The Interior Castle or The Mansions
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
THE FOURTH MANSIONS
CHAPTER I.
● How Sweetness And Tenderness In Prayer
Differ From Consolations.
● Explains How Advantageous It Was
For St. Teresa To Comprehend That
The Imagination
And
The Understanding
Are Not The Same Thing.
● This Chapter Is Useful For Those
Whose Thoughts Wander Much
During Prayer.
|
THE FOURTH MANSIONS
CHAPTER I.
Chapter Contents
1. Graces received in this mansion.
2. Mystic favours.
3. Temptations bring humility and merit.
4. Sensible devotion and natural joys.
5. Sweetness in devotion.
6. St. Teresa's experience of it.
7. Love of God, and how to foster it.
8. Distractions.
9. They do not destroy divine union.
10. St. Teresa's physical distractions.
11. How to treat distractions.
12. They should be disregarded.
13. Self-knowledge necessary.
|
THE FOURTH MANSIONS
CHAPTER I.
1. Graces received in this mansion.
1.
Now that I commence writing
about the fourth mansions,
it is requisite, as I said, [107]
- to commend myself to the Holy Ghost
and
- to beg Him henceforth to speak for me,
that I may be enabled
to treat these matters intelligibly.
Henceforth they begin to be supernatural
and
it will be most difficult
to speak clearly about them, [108]
unless His Majesty undertakes it for me,
as He did when I explained the subject
(as far as I understood it) somewhat
about fourteen years ago. [109]
I believe I now possess more light
about the favours God grants some souls,
but that is different
from being able to elucidate them. [110]
May His Majesty enable me to do so
if it would be useful,
but not otherwise.
2. Mystic favours.
2.
As these mansions are
nearer the King's dwelling
they are very beautiful,
and so subtle are the things
seen and heard in them,
that,
as those tell us
who have tried to do so,
the mind cannot give a lucid idea of them
to those inexperienced in the matter.
People who have enjoyed these favours,
especially if it was to any great extent,
will easily comprehend me.
3. Temptations bring humility and merit.
3.
Apparently a person must have dwelt
for a long time in the former mansions
before entering these;
although in ordinary cases,
the soul must have been
in the last one (3rd mansion) spoken of,
yet, as you must often have heard,
there is no fixed rule,
for God gives
when (He wills),
how (He wills),
and
to whom He wills [111]
--the goods are His own,
and
His choice wrongs no one. [112]
The poisonous reptiles rarely come
into these rooms,
and,
if they enter,
do more good than harm.
I think it is far better for them
to get in and make war on the soul
in this state of prayer;
Were it not tempted,
the devil might sometimes deceive it
about divine consolations,
thus injuring it far more.
Besides,
the soul would benefit less,
because all occasions of gaining merit
would be withdrawn,
were it left continually absorbed in God.
I am not confident
that this absorption is genuine
when it always remains in the same state,
nor does it appear to me possible
for the Holy Ghost to dwell
constantly within us,
to the same extent,
during our earthly exile.
4. Sensible devotion and natural joys.
4.
I will now describe,
as I promised,
the difference between
sweetness in prayer
and
spiritual consolations.
It appears to me that
▪ what we acquire for ourselves in
meditation
and
petitions to our Lord
may be termed 'sweetness in devotion.'
[113]
It is
▪ natural,
▪ although ultimately aided
by the grace of God.
I must be understood to imply this
in all I say,
for we can do nothing without Him.
▪ This sweetness
◦ arises principally from the good work
we perform, and
◦ appears to result from our labours:
Well may we feel happy
at having thus spent our time.
We shall find, on consideration,
that many temporal matters give us
the same pleasure
--such as
unexpectedly coming
into a large fortune,
suddenly meeting
with a dearly-loved friend,
or
succeeding in any important
or influential affair
which makes a sensation in the world.
Again, it would be felt by one
who had been told
her husband, brother, or son was dead,
and
who saw him return to her alive.
I have seen people weep
from such happiness,
as I have done myself.
