A Colombian Nun and the Love of God and Neighbour : The Spiritual Path of María de Jesús (1690s-1776)

Abstract: María de Jesús (1690s-1776) was a white-veiled Discalced Carmelite nun of the San José convent in Santa Fe de Bogotá, founded in 1606. She professed in the year 1714, and her spiritual journal was printed in a chronicle about the convent in the 1940s. The aim of this study is to examine the love of God and of neighbour, as expressed in the spiritual journal of María de Jesús. In this study I will proceed from the understanding of love as charity. In Christian thought God Himself is love, and its source. Charity, the third, and greatest, of the theological virtues, is a state of being in and responding to God’s love and favour. This way of loving consists in loving God wholeheartedly and loving our neighbour as ourselves. Included in loving our neighbour are acts related to his or her spiritual benefit and salvation. These are all present themes in María de Jesús’ text, but my aim is to examine how she incorporates these themes in her spiritual testimony by analyzing the imagery she uses, and the affective language in her spiritual journal. I will also seek to understand her way of writing by analyzing her text against the background of the tradition of women’s spiritual writings. Being a Discalced Carmelite, it will also be interesting to discover the Teresian presence in María de Jesus’ text, i.e. the influence of her predecessor and the reformer of the order, Teresa of Ávila (1515- 1582). I suggest that this can be noticed in certain rhetorical techniques. I also aim to examine if there are any similarities and differences in their expressions of love of God and of neighbour.