Upon entering the Nazareth Novitiate of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Blessed Miriam Teresa’s spiritual director was a Benedictine Father. He described her obedience to him as “heroic.” It was him who instructed her to write the “series of instructions” that continued the conferences he gave to the Sisters. She was not instructed on what topics to write.

These instructions were not, at the time, credited as written by BMT. According to her biography An American Teresa, “The sisters noted the change in style,” (as opposed to Father’s style) “and remarked the difference.” On the day of BMT’s funeral, the spiritual director posted a note “The conferences which I have been giving to the Sisters were written by Sister Miriam Teresa.”

Those writings were posthumously compiled into the book Greater Perfection by BMT’s brother Monsignor Demjanovich, published first in November 1928.

Happy Feast of St Benedict 2026. Saint Benedict and BMT’s Benedictine spiritual director Father Benedict Bradley, pray to God for us

You can listen to an audiobook of Greater Perfection here, and can also listen to it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.