I was delighted to receive your letter and I am also delighted to respond to your request. For thousands of years, humanity has struggled against the power of evil in order to achieve a state of harmony with God. The many different views of each religion seem to have compounded the question of who is right and who is wrong. Whatever our personal beliefs, our goal always seems to remain the same: to be united with Christ in heaven. St. Teresa of Avila's poems, My Beloved One is Mine and Christ Has No Body, illustrate the thoughtful and emotional impact of Christ on the life of St. Teresa of Avila and also illuminate various Catholic beliefs. The purpose of the poems is to bring the reader closer to God, although as a Lutheran, my interpretation of each poem may be different from yours. The poems of Saint Teresa of Avila are simply extraordinary. Saint Teresa seems to bring to life her deep relationship with God. In the poem My Beloved One Is Mine, she seems to explain how her "fate" was changed because she gave herself to "Love Divine" ("My Beloved One" np). Clearly, St. Teresa experienced a life-changing event the moment she gave her life to God. She speaks of God as her divine love that she has apparently strived to achieve all her life. She described God as her beloved lover, or perhaps fiancé, as she entered into "the ecstasy of 'spiritual marriage'" (Blackwell np). She explains, “At last, I am surely His,” in an attempt to identify with the struggle she faced to become one with God (“My Beloved One” np). His description of God as a “gentle hunter” is interesting because it signifies a relationship in which both parties are actively engaged and seeking each other. ...... middle of paper ...... it's a little different, I pray that the end result, perhaps the only wish of Saint Teresa of Avila, remains the same, that we find each a lasting union with God for eternity. God bless you ! Works Cited Blackwell, Amy. “Counter-Reformation”. World religions: belief, culture and controversy. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. March 17, 2012.De Cepeda Y Ahumada, Teresa. “Christ has no body.” Journey with Jesus. Dan Clendenin. Internet. March 5, 2012.De Cepeda Y Ahumada, Teresa. “My beloved is mine.” Chaikhana poetry. Ivan M. Granger. Internet. March 5, 2012. Kinnaman, Scot A. “Lutherans Do Good Works” Lutheranism 101. September 3, 2010. Web. March 7, 2012. “transubstantiation”. World religions: belief, culture and controversy. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. March 8, 2012. Vandermast, Roberta. Part 2: Reform and counter-reform. Reform and Counter-Reformation. Internet. March 3. 2012.