The Interior Castle or The Mansions
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
St. Teresa of Avila
Mansion 1 - Chapter 2
▪ Describes the hideous appearance
of a soul in mortal sin
as revealed by God to some one:
▪ Offers a few remarks on self-knowledge:
▪ This chapter is useful as it contains
some points requiring attention.
▪ An Explanation of the Mansions.
|
Chapter Contents
of Mansion 1 - Chapter 2
1. Effects of mortal sin.
2. It prevents the soul's gaining merit. 3. The soul compared to a tree. 4. Disorder of the soul in mortal sin. 5. Vision of a sinful soul. 6. Profit of realizing these lessons. 7. Prayer. 8. Beauty of the Castle. 9. Self-knowledge 10. Gained by meditating
on the divine perfections.
11. Advantages of such meditation. 12. Christ should be our model. 13. The devil entraps beginners. 14. Our strength must come from God. 15. Sin blinds the soul. 16. Worldliness. 17. The world in the cloister. 18. Assaults of the devil. 19. Examples of the devil's arts. 20. Perfection consists in charity. 21. Indiscreet zeal. 22. Danger of detraction. |
Mansion 1 - Chapter 2
1. Effects of mortal sin.
1.
BEFORE going farther,
I wish you to consider the state
to which mortal sin brings [46]
this magnificent and beautiful castle,
this pearl of the East,
this tree of life,
planted beside the living waters
of life [47]
which symbolize God Himself.
No night can be so dark,
no gloom nor blackness can compare
to its obscurity.
Suffice it to say
that the sun
in the centre of the soul,
which gave it such
splendour and beauty,
is totally eclipsed,
though the spirit is as fitted
to enjoy God's presence
as is the crystal to reflect the sun. [48]
2. It prevents the soul's gaining merit.
2.
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.
The soul, separated from Him,
is no longer pleasing in His eyes,
because by committing a mortal sin,
instead of seeking to please God,
it prefers to gratify the devil,
the prince of darkness,
and so comes to share his blackness.
I knew a person
to whom our Lord revealed the result
of a mortal sin [49]
and
who said she thought
that no one
who realized its effects
could ever commit it,
but would suffer unimaginable torments
to avoid it.
This vision made her very desirous
for all to grasp this truth,
therefore I beg you, my daughters,
to pray fervently to God for sinners,
who
live in blindness
and
do deeds of darkness.
3. The soul compared to a tree.
3.
In a state of grace
the soul is like a well of limpid water,
from which flow
only streams of clearest crystal.
Its works are pleasing
both to God and man,
rising from the River of Life,
beside which it is rooted like a tree.
Otherwise it would produce
neither leaves nor fruit,
for the waters of grace
nourish it,
keep it from withering from drought,
and
cause it to bring forth good fruit.
But the soul by sinning
withdraws from this stream of life,
and
growing beside a black and fetid pool,
can produce nothing
but disgusting and unwholesome fruit.
Notice that it is
not the fountain and the brilliant sun
which lose their splendour and beauty,
for they are placed
in the very centre of the soul
and cannot be deprived of their lustre.
The soul is like a crystal in the sunshine
over which a thick black cloth
has been thrown,
so that however brightly the sun may shine
the crystal can never reflect it.
4. Disorder of the soul in mortal sin.
4.
O souls,
redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ,
take these things to heart;
have mercy on yourselves!
If you realize your pitiable condition,
how can you refrain
from trying to remove the darkness
from the crystal of your souls?
Remember,
if death should take you now,
you would never again enjoy
the light of this Sun.
O Jesus!
how sad a sight
must be a soul deprived of light!
What a terrible state
the chambers of this castle
are in!
How disorderly must be the senses
--the inhabitants of the castle--
the powers of the soul
its magistrates, governors,
and stewards--
blind and uncontrolled as they are!
In short,
as the soil
in which the tree is now planted
is in the devil's domain,
how can its fruit be anything but evil?
