Document Text Contents
Page 1
Durham E-Theses
A theology of friendship
Kerney, Barbara Lee
How to cite:
Kerney, Barbara Lee (2007) A theology of friendship, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at
Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1829/
Use policy
The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or
charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro�t purposes provided that:
• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source
• a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses
• the full-text is not changed in any way
The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.
Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details.
Academic Support O�ce, Durham University, University O�ce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP
e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk
http://www.dur.ac.uk
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1829/
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1829/
htt://etheses.dur.ac.uk/policies/
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk
Page 2
A Theology of Friendship
The copyright of this thesis rests with the
author or the university to which it was
submitted. No quotation from it, or
information derived from it may be
published without the prior written
consent of the author or university, and
any information derived from it should be
acknowledged.
Barbara Lee Kerney
Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
University College
The University of Durham
Department of Theology and Religion
JUN 2007
Professor David Brown, Supervisor
2007
...
,ý; ti
Page 129
Avila had its share of reformers. Its most famous was Juan de Avila (1499/1500-
1569) or Maestro Avila, who led an extensive campaign challenging the clergy's
support of the wealthy. He also began to work for relieving the plight of the poor. He
was arrested by the Inquisition for preaching against the rich who tried to buy their
salvation and the clergy who supported these efforts. It eventually acquitted him, and
Maestro Avila went on to make a major contribution to the religious education of the
poor. Before his death he had established fifteen schools to educate young men and
several more to train priests. His spiritual ideals and social reforms went hand in
hand. Throughout his lifetime he refused to neglect the needs of the underclass and
preached salvation for all regardless of social standing.
Maestro Avila's teachings attracted a group of reform-minded clerics and laymen
around the time of Teresa's intense contemplative prayer experiences. Gasper Daza,
an honorary canon in Avila's cathedral, Don Francisco de Salcedo, a relative of
Teresa's, Julian de Avila, who would become Teresa's chaplain and biographer, and
other laymen and priests played crucial roles in the initial efforts to change the moral
life of the city. The reform efforts of these men would have been known at
Encarnacion. Teresa approached Daza and Salcedo for expert advice about her prayer
life. Both expressed anxiety about her supernatural experiences, feared she suffered
from demonic delusions and admitted their inability to help her.
79 Salcedo referred her
to the Jesuits where she found sound spiritual direction but little support at first for
her reform programmes.
Baltasar Alvarez, Teresa's second Jesuit spiritual director, dismissed many of her
prayer experiences and questioned her vision of reform.
Alvarez's caution was
understandable. He was directing Teresa when the Inquisition was taking severe
79 The Life, 23.13.
121
Page 130
action against those who practiced mental prayer. Mental prayer was suspect because
it was seen as a screen for Protestantism and other forms of heterodoxy. Since
Teresa's prayer life did not conform to the ecclesiastical standards put in place by the
Inquisition, Alvarez hesitated to condone the voices and visions. He had a reputation
for high standards in spiritual direction and was able to protect Teresa and himself
from the eyes and ears of the Inquisition while remaining open to what God was
doing through her mystical experiences.
Frequently Teresa's friendship with Alvarez was difficult and distressing. She was
tempted to leave him because of the rigorous spiritual exercises he demanded from
her. She wrote about this episode in the Life: `Sometimes questions on the one hand
and reproofs on the other utterly exhausted me. But I needed them all, for my will
was not bent to obedience'. 80 In the end Teresa believed it was this young Jesuit
confessor who benefited her spiritual formation, and she became very fond of him.
Alvarez helped Teresa develop the strength to follow the way of the cross for the rest
of her life, `Once the Lord told me that it was no true obedience if I was not
determined to suffer, and that I must fix my eyes on His suffering. Then everything
would become easy'. 81 Because of her likeable personality, Teresa could easily have
found another male spiritual director who would have made life comfortable. She
spoke out against confessors who formed friendships with penitents from noble
families in order to increase their status in the community. Alvarez abided by the
Ignatian rule of retaining one's spiritual liberty and refused to compromise his
standards for spiritual direction with self-serving friendships.
Alvarez even decided that some friendships at Encarnaciön were detrimental to
Teresa's spiritual growth. Teresa disagreed with him and questioned why she should
80 The Life, 26.3.
81 The Life, 26.3.
1ýý
Page 258
Storkey, Elaine, The Search for Intimacy (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1995)
Steinhoff Smith, Roy Herndon, The Mutuality of Care (St. Louis, Missouri: Chalice
Press, 1999)
Stern, Daniel N., The First Relationship: Infant and Mother (London: Open Books,
1977)
-- The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and
Developmental Psychology (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1985)
Stuart, Elizabeth, Just Good Friends: Towards a Lesbian and Gay Theology of
Relationships (London: Mowbray, 1995)
Sullivan, Harry Stack, The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry (New York: W. W.
