"The Interior Castle" or "The Mansions" of S. Teresa of Jesus of the Order of our Lady of Carmel Discussion of Mansion 1 - Chapter 1 ▀ St. Teresa prays for the grace to be able to explain ▀ The image of an "Interior Castle": "the soul as resembling a castle" ▀ Progressing to the center room towards Union with God ▀ The Rooms are the Degree of Love that the soul receives through the grace of God according to His will. The soul tries to dispose itself to grace by prayer and works. ▀ The Value of the Soul ▪ Our ignorance of our soul's value ▪ St. Teresa advises: ▀ The Benefits of knowing ◦ that these graces are possible ◦ that the soul may progress through prayer ▀ Why all souls do not receive certain favours. ■ The importance of Humility, Charity, and Faith ▀ How to enter the castle of the soul ▀ Locations of the residences in the Castle ■ Those souls who are outside the castle ■ Those just inside the Castle ■ The First Mansion |
▀ St. Teresa prays for the grace
to be able to explain
"While I was begging our Lord today
to speak for me,
since I knew
not what to say
nor how to commence this work"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #1]
"May He,
Who has helped me
in other more difficult matters,
aid me with His grace in this..."
[ Interior Castle: Prologue ]
"for it is one grace
that our Lord gives grace;
and
it is another grace
to understand
what grace and
what gift it is;
and
it is another and further grace
to have the power to
describe and
explain it to others.
Though it does not seem
that more than the first of these
--the giving of grace--
is necessary,
it is
a great advantage and
a great grace
to understand it."
"...shortly before the foundation
of St. Joseph's convent
( Avila: 24 August, 1562 )
she received the last of the three graces
mentioned above,
the Gift of Wisdom..."
[ The Relations: Introduction ]
St. Teresa advises
that it will be difficult to understand
the gifts and graces of God
that she will describe in this book
if one has not experienced them:
"The subject is
most difficult to understand
without personal experience
of such graces.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #12]
________________________
▀ The image of an "Interior Castle":
"the soul as resembling a castle"
"an idea occurred to me
which I will explain,
and
which will serve as a foundation
for that I am about to write."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #1]
"I thought of the soul
as resembling a castle,
- formed of
a single diamond
or
a very transparent crystal,
and
- containing many rooms,
just as in heaven
there are many mansions."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #2]
"there are many rooms in this castle...
"God dwells in the centre of the soul."
In the centre,
in the very midst of them all,
is the principal chamber
in which God and the soul hold
their most secret intercourse."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #4]
_____________________
▀ Progressing to the center room
towards Union with God
"St. John of the Cross
uses the same comparison...":
[ see IC: Mansion 1: Ch 1:
Foot note #33]
Foot note #33]
"...if the soul be faithful and humble,
the Lord will not cease
until He has raised it
from one step to another,
even to Divine Union and Transformation.
For Our Lord continues
to prove the soul and
to raise it ever higher,
If, then, the soul conquer the devil
upon the first step,
it will pass to the second;
and
if upon the second likewise,
it will pass to the third;
and so onward,
through all seven mansions..."
_______________________
▀ The Rooms are the Degree of Love
that the soul receives
through the grace of God
according to His will.
The soul tries to dispose itself to grace
by prayer and works.
"...through all seven mansions
which are the seven steps of love,
until the Spouse shall bring it
to the cellar of wine
of His perfect charity.
[ Ascent of Mt Carmel
Bk 2: Ch. 11: #9
Translated by Peers ]
"St. John of the Cross on the words
of his stanza:
In the inner cellar of my Beloved
have I drunk.'
Here the soul speaks
of that sovereign grace of God
in taking it into the house of His love,
which is the Union or Transformation
of love in God . . .
The cellar is the highest degree of love
to which the soul can attain in this life,
and is therefore said to be the inner.
It follows from this
that there are other cellars
not so interior;
that is, the degrees of love
by which souls reach to this, the last.
These cellars are seven in number,
and
the soul has entered them all
when it has in perfection
the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost,
so far as it is possible for it. . . .
Many souls reach and enter
the first cellar,
each according to the perfection
of its love,
but the last and inmost cellar
is entered by few in this world,
because therein is wrought
the perfect union with God,
the union of the spiritual marriage.'
'A Spiritual Canticle',
stanza xxvi. 1-3.
"Conceptions of the Love of God".
Ch. vi.
(Minor Works of St. Teresa.) "
[ IC: Mansion 1: Ch.1: Foot note 37 ]
"I have been wondering
whether there is any difference
between the will and the love.
... but I think there must be,
for it appears to me
that love is an arrow shot by the will,
which, if
aimed with all its force,
freed from all that is earthly,
and
directed solely towards God,
must wound His Majesty in good earnest.
When it has pierced God Himself,
Who is Love,
it rebounds,
having won the precious prize."
[ Conceptions of the Love of God: Ch 6
by St. Teresa ]
▪ The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
"1830
The moral life of Christians is sustained
by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
These are permanent dispositions
which make man docile in following
the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
1831
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are
▫ wisdom,
▫ understanding,
▫ counsel,
▫ fortitude,
▫ knowledge,
▫ piety,
and
and
▫ fear of the Lord.
They belong in their fullness to Christ,
Son of David.
They complete and perfect the virtues
of those who receive them.
They make the faithful docile in readily
obeying divine inspirations
[ Catechism Of The Catholic Church
Part Three: Life In Christ
Section One: Man's Vocation Life
In The Spirit
Chapter One: The Dignity
Of The Human Person
Article 7: The Virtues
Iii. The Gifts And Fruits
Of The Holy Spirit ]
______________________
▀ The Value of the Soul
"If we reflect, sisters,
we shall see
that the soul of the just man
is but a paradise,
in which, God tells us,
He takes His delight.