A man of great spiritual insight
once told me
that he was not
so much surprised
at such a soul's wicked deeds
as astonished that it did not commit
even worse sins.
May God in His mercy
keep us from such great evil,
for nothing in this life merits
the name of evil
in comparison with this,
which delivers us over to evil
which is eternal.
5. Vision of a sinful soul.
5.
This is what we must dread
and pray God to deliver us from,
for we are weakness itself,
and unless He guards the city,
in vain shall we labour to defend it. [50]
The person of whom I spoke [51]
said that she had learnt two things
from the vision granted her.
The first
was, a great fear of offending God;
was, a great fear of offending God;
Seeing how terrible were the consequences,
she constantly begged Him
to preserve her from falling into sin.
Secondly,
it was a mirror
it was a mirror
to teach her humility,
for she saw that nothing good in us
springs from ourselves
but comes
- from the waters of grace
near which the soul remains
like a tree planted beside a river,
and
- from that Sun
which gives life to our works.
She realized this so vividly
that on seeing any good deed
performed
by herself or
by other people,
she at once
- turned to God
- turned to God
as to its fountain head
--without whose help,
she knew well
we can do nothing--
we can do nothing--
and
- broke out into songs of praise to Him.
- broke out into songs of praise to Him.
Generally, she
forgot all about herself
and
only thought of God
when she did any meritorious action.
6. Profit of realizing these lessons.
6.
The time which has been spent
in reading or writing on this subject
will not have been lost
if it has taught us these two truths;
for though learned,
clever men know them perfectly,
women's wits are dull
and need help in every way.
Perhaps this is why
our Lord has suggested these comparisons to me;
May He give us grace to profit by them!
7. Prayer.
7.
So obscure are these spiritual matters
that to explain them
an ignorant person like myself
must say much that is superfluous,
and even alien to the subject,
before coming to the point.
My readers must be patient with me,
as I am with myself
while writing
what I do not understand;
indeed, I often take up the paper
like a dunce,
not knowing
what to say,
nor how to begin.
Doubtless there is need for me
to do my best
to explain these spiritual subjects to you,
for we often hear
how beneficial prayer is for our souls;
Our Constitutions oblige us to pray
so many hours a day,
yet tell us
- nothing of what part
we ourselves can take in it
and
- very little of the work
God does in the soul by its means. [52]
It will be helpful,
in setting it before you
in various ways,
to consider
this heavenly edifice within us,
this heavenly edifice within us,
so little understood
by men,
near as they often come to it.
Our Lord gave me
grace to understand something
of such matters
when I wrote on them before,
yet I think I have more light now,
especially on the more difficult questions.
Unfortunately I am too ignorant
to treat of such subjects
without saying much
that is already well known.
8. Beauty of the Castle.
8.
Now let us turn at last
to our castle with its many mansions.
You must not think of a suite of rooms
placed in succession,
but fix your eyes on the keep,
the court inhabited by the King. [53]
Like the kernel of the palmito, [54]
from which several rinds
must be removed
before coming to the eatable part,
this principal chamber is surrounded
by many others.
However large, magnificent, and spacious
you imagine this castle to be,
you cannot exaggerate it;
the capacity of the soul is
beyond all our understanding,
and
the Sun within this palace
enlightens every part of it.
9. Self-knowledge
9.
A soul which gives itself to prayer,
either much or little,
should on no account
be kept within narrow bounds.
Since God has given it such great dignity,
permit it to wander at will
through the rooms of the castle,
from the lowest to the highest.
Let it not force itself
to remain for very long
in the same mansion,
even that of self-knowledge.
Mark well, however,
that self-knowledge is indispensable,
even for those
whom God takes to dwell
in the same mansion with Himself.
Nothing else, however elevated,
perfects the soul
which must never seek to forget
its own nothingness.
Let humility be always at work,
like the bee at the honeycomb,
or all will be lost.
But, remember,
the bee leaves its hive to fly
in search of flowers
and
the soul should sometimes
cease thinking of itself
to rise in meditation
on the grandeur and majesty of its God.