Norton & Co., 1953)
The Complete Works of St Teresa of Jesus, trans. E. Allison Peers (London: Sheed &
Ward, 1946)
The Letters of Saint Teresa, vol. 1-4, trans. Benedictines of Stanbrook (London: Thomas
Baker, 1926)
Trask, Haunani-Kay, Eros and Power: The Promise of Feminist Theory (Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986)
Trevarthen, Colwyn, `Helping Synrhythmia: Infant Intersubjectivity and Companionship
from Birth', Improving the Mental Health of Parents and Their Infants - An International
Perspective (Ante and Post Natal Support),
http: //www. cpdeducation. co. uk/veroc/conferences/archive. html (28 October 2005)
Trible, Phyllis, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978)
Turner, Victor, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure (New York: Aldine de
Gruyter, 1969)
Vanier, Jean, Befriending the Stranger (London: Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd, 2005)
von Rad, Gerhard, Old Testament Theology, vol. 1, The Theology of Israel 's Historical
Traditions, trans. D. M. G. Stalker (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1962)
249
Page 259
Volf, Miroslav, Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness,
and Reconciliation (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1996)
Wadell, Paul, Friendship and the Moral Life (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame
Press, 1989)
-- Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice and the Practice of Christian Friendship (Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2002)
Ward, Hannah and Jennifer Wild, Guard the Chaos: Finding Meaning in Change
(London: Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd, 1995)
Weber, Alison, Teresa of Avila and the Rhetoric of Femininity (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1990)
White, Carolinne, Christian Friendship in the Fourth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1992)
Williams, Rowan, Teresa of Avila, Outstanding Christian Thinkers (London: Continuum,
1991)
Wolde, Ellen van, Ruth and Naomi, trans. John Bowden (London: SCM Press, 1997)
Wolf, Naomi, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women
(London: Vintage Books, 1991)
Wolistonecraft, Mary, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Carol H. Poston (ed. ),
(New York: W. W. Norton, 1975)
Woolf, Virginia, A Room of One's Own, (London: Flogarth Press, 1935)
Wright, M. R. (ed. ), Empedocles The Extant Fragments, Bristol Classical Press (London:
Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd, 1995)
Wright, P. H., `Men's Friendships, Women's Friendships and the Alleged Inferiority of
the Latter', Sex Roles 8, no. 1 (1982), 1-20
Xenophon, Memorabilia and Oeconomicus, trans. E. C. Marchant, The Loeb
Classical
Library (London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1965)
250
2-6
Durham E-Theses
A theology of friendship
Kerney, Barbara Lee
How to cite:
Kerney, Barbara Lee (2007) A theology of friendship, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at
Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1829/
Use policy
The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or
charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro�t purposes provided that:
• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source
• a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses
• the full-text is not changed in any way
The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.
Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details.
Academic Support O�ce, Durham University, University O�ce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP
e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk
http://www.dur.ac.uk
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1829/
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1829/
htt://etheses.dur.ac.uk/policies/
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk
Page 2
A Theology of Friendship
The copyright of this thesis rests with the
author or the university to which it was
submitted. No quotation from it, or
information derived from it may be
published without the prior written
consent of the author or university, and
any information derived from it should be
acknowledged.
Barbara Lee Kerney
Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
University College
The University of Durham
Department of Theology and Religion
JUN 2007
Professor David Brown, Supervisor
2007
...
,ý; ti
Page 129
Avila had its share of reformers. Its most famous was Juan de Avila (1499/1500-
1569) or Maestro Avila, who led an extensive campaign challenging the clergy's
support of the wealthy. He also began to work for relieving the plight of the poor. He
was arrested by the Inquisition for preaching against the rich who tried to buy their
salvation and the clergy who supported these efforts. It eventually acquitted him, and
Maestro Avila went on to make a major contribution to the religious education of the
poor. Before his death he had established fifteen schools to educate young men and
several more to train priests. His spiritual ideals and social reforms went hand in
hand. Throughout his lifetime he refused to neglect the needs of the underclass and
preached salvation for all regardless of social standing.
Maestro Avila's teachings attracted a group of reform-minded clerics and laymen
around the time of Teresa's intense contemplative prayer experiences. Gasper Daza,
an honorary canon in Avila's cathedral, Don Francisco de Salcedo, a relative of
Teresa's, Julian de Avila, who would become Teresa's chaplain and biographer, and
other laymen and priests played crucial roles in the initial efforts to change the moral
life of the city. The reform efforts of these men would have been known at
Encarnacion. Teresa approached Daza and Salcedo for expert advice about her prayer
life. Both expressed anxiety about her supernatural experiences, feared she suffered
from demonic delusions and admitted their inability to help her.
79 Salcedo referred her
to the Jesuits where she found sound spiritual direction but little support at first for
her reform programmes.
Baltasar Alvarez, Teresa's second Jesuit spiritual director, dismissed many of her
prayer experiences and questioned her vision of reform.
