no irritability nor any
ingratitude of theirs could decrease her loving concern. Her strict superior,
with whose care she was entrusted, knew how to try her most severely and had
something to complain about in spite of all her eagerness. However, the
caretaker always remained loving and patient. The ill mother prioress deliberately
had to control herself so as not to express her wonder and gratitude for the
tireless care. However, the only reason for this reticence was that she, too,
considered it her duty to train her young daughter in humility and patience. In
assuming the care of a mentally ill sister, the infirmarian took on a true
martyrdom. But when they wanted to relieve her once more of this burden, she
pleaded so hard to be allowed to continue to tend the patient that permission
was granted her.
When the monastery was visited
by an epidemic, her strength seemed to multiply. Indeed, it was apparent that
supernatural gifts came to assist her in her duties. No matter how far away she
was, she sensed when one of her patients needed her and was instantly at her
side. A deaf elderly sister, with whom no one could communicate any longer,
whom therefore even the confessor was no longer able to comfort, understood
everything that Teresa Margaret said to her, even in a soft voice. So the
infirmarian could care for her unhindered, and the patient also received from
her the spiritual consolation for which she longed.
One day she found herself
in the refectory with a sister who had been suffering from a severe toothache
for a long time. Sr. Teresa Margaret saw that she was again in great pain. Full
of sympathy, she arose, hurried over to the sufferer, and in complete contrast
to her former reserve which the Constitutions of the Order also
required she pressed a kiss on the painful spot. Then she returned to her
place. At that moment the pain left and did not return.
4. Death and
Glorification
In the midst of these
self-sacrificing deeds of love, she herself was called away. On March 4, 1770
she asked her confessor to allow her to make a general confession and to permit
her to receive communion the next morning as though it were her last.
Obviously, she had a premonition of her sudden death that would make it
impossible for her to receive Viaticum. On the eve of March 6 she stayed to
care for the sick so long that she could no longer have supper with the
community. Somewhat later she went to the refectory to have the small collation
served in Lent. There she was suddenly seized by severe pain resembling colic.
She wanted to go to her cell, but could only drag herself as far as a room near
the refectory. Only after a while, when the pain had abated enough, was she
able to reach her cell. There she collapsed and had to call for help.
She was put to bed never
to leave it again. For the whole night and the following day she was in
unspeakable pain, but not for a moment did she lose patience; and every effort
made on her behalf seemed to her to be too much. She would not allow a sister
to watch beside her at night. Only under obedience did she permit a maid to
remain with her. And all she requested of her was that she remain quiet so as
not to disturb anyone's nightly rest. In the morning her first concern was that
the young woman should make up for the sleep she had missed. In the severest
pain, she gave the sisters instructions for the care of her patients. When she
could no longer speak from pain, she turned her eyes to the cross that she was
holding in her hand and pressed her lips to the wounds of the Crucified.
At about three o'clock in
the afternoon, about the hour when our Lord died, she lost movement and speech.
The confessor who was called could do nothing more than administer Extreme
Unction to her. Soon thereafter she passed away quietly and peacefully.
Because of the illness
that had carried her off, shortly after her death the corpse was very
disfigured, the face and neck were blue and the body very swollen. The nuns
were almost hesitant to place her on view at the grate in the church as was the
custom. But even during the transfer, an amazing change began: The blue color
changed to a delicate pallor, the face took on a rosy glow, the body turned
slim and pliant. On March 9, the deceased seemed to be more beautiful and
vibrant than when alive. Therefore, the Father Provincial permitted a
postponement of the burial. Until March 22, that is, for fifteen days, the nuns
kept their deceased sister in the church; not a trace of decomposition
appeared. On that day the archbishop of Florence visited the corpse with many
associates, including medical experts. Besides the miraculous preservation of the
body, what attracted great crowds of the faithful as at the death of our Holy
Mother Teresa was the unique fragrance which the corpse exuded. It spread to
everything that came in contact with the deceased. Indeed, even the things that
she had touched during life exuded it.
The holy body, which has
remained incorrupt to this day, now rests in a glass shrine in the monastery
church in Florence. Countless answers to prayers and cures of the sick led to
the early initiation of the beatification process so that her own father and
confessor as well as a number of Carmelite nuns could make depositions.
In 1839, Pope Gregory XVI
pronounced her virtues heroic. However,
the beatification process was not concluded until the year 1929 under Pope Pius
XI, and the jubilee of our salvation has now, on March 19, 1934, brought the
canonization of the faithful follower of the Cross.
Copyright ICS
Publications. Permission is hereby granted for any non-commercial use, if
this copyright notice is included. Maintained by the Austrian
Province of the Teresian
Carmel
Volume IV of the
Collected Works of bl. Edith Stein. The hidden life: hagiographic essays,
meditations, spiritual texts. Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Discalced
Carmelite. Edited by Dr. L. Gelber and Michael Linssen, O.C.D..The original of
this work was published in German by Archivum Carmelitanum Edith Stein under
the title of (Band XI) Verborgenes Leben: Hagiographische Essays, Meditationen,
Geistliche Texte Verlag Herder, Freiburg 1987. Copyright on the english
translation 1992 Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites, ICS
Publications. Permission is hereby granted for any non-commercial use, if
this copyright notice is included.