It
- will learn its own baseness
better thus
than by self-contemplation,
and
- will be freer from the reptiles
which enter the first room
where self-knowledge is acquired.
Although it is a great grace from God
to practise self-examination,
yet 'too much is as bad as too little,'
as they say;
Believe me, by God's help,
we shall advance
more by contemplating
the Divinity
than by keeping our eyes fixed
on ourselves,
poor creatures of earth that we are.
10. Gained by meditating
on the divine perfections.
10.
I do not know
whether I have put this clearly;
Self-knowledge is of such consequence
that I would not have you careless of it,
though you may be lifted
to heaven in prayer,
because while on earth
nothing is more needful than humility.
Therefore, I repeat,
not only a good way,
but the best of all ways,
is to endeavour
to enter first by the room
where humility is practised,
which is far better
than at once rushing on to the others.
This is the right road;
--if we know how easy and safe
it is to walk by it,
Why ask for wings with which to fly?
Let us rather try to learn
How to advance quickly.
I believe we shall never learn
to know ourselves
except
▪ by endeavouring
to know God,
for, beholding His greatness
we are struck by our own baseness,
His purity shows our foulness,
and
▪ by meditating on His humility
we find how very far we are
from being humble.
11. Advantages of such meditation.
11.
Two advantages are gained by this practice.
First,
it is clear that white looks far whiter
when placed near something black,
and on the contrary,
black never looks so dark
as when seen beside something white.
Secondly,
our understanding and will become
more noble and capable of good
in every way
when we turn
from ourselves
to God:
it is very injurious
never to raise our minds
above the mire of our own faults.
I described
how murky and fetid are the streams
that spring from the source
of a soul in mortal sin. [55]
Thus
(although the case is not really the same,
God forbid!
This is only a comparison),
while we are continually absorbed
in contemplating the weakness
of our earthly nature,
the springs of our anions will never
flow free from the mire
of timid, weak, and cowardly thoughts,
such as:
I wonder
- Whether people are noticing me or not!
- If I follow this course,
will harm come to me?
- Dare I begin this work?
- Would it not be presumptuous?
- Is it right for any one
as faulty as myself [56]
to speak on sublime spiritual subjects?
- Will not people think too well of me,
if I make myself singular?
Extremes are bad,
even in virtue;
Sinful as I am,
I shall only fall the lower.
Perhaps I shall
fail
and
be a source of scandal to good people;
Such a person, as I am,
has no need of peculiarities.'
12. Christ should be our model.
12.
Alas, my daughters,
what loss the devil must have caused
to many a soul
by such thoughts as these!
It thinks such ideas
and
many others of the same sort,
I could mention,
arise from humility.
This comes from not understanding
our own nature;
Self-knowledge becomes so warped
that, unless we take our thoughts
off ourselves,
I am not surprised
that these and many worse fears
should threaten us.
Therefore I maintain, my daughters,
that we should fix our eyes
on Christ
our only Good,
and
on His saints;
there we shall learn true humility,
and
our minds will be ennobled,
so that self-knowledge
will not make us base and cowardly.
Although only the first,
this mansion contains
great riches and such treasures
that if the soul
only manages to elude the reptiles
dwelling here,
it cannot fail to advance farther.
Terrible are the wiles and stratagems,
the devil uses to hinder people
from
realizing their weakness
and
detecting his snares.
13. The devil entraps beginners.
13.
From personal experience
I could give you much information
as to
what happens in these first mansions.
I will only say
that you must not imagine
there are only a few,
but a number of rooms,
for souls enter them
by many different ways,
and
always with a good intention.
The devil is so angry at this
that he keeps legions of evil spirits
hidden in each room
to stop the progress of Christians,
whom, being ignorant of this,
he entraps in a thousand ways.
He cannot
so easily deceive souls
which dwell nearer to the King
as he can beginners
still absorbed in the world,
immersed in its pleasures,
and
eager for its honours and distinctions.