I consider both
these joys and
those we feel in religious matters
to be natural ones.
Although there is nothing wrong
about the former,
yet those produced by devotion
spring from a more noble source
--in short, they
begin in ourselves
and
and
end in God.
Spiritual consolations,
on the contrary,
▪ arise from God,
and
▪ our nature
feels them and
rejoices as keenly in them,
and indeed far more keenly,
than in the others I described.
5. Sweetness in devotion.
5.
O Jesus!
How I wish I could elucidate this point!
It seems to me
that I can perfectly distinguish
the difference between the two joys,
yet I have not the skill
to make myself understood;
May God give it me!
I remember a verse we say at Prime
at the end of the final Psalm;
the last words are:
'Cum dilatasti cor meum'
--When Thou didst dilate my heart: [114]
To those with much experience,
this suffices to show
the difference between
sweetness in prayer
and
spiritual consolations;
Other people will require more explanation.
The sensible devotion, I mentioned,
does not dilate the heart,
but generally appears to narrow it slightly;
Although joyful
at seeing herself work for God,
yet such a person sheds tears of sorrow
which seem partly produced by the passions.
I know little about the passions of the soul,
or I
could write of them more clearly
and
could better define
- what comes
from the sensitive disposition
and
- what is natural,
having passed through this state myself,
but I am very stupid.
Knowledge and learning are
a great advantage to every one.
6. St. Teresa's experience of it.
6.
My own experience
of this delight and sweetness in meditation
was that
when I began to weep over the Passion
I could not stop
until I had a severe headache; [115]
the same thing occurred
when I grieved over my sins:
This was a great grace from our Lord.
I do not intend to inquire now
which of these states of prayer
is the better,
but I wish I knew how to explain
the difference between the two.
In that of which I speak,
the tears and good desires are often
partly caused by the natural disposition,
but although this may be the case,
yet, as I said,
these feelings terminate in God.
Sensible devotion is very desirable
if the soul is humble enough to understand
that it is not more holy
on account of these sentiments,
which cannot always with certainty
be ascribed to charity,
and
even then are still the gift of God.
7. Love of God, and how to foster it.
7.
These feelings of devotion are
most common with souls
in the first three mansions,
who are nearly always using their
understanding and reason
in making meditations.
This is good for them,
for they have not been given grace for more;
they should, however,
try occasionally to elicit some acts
such as
praising God,
rejoicing
in His goodness
and
that He is what He is:
let them desire
that He may be honoured and glorified.
They must do this as best they can,
for it greatly inflames the will.
Let them be very careful,
when God gives these sentiments,
not to set them aside
in order to finish
their accustomed meditation.
But, having spoken fully
on this subject elsewhere, [116]
I will say no more now.
I only wish to warn you that
to make rapid progress
and
to reach the mansions we wish to enter,
it is not so essential
to think much
as to love much:
therefore you must practise
whatever most excites you to this.
Perhaps we do not know what love is,
nor does this greatly surprise me.
Love does not consist
in great sweetness of devotion,
but
- in a fervent determination to strive
to please God in all things,
- in avoiding, as far as possible,
all that would offend Him,
and
- in praying
for the increase
of the glory and honour of His Son
and
for the growth
of the Catholic Church.
These are the signs of love;
Do not imagine
that it consists in never thinking
of anything but God,
and
that if your thoughts wander a little
all is lost. [117]
8. Distractions.
8.
I, myself, have sometimes been troubled
by this turmoil of thoughts.
I learnt by experience,
but little more than four years ago,
that our thoughts,
or it is clearer to call it our imagination,
are not the same thing
as the understanding.
I questioned a theologian on the subject;
he told me it was the fact,
which consoled me not a little.
As the understanding is
one of the powers of the soul,
it puzzled me to see it
so sluggish at times,
while, as a rule,
the imagination takes flight at once,
so that God alone can control it
by so uniting us to Himself [118]
that we seem, in a manner,
detached from our bodies.
