Mr. Lewis, draws attention to what he believes to be a "proof of
great laxity of the convent," that St. Teresa should have been
urged by one of her confessors to communicate as often as once a
fortnight. It should be understood that frequent communion such
as we now see it practised was wholly unknown in her time.
The Constitutions of the Order specified twelve days on which all
those that were not priests should communicate, adding:
Verumtamen fratres professi prout Deus eis devotionem contulerit
diebus dominicis et festis duplicibus (i.e., on feasts of our
Lady, the Apostles, etc.), communicare poterunt si qui velint.
Thus, communicating about once a month St. Teresa acted as
ordinary good Religious were wont to do, and by approaching the
sacrament more frequently she placed herself among the more
fervent nuns. [12]

St. Teresa wrote quite a number of different accounts of her
life. The first, addressed to Father Juan de Padranos, S.J. [13]
and dated 1557, is now lost. The second, written for St. Peter
of Alcantara, is Relation I. at the end of this volume; a copy of
it, together with a continuation (Relation II.) was sent to
Father Pedro Ibanez in 1562. It is somewhat difficult to admit
that in the very same year she wrote another, more extensive,
account to the same priest, which is generally called the "first"
Life. At the end of the Life such as we have it now, St. Teresa
wrote: "This book was finished in June, 1562," and Father Banez
wrote underneath: "This date refers to the first account which
the Holy Mother Teresa of Jesus wrote of her life; it was not
then divided into chapters. Afterwards she made this copy and
inserted in it many things which had taken place subsequent to
this date, such as the foundation of the monastery of St. Joseph