As the vassals of their souls,
the senses and powers,
bestowed on them by God,
are weak,
such people are easily vanquished,
although desirous not to offend God.
14. Our strength must come from God.
14.
Those conscious of being in this state
must as often as possible
have recourse to His Majesty,
taking His Blessed Mother and the saints
for their advocates
to do battle for them,
because we creatures possess little strength
for self-defence.
Indeed,
in every state of life
all our help must come from God;
May He in His mercy grant it us, Amen!
What a miserable life we lead!
As I have spoken more fully
in other writings [57]
on the ill
that results from ignoring the need
of humility and self-knowledge,
I will treat no more about it here,
my daughters,
although it is of the first importance.
God grant
that what I have said
may be useful to you.
15. Sin blinds the soul.
15.
You must notice
that the light
which comes from the King's palace
hardly shines at all
in these first mansions;
although not as gloomy and black
as the soul in mortal sin,
yet
they are in semi-darkness,
and
their inhabitants see scarcely anything.
I cannot explain myself;
I do not mean
that this is the fault
of the mansions themselves,
but
that the number of snakes, vipers,
and venomous reptiles
from outside the castle
prevent souls entering them
from seeing the light.
They resemble a person
entering a chamber
full of brilliant sunshine,
with eyes
clogged and
half closed with dust.
Though the room itself is light,
he cannot see
because of his self-imposed impediment.
In the same way,
these fierce and wild beasts blind the eyes
of the beginner,
so that he sees nothing but them.
16. Worldliness.
16.
Such, it appears to me,
is the soul which,
though not in a state of mortal sin,
is so worldly and preoccupied
with earthly riches, honours, and affairs,
that as I said,
even if it sincerely wishes to
enter into itself
and
enjoy the beauties of the castle,
it is prevented by these distractions
and
seems unable to overcome
so many obstacles.
It is most important to withdraw
from all unnecessary cares and business,
as far as compatible with the duties
of one's state of life,
in order to enter the second mansion.
This is so essential,
that unless done immediately
I think it impossible
for any one
- ever to reach the principal room,
or
- even to remain where he is
without great risk of losing
what is already gained;
Otherwise,
although he is inside the castle,
he will find it impossible
to avoid being bitten
some time or other
by some of the very venomous creatures
surrounding him.
17. The world in the cloister.
17.
What then would become of a religious
like ourselves, my daughters,
if, after
- having escaped
from all these impediments,
and
- having entered much farther
into the more secret mansion,
she should,
by her own fault,
return to all this turmoil?
Through her sins,
many other people
on whom God had bestowed great graces
would culpably relapse
into their wretched state.
In our convents,
we are free from these exterior evils;
(May it) please God
(that) our minds may be
as free from them,
and
May He deliver us from such ills.
18. Assaults of the devil.
18.
Do not trouble yourselves, my daughters,
with cares which do not concern you.
You must notice
that the struggle
with the demons
continues through nearly
all the mansions of this castle.
True,
in some of them,
the guards,
which, as I explained,
are the powers of the soul,
have strength for the combat,
but we must be keenly on the watch
against the devil's arts,
lest he deceive us
in the form of an angel of light.
He creeps
in gradually,
in numberless ways,
and
does us much harm,
though we do not discover it
until too late. [58]
19. Examples of the devil's arts.
19.
As I said elsewhere, [59]
he works like a file,
secretly and silently
wearing its way:
I will give you some examples
to show how he begins his wiles.
For instance:
- a nun has such a longing for penance
as to feel no peace
unless she is tormenting herself
in some way. [60]
This is good in itself;
but suppose
- that the Prioress has forbidden her
to practise any mortifications
without special leave,
and the sister thinking
- that, in such a meritorious cause,
she may venture to disobey,
secretly leads such a life
that she
loses her health and
cannot even fulfill
the requirements of her rule
--you see
how this show of good
ends.
. . . . .
Another nun is very zealous
about religious perfection;
this is very right,
but may cause her
- to think every small fault
(which) she sees in her sisters
(is) a serious crime,
and
- to watch constantly
whether they do anything wrong,
that she may run to the Prioress
to accuse them of it.