It puzzled me to see that
while to all appearance
the powers of the soul were
occupied with God
and
recollected in Him,
the imagination was wandering elsewhere.
9. They do not destroy divine union.
9.
Do Thou, O Lord,
take into account
all that we suffer in this way
through our ignorance.
We err in thinking
that we need only know
that we must keep our thoughts
fixed on Thee.
We do not understand
that we should consult
those better instructed than ourselves,
nor are we aware
that there is anything for us to learn.
We pass
- through terrible trials,
on account of not understanding
our own nature
and
- take what is
not merely harmless,
but good,
for a grave fault.
This causes the sufferings
felt by many people,
particularly by the unlearned,
who practise prayer.
They complain of interior trials,
become melancholy,
lose their health,
and
even give up prayer altogether
for want of recognizing
that we have within ourselves as it were,
an interior world.
We cannot stop the revolution
of the heavens
as they rush with velocity
upon their course,
neither can we control our imagination.
When this wanders
- we at once imagine
that all the powers of the soul follow it;
- we think everything is lost,
and
that the time spent in God's presence
is wasted.
Meanwhile,
the soul is perhaps entirely united to Him
in the innermost mansions,
while
the imagination is
in the precincts of the castle,
- struggling with a thousand wild
and venomous creatures
and
- gaining merit by its warfare.
Therefore we need
not let ourselves be disturbed,
nor give up prayer,
as the devil is striving to persuade us.
As a rule,
all our anxieties and troubles come
from misunderstanding our own nature.
10. St. Teresa's physical distractions.
10.
Whilst writing this
I am thinking
of the loud noise in my head
which I mentioned in the Introduction,
(Blog Note: See Prologue)
and
which has made it almost impossible
to obey the command given me
to write this.
It sounds as if there were a number
of rushing waterfalls within my brain,
while in other parts,
drowned by the sound of the waters,
are the voices of birds
singing and whistling.
This tumult is not in my ears,
but in the upper part of my head,
where, they say,
is placed the superior part of the soul.
I have long thought
that this must be so
because the flight of the spirit
seems to take place
from this part with great velocity. [119]
Please God I may recollect
to explain the cause
when writing of the latter mansions,
this not being the proper place for it.
It may be
that God has sent this suffering in my head
to help me to understand the matter,
for all this tumult in my brain
does not interfere with my prayer,
nor with my speaking to you,
but the great calm and love and desires
in my soul remain undisturbed
and my mind is clear.
11. How to treat distractions.
11.
How, then, can the superior part of the soul
remain undisturbed
if it resides in the upper part of the brain?
I cannot account for it,
but am sure that I am speaking the truth.
This noise disturbs my prayer
when unaccompanied with ecstasy,
but when it is ecstatic
I do not feel any pain, however great.
I should suffer keenly
were I forced to cease praying
on account of these infirmities.
We should
not be distressed
by reason of our thoughts,
nor allow ourselves to be worried by them:
If they come from the devil,
he will let us alone
if we take no notice of them;
and
if they are, as often happens,
one of the many frailties
entailed by Adam's sin,
let us be patient and suffer them
for the love of God.
Likewise,
since we must eat and sleep
without being able to avoid it,
much to our grief,
let us acknowledge that
- we are human, and
- long to be
where no one may despise us. [120]
Sometimes I recall these words,
spoken by the Spouse in the Canticle; [121]
truly never in our lives
have we better reason to say them,
for I think no earthly scorn or suffering
can try us so severely
as these struggles within our souls.
All uneasiness or conflict can be borne
while we have peace in ourselves,
as I said;
but if,
while seeking for rest
amidst the thousand trials of the world
-- knowing that God has prepared
this rest for us--
the obstacle is found in ourselves,
the trial must prove painful
and almost insufferable.
12. They should be disregarded.
12.
Take us therefore, O Lord,
to where these miseries can no longer
cause us to be despised,
for sometimes it seems
as if they mocked our souls.
