Life and Select Works of Peter of Alcantara

by Peter of Alcantara, Smith (Editor)

Among the great accomplishments and benefits to others, he was the Confessor to Teresa of Avila. It was Peter and the work contained within this particular volume, which Teresa of Avila was able to grow and develop into the person she was. It was Peter of Alcantara, who advised not only her but also others into a life of poverty, prayer which lead to spiritual bliss.Like St John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, Peter of Alcantara decided to follow the reformed order of the Franciscans, known as the discalced, which started in the year Peter was born. This same rise to return to the origins of the Franciscans, gave the incentive for Teresa and John to follow the reformation within their own order.In this volume, is a basic and fundamental outline of his life and his thoughts. Combined with this effort is some of his greatest works which he has written down for his brethren of whom he was to manage and those who whished to follow his lead and advise.This volume includes the various mediations of the week, along with his most celebrated work, “The Golden Epistle”. This work is the very “little book” Teresa of Avila discusses in her work as being “most valuable.”Printed in the

197 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2010

About the author

Saint Peter of Alcantara, O.F.M. (Spanish: San Pedro de Alcántara) (1499 – October 18, 1562), was a Spanish Franciscan friar canonized in 1699.

He was a man of remarkable austerity and poverty who travelled throughout Spain preaching the Gospel to the poor. He wrote a Treatise on Prayer and Meditation, which was considered a masterpiece by St. Teresa, St. Francis de Sales and Louis of Granada.

While in prayer and contemplation, he was often seen in ecstasies and levitation. In his deathbed, he was offered a glass of water which he refused, saying that "Even my Lord Jesus Christ thirsted on the Cross..." He died while on his knees in prayer on October 18, 1562 in a monastery at Arenas (now Arenas de San Pedro, Province of Ávila, Old Castile).