At the same time,
maybe she never notices
her own shortcomings
because of her great zeal
about other people's religious
observance,
while perhaps her sisters,
not seeing her intention
but only knowing of the watch
she keeps on them,
do not take her behaviour in good part.
20. Perfection consists in charity.
20.
The devil's chief aim here
is to
- cool the charity
and
- lessen the mutual affection of the nuns,
which would injure them seriously.
Be sure, my daughters,
that true perfection consists
in the love of God and our neighbour,
and
the better we keep
both these commandments,
the more perfect
we shall be.
The sole object
of our Rule and Constitutions
is to help us to observe these two laws.
21. Indiscreet zeal.
21.
Indiscreet zeal about others
must not be indulged in;
It may do us much harm;
Let each one look to herself.
However, as I have spoken fully
on this subject elsewhere, [61]
I will not enlarge on it here,
and
will only beg you to remember
the necessity of this mutual affection.
Our souls may lose their peace
and even disturb other people's
if we are always criticizing trivial actions
which often are not real defects at all,
but we construe them wrongly
through ignorance of their motives.
See how much it costs to attain perfection!
Sometimes
the devil tempts nuns in this way
about the Prioress,
which is still more dangerous.
Great prudence is then required,
for if she disobeys the Rule or Constitutions
the matter must not always be overlooked,
but should be mentioned to her; [62]
if, after this,
she does not amend,
the Superior of the Order
should be informed of it.
It is true charity
to speak in this case,
as it would be
if we saw our sisters commit a grave fault;
To keep silence for fear
that speech would be
a temptation against charity,
would be that very temptation itself. [63]
22. Danger of detraction.
22.
However,
I must warn you seriously
not to talk to each other
about such things,
lest the devil deceive you.
He would gain greatly
by your doing so,
because it would lead
to the habit of detraction;
Rather,
as I said,
state the matter to those
whose duty it is to remedy it.
Thank God
(that) our custom here
of keeping almost perpetual silence
gives little opportunity
for such conversations,
Still, it is well to stand
ever on our guard.
Foot Notes:
[46]
The Life,
ch. xxxviii. 31;
ch. xl. 15. ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
"Let us suppose
the Godhead to be
a most brilliant diamond,
much larger than the whole world...
and that all our actions are seen
in that diamond,
...to see such foul things as my sins
present in the pure brilliancy
of that light.
[The Life- Translated by Lewis
Ch 40: #14 ]
"...I was then so ashamed of myself
that I knew not where to hide myself.
...those,
who commit most foul and filthy sins,
that they may remember
- their sins are not secret, and
- that God most justly resents them,
seeing that they are wrought
in the very presence of His Majesty, and
that we are demeaning ourselves
so irreverently before Him!
[The Life- Translated by Lewis
Ch 40: #14, 15 ]
___________
[47]
Ps. i. 3:
Et erit tamquam lignum
quod plantatum eat
secus decursus aquarum.'
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Blessed is the man who
hath not walked in the counsel
of the ungodly,
nor stood in the way of sinners
But his will is in the law of the Lord, and
on his law,
he shall meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree
which is planted
near the running waters,
which shall bring forth its fruit,
in due season...
and all whatsoever he shall do
shall prosper.
[ Psalm: Ch1: 1-3 ]
___________
[48]
Way of Perf.
ch. xxviii. 9.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
"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
that this palace should be what it is--
and
this is really true,
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.
. . .
I knew perfectly well
that I had a soul,
but I did not understand
what that soul merited,
or
Who dwelt within it,
until I closed my eyes
to the vanities of this world
in order to see it.
I think, if I had understood then,
as I do now,
how this great King really dwells
within this little palace of my soul,
I should not have left Him alone so often,
but should have
stayed with Him
and
never have allowed His dwelling-place
to get so dirty.
