Paperback: The name of Venerable Anne of Jesus is probably familiar to all those who are well acquainted with the life, the work of foundation and the correspondence of St Teresa of Ávila; it also occupies a not unimportant place in the life-story of St John of the Cross; she, moreover, took the most prominent part in the establishment of the Teresian nuns in France and afterwards in the Low countries.
It is, therefore, not too much to say that none of these subjects can be properly and fully understood unless one has a more than cursory knowledge of her own life and aims. Above all this, she was endowed with talents not even second (according to the opinion of St John of the Cross who was a good judge) to those of St Teresa, and she reached a wonderful degree of sanctity even for a period which saw some of the greatest Saints of the Catholic church.
It was, then, a happy thought that one who in religion had received the same name should have spent many years in collecting all the facts of the life, and all the surviving writings, of her heavenly patroness. The present writer who was able to watch the inception and gradual growth of the biography can bear testimony to the scrupulous accuracy with which the biographer has fulfilled her task.
This is a story that cannot be found in print elsewhere, of the transplanting of the Teresian reform from Spain to France and the Netherlands, a remarkable feat given that all of those countries were at war and the populations of France and the Netherlands not especially amenable to Spaniards. Nevertheless, the roots of Carmel were well placed, and the order flourished in convents still there to this day.
Anne of Jesus was the foundress of the Discalced Carmelite Reform in France and the Netherlands, and from her foundations there, the Teresian reform spread all over Europe, America and eventually England. In many ways, this is the sequel to St Teresa of Ávila’s life.
One of the things that truly stands out about Anne of Jesus is her intense mysticism and love of our Lord, as well as her faithfulness to the original Teresian Constitutions.
This work, written by an anonymous nun in the 1930s, is based entirely on primary sources, frequently quoting letters to and from Anne of Jesus, not only with St Teresa, but also Fr Gracián, the holy French Cardinal Mgsr Bérulle, and many other figures central to the history of Carmel in the 16th and 17th century.
The Life of the Venerable Anne of Jesus OCD (1931, 2015) has been carefully reproduced from the original, with the UK spelling and the original pictures retained, a book that cannot be found anymore, at least until now. To aid reading, there are editorial notes concerning obscure terms used in the book that would have been better known 100 years ago.
This beautiful and fascinating book is wonderful both from the standpoint of Carmelite history as well as spirituality. A unique work that can be found nowhere else in English!
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