S10 E15 Advent Part 4: The Prince of Peace Reigns - St. Teresa of Avila

In this episode, we conclude our four part Advent series revisiting the women Doctors of the Church with a discussion on peace through the life of St. Teresa of Avila. We discuss the key to peace as abiding in the love of Christ despite the storms of life. We chat about peace that comes from rightly ordered relationships and the need to cultivate peace through daily acts of trust, rest, and surrender. We pray that as we near Christmas, you would experience the peace of Christ in a new way! For further listening, check out Restore the Beauty, a five part series on the women Doctors of the Church from Season 4 and be sure to subscribe to the Abiding Together Podcast on YouTube to watch our video podcasts! 

Sister Miriam’s one thing - Oh Come Let us Adore Him - Maverick City Music

Michelle’s one thing - All of our Abiding Together Podcast Staff - Lizzie, Emily, Katie, Kristina - and the staff at Spirit Juice Studios 

Heather’s one thing - All of our Patrons

Other Books Mentioned - The Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux 

Discussion questions:    

1. What stood out to you from today’s episode? 
2. How do you find, cultivate, and maintain peace in your life? What role has ‘abiding’  played in creating a life of peace? 
3. What does it look like to embody Shalom - peace that radiates wholeness, completeness, and order? 
4. How do you make time throughout the day to breathe and intentionally open your heart up to Jesus and his peace? 

Journal Questions:

1. Take a moment to pray “Jesus, teach me to find peace in the storms of life.” 
2. How will you ‘abide’ with Jesus over the next few days as we enter into Christmas?
3. Imagine yourself in the boat with Jesus and the disciples in the storm. What is your posture and expression and why? How does this reveal Christ as the king of peace or not? 
4. Take a moment to pray, reflect and prepare for Christ’s birth through a brief examination of conscience. In the areas we have discussed this Advent - faith, hope, joy and peace - where have you gone astray? Where do you need God’s mercy? If you haven’t yet, commit to making space for the sacrament of confession before Christmas. 

Quote to Ponder: 

"Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, all things are passing away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing, God alone suffices."- St. Teresa of Avila

Scripture for Lectio Divina:

In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him, not one thing came into being. What has come into being in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. - John 1:1-5

This episode is sponsored by Walking With Purpose.

Are you ready to discover not only what matters most in life but also how to prioritize those things? Are you ready to build a life that you don’t want to escape? Another glass of wine, just one more episode on Netflix, a little more scrolling on Instagram…Women are numbing out at ever-increasing rates. Why? What is it about our lives that make us feel so overwhelmed? What might change if we figured out how to build lives that we like?

Ordering Your Priorities is the latest Bible study from Walking with Purpose, a women’s ministry whose mission is to help every Catholic woman and girl in America encounter Jesus through scripture. Ordering Your Priorities is an immensely practical Bible study that will help you put the most important things first. We’ll begin by paying attention to the One who made us because He can best tell us what we need for our lives to run well. AT podcast listeners can receive 15% Ordering Your Priorities study with the code ABIDING15 (thru 1/31/22).