While the soul is in mortal sin, nothing can profit it; none of

In the solemn and radiant words of Saint Teresa of Avila, the mystic and reformer of the Carmelite order, she wrote: “While the soul is in mortal sin, nothing can profit it; none of its good works merit an eternal reward, since they do not proceed from God as their first principle, and by Him alone is our virtue real virtue.” These words, drawn from the depths of her spiritual wisdom, reveal a truth both terrible and tender: that without the living presence of God within the soul, all outward acts, however noble, are but empty gestures. For Saint Teresa, virtue is not the product of human will alone — it is the flowering of divine grace within the heart that has been reconciled to its Creator.

When she speaks of the soul in mortal sin, she means a soul that has turned away from God — that has cut itself off from the fountain of grace. Mortal sin, in the teachings of the Church, is not merely wrongdoing; it is spiritual death, the deliberate separation of the will from divine love. A branch cut from the vine may still bear the appearance of life for a moment, but soon it withers, for it no longer draws its sustenance from the root. So too, the soul apart from God may perform good deeds by human measure, but they lack the eternal vitality that comes only from the indwelling Spirit. As Christ Himself said, “Without Me, you can do nothing.”

The origin of this teaching lies not in cold theology, but in Teresa’s own experience of the soul’s journey toward holiness. Born in sixteenth-century Spain, she lived in a time of both fervent faith and great spiritual decay. In her youth, she struggled with vanity, attachment, and distraction, yet through divine encounter she was transformed. In her mystical visions, she saw that all true virtue radiates from God like light from the sun. A candle burns only when kindled by flame; likewise, the human heart shines only when ignited by grace. Teresa came to understand that even acts of charity, if not rooted in God, may serve the ego rather than eternity. Thus she wrote that good works without grace are but flowers cut from their stem — beautiful for a moment, but destined to fade.

Consider, for example, the contrast between Saul of Tarsus before and after his conversion. Before encountering Christ, Saul was zealous, disciplined, and outwardly righteous — yet his deeds, driven by pride and ignorance, bore no fruit for heaven. Only after his heart was struck by divine light on the road to Damascus did his actions gain eternal merit. From that moment, his virtue became real virtue, because it no longer flowed from his will, but from the Spirit of God within him. So it is with every soul: only when grace becomes the wellspring of action can goodness transcend the limits of the mortal and touch the infinite.

Saint Teresa’s words also remind us of a profound humility — that man cannot save himself by effort alone. The proud believe that their virtue is their own achievement; the saints know that it is a gift. Even our best deeds, without God’s sanctifying grace, are like gold covered in dust. But when the soul is reconciled — when confession, repentance, and love reopen the channel of grace — every act, no matter how small, becomes radiant with divine worth. A smile given, a burden lifted, a prayer whispered — these become eternal when animated by the Spirit.

Yet Teresa does not speak this truth to condemn, but to awaken. She teaches that the moment the soul turns again toward God, grace returns in abundance. The dead branch grafted back into the vine begins to live anew. No sinner is beyond redemption; no heart is too hard for the fire of love to soften. What matters is that we seek to restore the divine connection — through repentance, prayer, and surrender. Then, and only then, do our works become holy, for they are no longer ours, but God’s working through us.

Let this be the teaching: virtue without God is imitation; virtue with God is transformation. Do not strive merely to do good, but to be united with the Source of Goodness. Seek daily to cleanse the heart, to open it to grace, to let divine love direct every thought and deed. Remember, it is not the magnitude of your actions that gives them worth, but the spirit from which they arise.

And so, the wisdom of Saint Teresa of Avila endures as a flame that never dies: all that is done without God perishes with the world, but all that is done in Him endures forever. Therefore, live not by your strength, but by His; act not for your glory, but for His. For in the union of the soul with its Creator, virtue becomes eternal, and every humble deed shines with the light of heaven.