SOURCE : https://web.archive.org/web/20060813143943/http://www.ocd.or.at/ics/edith/stein_14.html
Santa Teresa
Margherita (Anna Maria Redi) del Cuore di Gesù Vergine
Arezzo, 1 settembre 1747
- Firenze, 7 marzo 1770
Al secolo Anna Maria
Redi, nacque ad Arezzo il 15 luglio 1747. Frequentò come educanda il monastero
di Santa Apollonia di Firenze fino al 1764. Decisiva per la sua vocazione fu
l'ispirazione attribuita a santa Teresa d'Avila, grazie alla quale scelse il Carmelo.
Entrò nel monastero carmelitano di Firenze il 1 settembre 1764 e vestì l'abito
delle Carmelitane scalze l'11 marzo 1765, prendendo il nome di suor Teresa
Margherita del Cuore di Gesù. La seconda grande ispirazione della sua vita fu
il passo della prima lettera di Giovanni, «Dio è amore» (1 gv, 4,16) e cercò di
vivere improntata a questo concetto. Si dedicò quindi alla preghiera e
all'assistenza delle consorelle anziane fino a che, molto giovane (neppure 23
anni), morì a causa di una peritonite, il 7 marzo 1770. Il suo corpo emanava un
profumo soave e ancora oggi è conservato incorrotto nella chiesa del monastero
delle Carmelitane scalze di Firenze, dove fu sepolta. Fu canonizzata dal Papa
Pio XI il 19 marzo 1934.
Martirologio
Romano: A Firenze, santa Teresa Margherita Redi, vergine, che, entrata
nell’Ordine delle Carmelitane Scalze, percorse un arduo cammino di perfezione e
fu colta da prematura morte.
La vigilia della festa della Madonna del Carmelo dell’anno 1747, ad Arezzo, nella nobile famiglia Redi, venne alla luce Anna Maria, seconda di tredici figli. In un ambiente familiare profondamente cristiano crebbe candida come un giglio: ripetutamente chiedeva ai genitori e agli zii che le parlassero di Gesù e cosa dovesse fare per piacergli. Amava poi ritirarsi nella sua stanza per pregare ed ammirare i suoi “santini”. All’età di nove anni, per la sua formazione, sia cristiana che umanistica, fu mandata a Firenze con la sorella Eleonora Caterina, all’Educandato delle Benedettine di S. Apollonia. Qui, felice e serena, trascorse la sua adolescenza. Ricevette la Prima Comunione il giorno dell’Assunta del 1757. Fatto significativo, il suo maggior confidente era il padre, Ignazio Maria Redi, uomo illuminato e religioso. Tra i due iniziò un intenso rapporto epistolare, andato purtroppo quasi interamente perduto per la vicendevole promessa di dare al fuoco le lettere. Anna Maria più volte disse che era grata al padre, più per quello che le insegnava, che di averla generata fisicamente. Dopo aver letto la vita di S. Margherita Maria Alacoque nacque in lei una grande devozione al Sacro Cuore, amore intimo a Cristo. All’età di diciassette anni, seguendo l’esempio dell’amica Cecilia Albergotti, sentì la vocazione ad entrare nel Carmelo; il distacco dalla famiglia fu dolorosissimo. Il 1° settembre 1764 fu accolta nel Monastero di S. Maria degli Angeli di Firenze. Fece la professione religiosa il 12 marzo 1766 divenendo suor Teresa Margherita del Cuor di Gesù.