How wonderful it is
that He
Whose greatness could fill
a thousand worlds,
and very many more,
should confine Himself
within so small a space,
just as He was pleased to dwell
within the womb
of His most holy Mother!
Being the Lord,
He has, of course, perfect freedom,
and, as He loves us,
He fashions Himself to our measure.
When a soul sets out upon this path,
He does not reveal Himself to it,
lest it should feel dismayed
at seeing
that its littleness can contain such greatness;
but gradually He enlarges it
to the extent requisite
for what He has to set within it.
It is for this reason
that I say He has perfect freedom,
since He has power
to make the whole of this palace great.
[ Way of Perfection
ch. xxviii (excerpt) ]
___________
[49]
In this as in most other cases
when the Saint speaks
'of a person she knows,'
she means herself.
Life, ch. xl, 15.
___________
[50]
cxxvi. 1:
'Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem,
frustra vigilat
qui custodit eam.'
. . . . . . . . . .
"Unless the Lord build the house,
they labour in vain that build it.
Unless the Lord keep the city,
he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.
[ Psalm Ch. 126: 1
___________
[51]
Life,
ch. xxxviii. 33;
ch. xl. 15, 16.
___________
[52]
Life,
ch. x. 2 sqq.
Constitut.
2, 6.
. . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
" ...I had a certain tenderness of soul
which was...partially attainable, by our own efforts: but is all of it the gift of God. However, I think we can contribute much towards the attaining of it by considering - our vileness and - our ingratitude towards God-- the great things He has done for us-- - His Passion, with its grievous pains and - His life, so full of sorrows; also, by rejoicing in the contemplation - of His works, - of His greatness, and - of the love that He bears us. If with this, there be a little love, - the soul is comforted, - the heart is softened, and tears flow..." [ Life: ch. 10 # 2 ]
___________
[53]
Way of Perf.
ch. xxviii. 1.
. . . . . .
Blog Addition:
To pray to God, the soul
"...has no need
to go to Heaven or
to speak in a loud voice?
However quietly we speak,
He is so near that He will hear us:
we need no wings
to go in search of Him
but have only to find a place
where we can
be alone and
look upon Him present within us."
[ Way of Perfection: ch. xxviii ]
___________
[54]
The palmito here referred to
is not a palm,
but a shrub
about four feet high and
very dense with leaves,
resembling palm leaves.
The poorer classes and principally children
dig it up by the roots,
which they peel of its many layers
until a sort of kernel is disclosed,
which is eaten,
not without relish,
and is somewhat like a filbert in taste.
See St. John of the Cross,
Accent of Mount Carmel,
bk. ii. ch, xiv, 3.
___________
[55]
Supra, # 3.
(See Paragraph #3 above in this text)
___________
[56]
Life,
ch. viii. 6,
ch. x. 4,
ch. xxiii. 3-5.
Way of Perf.
ch. xxxix. 1.
. . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
" I may speak of that
which I know by experience;
and so I say, let him never cease from prayer who has once begun it, be his life ever so wicked; for prayer is the way to amend it, and without prayer such amendment will be
much more difficult.
Let him not be tempted by Satan, as I was, to give it up,
on the pretence of humility;
let him rather believe that His words are true
Who says that,
if we truly repent,
and resolve never to offend Him,
He will
take us into His favour again,
give us the graces He gave us before, and occasionally even greater, if our repentance deserve it." [ Ezech. 18; 21, 28 ] And as to him who has not begun to pray, I implore him by the love of our Lord not to deprive himself
of so great a good.
[ Life: ch. 8: #6 ]
. . . . . . . .
"Let him not regard
certain kinds of humility which exist, and of which I mean to speak. Some think it humility not to believe that God is bestowing His gifts upon them. Let us clearly understand this, and that it is perfectly clear God bestows His gifts without any merit whatever on our part; and let us be grateful to His Majesty
for them;
for if we do not recognize the gifts received at His hands, we shall never be moved to love Him. It is a most certain truth, that the richer we see ourselves to be, confessing at the same time our poverty, the greater will be our progress, and the more real our humility. [ Life: ch. 10: #4 ]
. . . . . .