Even in this life
God delivers us from them
when we reach the last mansion,
as by His grace I will show you.
Everybody is not
so violently distressed and assaulted
by these weaknesses
as I have been for many years, [122]
on account of my wickedness,
so that it seems
as if I strove to take vengeance on myself.
[123]
Since I suffer so much in this way,
perhaps you may do the same,
so I shall continue to explain the subject
to you in different ways,
in order to find some means
of making it clear.
The thing is inevitable,
therefore
do not let it disturb or grieve you,
but let the mill clack on
while we grind our wheat;
that is, let us continue to work
with our will and intellect.
13. Self-knowledge necessary.
13.
These troubles annoy us more or less
according to
the state of our health
according to
the state of our health
or in
different circumstances.
different circumstances.
The poor soul suffers;
although not now to blame,
it has sinned at other times,
and must be patient.
We are so ignorant
that what we have read and been told
has not sufficed to teach us
to disregard wandering thoughts,
therefore I shall not be wasting time
in instructing and consoling you
about these trials.
However,
this will help you but little
until God chooses to enlighten you,
and additional measures are needed:
His Majesty wishes us to learn
by ordinary means
to understand ourselves and
to recognize the share
taken in these troubles by
- our wandering imagination,
- our nature,
and
- the devil's temptations,
instead of laying all the blame
on our souls.
Foot Notes:
107]
First Mansions, ch. i. 1.
______________________________
[108]
There are two kinds of contemplation:
▪ acquired or natural,
and
▪ infused or supernatural.
In their widest sense,
including
many remarkable phenomena
of Natural religion,
and, of course,
the most wonderful manifestations
recorded in the Old Testament,
- they form the system called Mysticism
and
- are the proper object of Mystical theology.
Natural or acquired contemplation
is based upon an idealistic turn of mind
◦ which enables the soul to gaze
upon the Godhead
(simple gaze, as St. Teresa calls it)
◦ without approaching Him
by the laborious process
of reasoning, and
in so doing embraces Him
with its affective powers;
like a person who,
devoid of technical skill,
takes in and is enamoured
by, the beauty of a painting.
Infused contemplation
is the highest act
of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost
of Knowledge and Wisdom.
It is often impossible,
nor is it always essential,
to determine where
acquired contemplation ends
and
infused contemplation begins.
But it should be borne in mind
that both the one and the other
are operations
and
not merely a passive state
or mere fruition.
Even the highest form of contemplation,
the Beatific Vision,
is a supernatural act of the soul,
an operation of unending duration.
A ship moved by a gentle breeze
is rightly said to be actually sailing
though the rowers are at rest.
______________________________
[109]
Life, ch. xii. 11.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
11. Or it may be,
as His Majesty has always been my Master- may He be blessed for ever! for I am ashamed of myself that I can say so with truth-- that it was His good pleasure I should meet with no one to whom I should be indebted in this matter. So, without my wishing or asking it-- I never was careful about this, for that would have been a virtue in me, but only about vanity-- God gave me to understand with all distinctness in a moment, and also enabled me to express myself, so that my confessors were astonished but I more than they, because I knew my own dullness better. It is not long since this happened. And so that
which our Lord has not taught me,
I seek not to know it, unless it be a matter
that touches my conscience.
[ Life: Ch 12: #11 ]
______________________________
[110]
Life, ch. xvii. 7.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
7. There is another kind of union,
which, though not a perfect union,
is yet more so
than the one of which I have just spoken;
but not so much so as this spoken of
as the third water.
You, my father, will be delighted greatly
if our Lord should bestow them all
upon you,
if you have them not already,
- to find an account of the matter
in writing, and
- to understand it;
- 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 the grace--is necessary
- to enable the soul to advance
without confusion and fear, and
- to walk with the greater courage
in the way of our Lord,
trampling under foot
all the things of this world,
it is a great advantage and
a great grace to understand it;
for every one who has it
has great reason to praise our Lord;
and so, also, has he
who has it not:
because His Majesty has bestowed it
upon some person living
who is to make us profit by it.