Scrupolosa nel rispetto della Regola, amava molto la preghiera mentale, anche notturna. Un amabile sorriso era sempre impresso sul suo volto. Spiritualità carmelitana dunque con una profonda devozione al Cuore di Gesù, sorgente di vita e d’amore. Con l’amica Cecilia iniziò una “santa sfida” nell’amare Cristo e per questo presero l’impegno di confidarsi ogni mancanza, nel periodo del silenzio non con le parole, ma con piccoli biglietti. Attraverso le testimonianze del padre e del direttore spirituale, P. Ildefonso di S. Luigi, conosciamo la sua scalata alla santità. Mentre era ancora una giovane professa, nacque in lei il desiderio profondo di conoscere la vita nascosta di Gesù. Padre Ildefonso le diede da meditare un brano della lettera di San Paolo ai Colossesi in cui si legge: “Voi siete morti e la vostra vita è nascosta con Cristo in Dio”. Appagare la sete di Dio attraverso l’imitazione di Cristo divenne lo scopo della sua esistenza. Nacque così quella singolare espressione: “Che bella scala, che scala preziosa, indispensabile è il nostro buon Gesù!”, maestro, modello e strumento per comprendere ed entrare nel Mistero Divino. La sua contemplazione era trinitaria: lo Spirito Santo era la fonte e Cristo la via per giungere al Padre. All’atto della professione religiosa, per amore di Gesù, rinunciò a quello cui maggiormente teneva: il rapporto epistolare col padre. Le costò tantissimo ma si promisero che da lì in poi, ogni sera, prima del riposo, si sarebbero incontrati nel Cuore di Gesù. Domenica 28 giugno 1767, mentre era in coro per l’Ora di Terza, sentì dalla lettura breve : “Deus Charitas est et qui manet in charitate, in Deo manet” (Gv. 1 4,16). Un sentimento soprannaturale la pervase e per più giorni rimase scossa. Donò il suo cuore a Cristo, offrendosi per essere consumata dal suo amore. Era giunta all’ultimo gradino della scala, divenendo Tempio del Dio Vivente. Tutto ciò nella più grande umiltà, col desiderio però di trasmettere tale dono mistico alle consorelle. Chiese al confessore il permesso di fare l’offerta della Alacoque: porre la propria volontà nella piaga del costato di Cristo ed entrare nel suo Cuore. Si sentiva però piccola e la sua più grande preoccupazione era di non amare abbastanza. L’amore a Dio si concretizzò nella mansione di aiuto infermiera che esercitò con straordinaria abnegazione, in particolare verso una consorella che per problemi psichici era purtroppo divenuta violenta. La sua carità fu silenziosa ed eroica. Tra l’altro in quel periodo le consorelle malate ed anziane erano molte. La sua stessa comunità divenne strumento di mortificazione e così, nell’ultimo Capitolo, suor Teresa Margherita fu rimproverata perché, per l’eccessivo lavoro in infermeria, sembrava trascurasse la vita contemplativa. Il totale dominio di sé, dopo un breve smarrimento, le fece superare il rimprovero con ironia.
Di S. Teresa Margherita Redi possediamo pochi scritti: alcune lettere, vari biglietti che amava dare alle consorelle con pensieri e massime, i propositi per gli esercizi del 1768 e un altro breve proposito. Dalle lettere scorgiamo alcuni momenti di sconforto: “trovandomi in questo stato di somma tiepidezza, ad ogni momento faccio qualche mancamento”, “ faccio tanti propositi, ma sono sempre l’istessa”. Si confidò con la priora chiedendole di essere trattata con durezza.
La sua ardente devozione le fece raggiungere un’altissima esperienza mistica, testimone di ciò che la preghiera può operare in un’anima. Fu attenta a tenere nascoste le sue virtù e per umiltà, con battute, smorzava la curiosità delle consorelle, tanto da essere considerata una “furbina”. Arrivò però a dire al direttore spirituale che avrebbe dovuto rendere pubblici i suoi difetti. Pur senza avere molte conoscenze teologiche fu attentissima alla comprensione della Sacra Scrittura, intesa come dono dello Spirito. Ebbe molto cara anche la lettura delle opere della Santa Madre Teresa e il suo invito a far posto a Dio col silenzio interiore. Ardente fu l’amore per l’Eucaristia: “All’offertorio, rinnovo la professione: prima che si alzi il Santissimo prego Nostro Signore, che, siccome tramuta quel pane e quel vino nel suo preziosissimo Corpo e Sangue, così si degni di tramutare tutta me in se stesso. Alzandosi lo adoro, e rinnovo ancora la mia professione, poi gli chiedo quello che desidero da lui”. Fece celebrare, per la prima volta, la festa del Sacro Cuore nella sua comunità, predisponendo ogni particolare perché fosse solenne. In questo fu sostenuta dal padre e dallo zio, il gesuita Diego Redi. Erano gli anni in cui nasceva questa devozione, non sempre ben accolta a causa delle influenze gianseniste.
Una peritonite fulminea, dopo diciotto ore di atroci sofferenze, le fece incontrare lo Sposo Celeste, tanto amato e desiderato. Dimentica di sé, poche ore prima di morire, continuava a preoccuparsi delle consorelle ammalate. Morì, a neppure ventitré anni, il 7 marzo 1770. Il suo corpo emanava un profumo soave e ancor’oggi è conservato incorrotto nel Monastero delle Carmelitane Scalze di Firenze (in passato antica villa della famiglia Redi). Il 19 marzo 1934, Papa Pio XI la proclamò santa definendola “neve ardente”. L’esistenza breve di questa semplice suora, senza avvenimenti particolari, è oggi di esempio alla chiesa universale.
Il Martyrologium Romanum la ricorda il 7 marzo, mentre l'Ordine Carmelitano la festeggia il 1° settembre.
Autore: Daniele Bolognini
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90051
Voir aussi : https://svetniki.org/sveta-terezija-margareta-redi-redovnica/