"it struck me
because I was making
progress in prayer
that this must be
a great blessing,
or
a very great evil;
for I understood perfectly
that what had happened
was something supernatural,
...
I thought to myself
that there was no help for it,
but in
- keeping my conscience pure,
- avoiding every occasion (of sin)
even of venial sins;
for if it was the work of the Spirit of God,
the gain was clear;
and if the work of Satan,
so long as I strove to please,
and did not offend, our Lord,
Satan could do me little harm;
on the contrary,
he must lose in the struggle.
Determined on this course, and
always praying God to help me,
striving also after purity of conscience
for some days,
I saw that
my soul had not strength to go forth alone
to a perfection so great.
I had certain attachments to trifles,
which, though not very wrong
in themselves,
were yet enough to ruin all."
[ Life: ch. 23: #5 ]
___________
[57]
Life
ch. xiii. 23.
Way of Perf.
ch. x. 4.
Castle, M. iii.
ch. ii. 8.
Concep.
ch. ii. 20.
Const.
21.
. . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
"Although this matter of self-knowledge
must never be put aside... ...among all the states of prayer, however high they may be, there is not one in which
it is not often necessary
to go back to the beginning. The knowledge - of our sins, and - of our own selves, is the bread which we have to eat with all the meats, however delicate they may be, in the way of prayer; without this bread, life cannot be sustained, though it must be taken by measure. When a soul - beholds itself resigned, and - clearly understands that there is no goodness in it - when it feels itself abashed in the presence of so great a King, and - sees how little it pays of the great debt it owes Him-- why should it be necessary for it to waste its time on this subject? Why should it not rather proceed to other matters which our Lord places before it, and for neglecting which
there is no reason?
His Majesty surely knows better than we do what kind of food is proper for us. [ Life: ch. 13: #23 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"It is to possess these virtues,
(Humility, and
Detachment from self and self-will)
...that you must labour
if you would leave the land of (attachments)
for, when you have obtained
(humility, detachment)
you will also obtain the manna;
All things will taste well to you; and,
however much the world
may dislike their savour,
to you they will be sweet."
[Way of Perfection: ch. 10: # 4 ]
. . . . . . . . . .
"Believe me, the question is
not whether we wear the religious habit
or not,
but whether we
practise the virtues and
submit our will in all things
to the will of God.
The object of our life must be
to do what He requires of us:
let us not ask that our will may be done,
but His.
If we have not yet attained to this,
let us be humble, as I said above.
Humility is the ointment for our wounds;
if we have it, although perhaps
He may defer His coming for a time,
God, Who is our Physician, will come
and heal us.
...I wish....that they might not be content
to creep on their way to God:
a pace that will never bring them
to their journey’s end!
[ Interior Castle, Mansion 3:
Ch. 2: #8 ]
___________
[58]
Life
ch. xxxi. 23.
. . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
"If our Lord bestows any virtue
upon us,
we must make much of it, and
by no means run the risk of losing it;
...that we are not all of us detached,
though we think we are...
...If any one
detects in himself any tenderness
about his good name, and
yet wishes to advance
in the spiritual life,
let him ...
throw this embarrassment
behind his back,
for it is a chain
which no file can sever;
only the help of God,
obtained by
prayer and
much striving on his part,
can do it.
It seems to me to be
a hindrance on the road, and
I am astonished at the harm it does.
...What keeps him back
who does so much for God?
Oh, there it is!
--self-respect!
and the worst of it is,
that these persons will not admit
that they have it,
merely because Satan now and then
convinces them
that they are under an obligation
to observe it."
[ Life: Ch31: #23
___________
[59]
No doubt the Saint often used
this excellent comparison
in her verbal instructions,
but it occurs nowhere else
in her writings.
___________
[60]
Way of Perf.
ch. x. 5;
ch. xxxix. 4;
Rel.
iii. 12.
. . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
"The first thing, then,
that we have to do, and
that at once,
is to rid ourselves of love
for this body of ours...
