Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

I had already written this blog prior to the discussion today about the Catholic church's disapproval of this piece, but for test purposes I will post it nonetheless. If you have any additional thoughts or insight feel free to comment.

As I was reading there were a few ideas that I was surprised to come across. Primarily, the ideas are concerned with the description of Saint Teresa’s vision and how she describes the love of God. Prior to reading this excerpt, I had always thought of God’s love as being a pleasant experience and never associated it with “an intense pain that one can never wish to lose” (FRP 7). Although the pain is explained as being simply spiritual followed by the bodily experience, I do not understand how either sensation could be desirable. It seems to me that such an image would discourage people from seeking the love of God, particularly due to the violent nature that it entered Saint Teresa (via arrow stabs). A discouragement from the Catholicism would be contrary to the objectives of the Catholic Church at that time, particularly because of the rivalry created by the rise in popularity of Protestantism. Additionally, I was shocked to read that Saint Teresa’s vision was a “divine and erotic fulfillment” (FRP 7). Thinking of God’s love as being erotic or sexually fulfilling is somewhat disturbing because it contradicts all of my previous perceptions. Given the generally conservative views of the Catholic church, I am surprised that the story of Saint Teresa had such an impact and was chosen to be manifested by Bernini in a church. Perhaps there is something from this text that I am not understanding correctly or an element that I have failed to take note of?