When a young caballero once admired the dancing legs of Teresa de Cepeda, she replied: "Look well, it may be your last chance!" A short time later, against the wishes of her aristocratic father, 18-year-old Teresa entered a Carmelite convent. But the Carmelites, noted for being the most austere order of women in the Roman Catholic Church, had grown lax and easygoing in 16th Century Spain, and Teresa eventually found herself setting out to reform them. The result was a strangely dual life that has been one of the wonders and inspirations of Christian history. Though tormented by constant bad health,...
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