Resolve, sisters,
that it is to die for Christ, and
not to practise self-indulgence for Christ,
that you have come here.
The devil tells us
that self-indulgence is necessary
if we are to carry out
and keep the Rule of our Order,
and so many of us, forsooth,
try to keep our Rule
by looking after our health
that we die without having kept it
for as long as a month
-- perhaps even for a day..."
[ Way of Perfection: Ch 10:. #5 ]
. . . . . . . . . . .
"Once, when thinking
of the great penance
practised by Dona Catalina de Cardona,
and how I might have done more,
considering the desires
which our Lord had given me at times,
if it had not been for my obedience
to my confessors,
I asked myself
whether it would not be as well
if I disobeyed them for the future
in this matter.
Our Lord said to me:
'No, My daughter;
thou art on the sound and safe road.
Seest thou all her penance?
I think more of thy obedience.' "
[ Relations: Ch 3: #12
Translated - D. Lewis ]
___________
[61]
The Saint must frequently have spoken
on the subject,
but she never treated it more fully
than in this place.
Way of Perf.
ch. xii. 7.
Life,
ch. xiii. 11, 14 sqq.
Visitation of convents.
. . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
"There is another temptation,
which is very common: when people begin to have pleasure in - the rest and - the fruit of prayer, they will have (want) everybody else to be very spiritual also. Now, to desire this is not wrong, but to try to bring it about
may not be right,
except with great discretion and with much reserve, without any appearance of teaching. He who would do any good in this matter ought to be endowed with solid virtues, that he may not put temptation in the way of others... It happened to me-- I made others apply themselves to prayer, to be a source of temptation and disorder; for, on the one hand, they heard me say great things of the blessedness of prayer, and, on the other, (they) saw how poor I was in virtue, notwithstanding my prayer. This it was that made them not to regard that as evil which was really so (evil) in itself, namely, that they saw me do it myself, now and then, during the time that they thought well of me in some measure. (Since they considered her to be holy, any evil that they saw her do, they assumed was not evil ) There is another temptation-- we ought to be aware of it, and be cautious in our conduct: - persons are carried away by a zeal for virtue, through the pain which the sight of the sins and failings of others occasions them. Satan tells them that this pain arises only - out of their desire that God may not be offended, and - out of their anxiety about His honour; so they immediately seek
to remedy the evil.
This so disturbs them, that they cannot pray. The greatest evil of all is - their thinking (that) this an act -- of virtue, -- of perfection, and -- of a great zeal for God. 15. If I were to speak of the mistakes which I have seen people make, in reliance
on their own good intentions,
I should never come to an end. Let us labour, therefore, always to consider - the virtues and the good qualities which we discern in others, and - with our own great sins cover our eyes, so that we may see none of their failings. ...we shall acquire one great virtue-- - we shall look upon all men as better than ourselves; and we begin to acquire that virtue
in this way,
by the grace of God, which is necessary in all things-- for when we have it not, all our endeavours are in vain-- and by imploring Him
to give us this virtue;
for He never fails us, if we do what we can. [Life: Ch 13: #11-15 ]
. . . . . . . . .
"There are some
who in their own opinion
are so excessively perfect
that they consider everything they see
to be a fault,
being always themselves
the very persons
who have the most faults,
but, seeing none of them,
they lay the whole blame
on the poor prioress
or
on the others.
[ Visitation of the Nunneries #19
(See Book of the Foundations) ]
___________
[62]
Way of Perfection,
ch. ii. 3.
Visit.
20-22, 34, 36.
___________
[63]
'It is terrible to think
what harm a Prioress can do!
For although the Sisters witness things
which scandalize them
(of which there are plenty here!),
yet they think it would be sinning
against obedience
to see any harm in them.'
(Letter to Father Gracian,
written at Malagon
at the beginning of December, 1579.
Letters, Vol. III.)
|
End of
of Mansion 1 Chapter 2
The Interior Castle
or
The Mansions
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
|
