St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart
The saint of the day for March 11 is St. Teresa Margaret Redi of the Sacred Heart (1747 - 1770), a Discalced Carmelite nun and mystic, who spread love for Jesus and devotion to the Sacred Heart in a quiet and hidden way. Born of Tuscan nobility, Anna Maria Redi was the daughter of Count Ignatius Redi and Camilla Billeti, a pious family. It was from her father that Anna Maria acquired the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which played such a crucial role in her spiritual development. In September 1763, she received a message from Saint Teresa of Jesus inviting her to become a Carmelite nun. Anna Maria entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Florence, Italy the following year, at the age of seventeen, taking the name of Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart. In the Community, she worked in the infirmary and served as a sacristan. She was so entrenched in the hidden life and so determined to do God's will that she had no idea how holy she really was. Her entire focus ...