"Our bodies/ are the leaves of God." – Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

   Teresa of Avila endures as one of the great mystics of the western world. Of course, this means that she was terribly persecuted by the leadership of the Catholic church.

   The sixteenth century was a time of upheaval for Catholics. Martin Luther, a priest and monk, had launched the Protestant reformation on October 31, 1517 as a direct protest to corruption in the Catholic Hierarchy. 

   Not long afterwards, Ignatius Loyola began his own revolution from within the church resulting in the founding of the order of Jesuits.

   Meanwhile, it was Saint Teresa who saw the truth that shines in our hearts today: "What are all these insane boundaries we protect?" she wrote. "What are all these different names for the same church of love we kneel in together."

   A few heard the verity in her words. But, most ignored it then and do to this day. So many in organized religion insist that the path of their church or temple or mosque is the only way. 

   Such insanity not only spawns wars. It divides many of us from each other. We may be drawn together with those who share our beliefs and a smug alliance. Such communities of smugness rest on sand.

   The same is true in our political environment. We idolize the leaders with whom we agree and demonize their opponents. By extension, some Republicans have begun thinking of Democrats as evil and vice-versa. 

   "What are these insane borders we protect?" Teresa asks us. 

   Caregivers are called to care for the sick no matter what. What if Catholic or Protestant caregivers of today refused giving loving care to a  patient if he or she was an atheist? What if a European-American caregiver refused to administer medical care to an African-American patient. (a kind of viciousness that was common in some parts of America only fifty years ago.)

   We are all Teresa's 'Leaves of God." One leaf lives beside another.

   We share the same branches. Can we live the Love of the tree from which we grew?

-Reverend Erie Chapman