Alvarez's caution was
understandable. He was directing Teresa when the Inquisition was taking severe
79 The Life, 23.13.
121
Page 130
action against those who practiced mental prayer. Mental prayer was suspect because
it was seen as a screen for Protestantism and other forms of heterodoxy. Since
Teresa's prayer life did not conform to the ecclesiastical standards put in place by the
Inquisition, Alvarez hesitated to condone the voices and visions. He had a reputation
for high standards in spiritual direction and was able to protect Teresa and himself
from the eyes and ears of the Inquisition while remaining open to what God was
doing through her mystical experiences.
Frequently Teresa's friendship with Alvarez was difficult and distressing. She was
tempted to leave him because of the rigorous spiritual exercises he demanded from
her. She wrote about this episode in the Life: `Sometimes questions on the one hand
and reproofs on the other utterly exhausted me. But I needed them all, for my will
was not bent to obedience'. 80 In the end Teresa believed it was this young Jesuit
confessor who benefited her spiritual formation, and she became very fond of him.
Alvarez helped Teresa develop the strength to follow the way of the cross for the rest
of her life, `Once the Lord told me that it was no true obedience if I was not
determined to suffer, and that I must fix my eyes on His suffering. Then everything
would become easy'. 81 Because of her likeable personality, Teresa could easily have
found another male spiritual director who would have made life comfortable. She
spoke out against confessors who formed friendships with penitents from noble
families in order to increase their status in the community. Alvarez abided by the
Ignatian rule of retaining one's spiritual liberty and refused to compromise his
standards for spiritual direction with self-serving friendships.
Alvarez even decided that some friendships at Encarnaciön were detrimental to
Teresa's spiritual growth. Teresa disagreed with him and questioned why she should
80 The Life, 26.3.
81 The Life, 26.3.
1ýý
Page 258
Storkey, Elaine, The Search for Intimacy (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1995)
Steinhoff Smith, Roy Herndon, The Mutuality of Care (St. Louis, Missouri: Chalice
Press, 1999)
Stern, Daniel N., The First Relationship: Infant and Mother (London: Open Books,
1977)
-- The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and
Developmental Psychology (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1985)
Stuart, Elizabeth, Just Good Friends: Towards a Lesbian and Gay Theology of
Relationships (London: Mowbray, 1995)
Sullivan, Harry Stack, The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry (New York: W. W.
Norton & Co., 1953)
The Complete Works of St Teresa of Jesus, trans. E. Allison Peers (London: Sheed &
Ward, 1946)
The Letters of Saint Teresa, vol. 1-4, trans. Benedictines of Stanbrook (London: Thomas
Baker, 1926)
Trask, Haunani-Kay, Eros and Power: The Promise of Feminist Theory (Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986)
Trevarthen, Colwyn, `Helping Synrhythmia: Infant Intersubjectivity and Companionship
from Birth', Improving the Mental Health of Parents and Their Infants - An International
Perspective (Ante and Post Natal Support),
http: //www. cpdeducation. co. uk/veroc/conferences/archive. html (28 October 2005)
Trible, Phyllis, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1978)
Turner, Victor, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure (New York: Aldine de
Gruyter, 1969)
Vanier, Jean, Befriending the Stranger (London: Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd, 2005)
von Rad, Gerhard, Old Testament Theology, vol. 1, The Theology of Israel 's Historical
Traditions, trans. D. M. G. Stalker (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1962)
249
Page 259
Volf, Miroslav, Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness,
and Reconciliation (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1996)
Wadell, Paul, Friendship and the Moral Life (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame
Press, 1989)
-- Becoming Friends: Worship, Justice and the Practice of Christian Friendship (Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2002)
Ward, Hannah and Jennifer Wild, Guard the Chaos: Finding Meaning in Change
(London: Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd, 1995)
Weber, Alison, Teresa of Avila and the Rhetoric of Femininity (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1990)
White, Carolinne, Christian Friendship in the Fourth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1992)
Williams, Rowan, Teresa of Avila, Outstanding Christian Thinkers (London: Continuum,
1991)
Wolde, Ellen van, Ruth and Naomi, trans. John Bowden (London: SCM Press, 1997)
Wolf, Naomi, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women
(London: Vintage Books, 1991)
Wolistonecraft, Mary, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Carol H. Poston (ed. ),
(New York: W. W. Norton, 1975)
Woolf, Virginia, A Room of One's Own, (London: Flogarth Press, 1935)
Wright, M. R. (ed. ), Empedocles The Extant Fragments, Bristol Classical Press (London:
Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd, 1995)
Wright, P. H., `Men's Friendships, Women's Friendships and the Alleged Inferiority of
the Latter', Sex Roles 8, no. 1 (1982), 1-20
Xenophon, Memorabilia and Oeconomicus, trans. E. C. Marchant, The Loeb
Classical
Library (London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1965)
250
2-6