Nothing can be compared to
the great beauty and capabilities
of a soul"
"However keen our intellects may be,
they are as unable to comprehend them
as to comprehend God,
for, as He has told us,
He created us
in His own image and likeness."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #2]
"souls are by their nature
so richly endowed,
capable of communion
even with God Himself,
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #8]
▪ Our ignorance of our soul's value
"It is no small misfortune and disgrace
that, through our own fault,
we
neither understand our nature
nor our origin.
...
Rarely do we reflect upon
- what gifts our souls may possess,
- Who dwells within them,
or
- how extremely precious they are.
Therefore we do little
to preserve their beauty;
all our care is concentrated
on our bodies,
which are but
the coarse setting of the diamond,
or
the outer walls of the castle.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #3]
▪ St. Teresa advises:
"And now let us imagine
that we have within us
a palace of priceless worth,
built entirely of gold and precious stones
a palace, in short,
fit for so great a Lord.
Imagine that it is partly your doing
...
for there is no building so beautiful
as a soul
that is pure and full of virtues,
and,
the greater these virtues are,
the more brilliantly do the stones shine.
Imagine
◦ that within the palace
dwells this great King,
Who has vouchsafed
to become your Father
and
Who is seated
upon a throne of supreme price -
namely, your heart.
...
◦ that we actually have
something within us
incomparably more precious
than anything we see outside.
If we took care always to remember
what a Guest we have within us,
I think it would be impossible for us
to abandon ourselves to
vanities and things of the world,
for we should see
how worthless they are
by comparison with those
which we have within us.
[ Way of Perfection, ch. xxviii ]
_______________________
▀ The Benefits of knowing
◦ that these graces are possible:
◦ that the soul may progress through prayer
■ Thanksgiving and Praise to God
"God grant it may enlighten you
about the different kinds of graces
He is pleased to bestow upon the soul."
"People...can then at least praise Him
for His great goodness
in bestowing them on others.
"It will rather make us love Him
for such immense goodness
and infinite mercy.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #4]
■ Encouragement, Consolation, and
Guidance
"The knowledge
that such things are possible
will console you greatly"
"....during this exile
God can communicate Himself
to us loathsome worms"
"...cheers and urges us
to win this joy for ourselves"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #4]
"...enlightening souls
which receive these graces,
that they
may rejoice
and
may endeavour to love God better
for His favours,
seeing He is so mighty and so great..."
"...for they know and believe
that God gives even greater proofs
of His love.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #6]
__________________________
▀ "Why all souls do not
receive certain favours."
St. Teresa explains
that God bestows His gifts
according to His Will
and
according to what is best for an individual.
"God does not bestow these favours
on certain souls
because they are more holy
than others who do not receive them,
but
- to manifest His greatness,
as in the case
of St. Paul and St. Mary Magdalen,
and
- that we may glorify Him
in His creatures."
"Sometimes our Lord acts thus
solely for the sake of showing His power..."
"manifesting His greatness
wherever He chooses..."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #5]
■ The importance of
Humility, Charity, and Faith
"vexation at thinking
that during our life on earth
God can bestow these graces
on the souls of others
shows a want of
- humility
and
- charity for one's neighbour,
for why should we not feel glad
at a brother's receiving divine favours
which do not deprive us of our own share?
Should we not
rather rejoice at His Majesty's
thus manifesting His greatness
wherever He chooses?"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #5]
"I am certain
that if any one of you
doubts the truth of (His Love)
God will never allow her
to learn it by experience,
for He desires
that no limits should be set to His work:
therefore, never discredit them
because you are not
thus led yourselves."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #6]
___________________________
▀ How to enter the castle of the soul
"the gate by which to enter this castle
is prayer and meditation.
I do not allude
more to mental
than to vocal prayer,
for if it is prayer at all,
the mind must take part in it.
If a person
neither considers
to Whom he is addressing himself,
what he asks,
nor
what he is
who ventures to speak to God,
although his lips may utter many words,
I do not call it prayer."
"one may pray devoutly
without making all these considerations
through having practised them
at other times...
but simply saying the first thing
that comes to mind..
from being learnt
by rote by frequent repetition--
cannot be called prayer"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #9]
__________________________
▀ Locations of the residences
in the Castle
"If this castle is the soul,
clearly no one can have to enter it,
for it is the person himself"
"There are, however,
very different ways
of being in this castle
■ Those souls who are outside the castle
"Many souls live
in the courtyard of the building...
neither caring to enter farther,
nor to know
who dwells
in that most delightful place..."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #7]
"accustomed to think of nothing
but earthly matters"
"accustomed as they are to be
with the reptiles and other creatures
which live outside the castle,
they have come at last
to imitate their habits.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #8]
■ Those just inside the Castle
"who at last
enter the precincts of the castle
they are
still very worldly,
yet have some desire to do right,
and
at times, though rarely,
commend themselves to God's care.
They think about their souls
every now and then;
Although very busy,
they pray a few times a month,
with minds generally filled
with a thousand other matters,
for where their treasure is,
there is their heart also"
"It is a great boon for them
to realize to some extent
the state of their souls,
and
to see
that they will never reach the gate
by the road they are following.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #10]
■ The First Mansion
"...At length they enter the first rooms
in the basement of the castle,
accompanied by numerous reptiles
which
disturb their peace,
and
prevent their seeing the beauty
of the building;
still, it is a great gain
that these persons should have found
their way in at all.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch. 1: #11]
| End of the Discussion of Mansion 1 Chapter 1 The Interior Castle or The Mansions of S. Teresa of Jesus of the Order of our Lady of Carmel |