[Life: Ch. 17: #7 ]
______________________________
[111]
Philippus a SS. Trinitate,
Summa Theologiae Mysticae,
pars iii. tract. i. disc. iii. art. 2.
(Philip of the Trinity:
Summa theologiae mysticae )
Life, ch. xv. 11,
xxii. 22, 23.
Way of Perf. ch. xvi. 4,
xli. 2.
Concep. ch. v. 3.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Life, ch. xv. 11
11. The only reason
( the only work of the
Understanding/Intellect)
that ought to be admitted now is:
- to understand clearly that there is no reason whatever, except His mere goodness, why God should grant us
so great a grace, and
- to be aware that we are so near Him,
and
- to pray to His Majesty for mercies, - to make intercession for the Church, for those who had been recommended
to us
and
for the souls in purgatory, -- not, however, with noise of words, but with a heartfelt desire to be heard. This is a prayer that
-- contains much, and
-- by it more is obtained than by many reflections
of the understanding.
- Let the will
-- stir up some of those reasons,
which proceed from reason itself, --- to quicken its love, such as the fact of
its being in a better state, and
- let it make certain acts of love, as what it will do for Him
to whom it owes so much,--
and that, as I said just now, without any noise
of the understanding,
in the search after profound reflections.
A little straw,
--and it will be less than straw,
if we bring it ourselves,-- laid on with humility,
will be more effectual here,
and
will help to kindle a fire
more than many fagots
of most learned reasons,
which, in my opinion,
will put it out in a moment.
[ Life: Ch. 15: # 11 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[ Life: Ch. 22: # 22, 23 excerpts ]
...How is it, I ask again,
that the same Lord brings it
to the perfection of virtue
only in the course of time? ...
[ Life: Ch. 22: # 22 ]
23.
...the reason might be,
that the soul does not despise itself
all at once,
till our Lord
- instructs it by degrees, and
- makes it resolute, and
- gives it the strength of manhood,
so that it may trample
utterly upon everything.
He gave this strength to the Magdalene
in a moment.
He gives the same grace to others,
according to the measure
of their abandonment of themselves
into the hands of His Majesty,
that He may do with them as He will.
[ Life: Ch. 22: # 23 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Way of Perf. ch. xvi. 4,
... this King does not allow Himself
to be taken except by one
who surrenders wholly to Him.
[ Way of Perfection: Ch. 16: #4 excerpt]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Concep. ch. v. 3.
3. ".... except in the case of people
to whom our Lord gives some special call,
like St. Paul, whom He at once raised...
God, as a rule
— indeed, nearly always —
keeps these very sublime...consolations
for those who have laboured greatly
in His service.
These souls have
longed for His love and
striven to please Him in every way,
have fatigued themselves
by many years of meditation and search
for their Bridegroom, and
are thoroughly weary of the world.
[Conceptions Of The Love Of God:
Ch. 5: #3]
______________________________
[112]
S. Matt. xx. 15:
Aut non licet mihi quod volo facere?'
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will?
is thy eye evil, because I am good?
'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish
with what is my own?
Or is your eye envious
because I am generous?'
[Mt 20:15 ]
______________________________
[113]
Way of Perf., ch. xix. 8.
Castle, M. iv. ch. ii. 4.
The first three mansions
of the Interior Castle
correspond with
the first water,'
or
the prayer of Meditation,
explained in ch. xi-xiii. of the Life;
the fourth mansion, or the prayer of Quiet,
with the second water,'
Life, ch. xiv. and xv.;
the fifth mansion, or the prayer of Union,
with the 'third water',
' Life, ch. xvi. and xvii.;
and the sixth mansion, ecstasy, etc.,
with the 'fourth water,'
Life, ch. xviii.-xxi.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Castle, M. iv. ch. ii. 4.
4.
Such is the difference
between the two kinds of prayer.
The water running through the aqueducts
resembles sensible devotion,
which is obtained by meditation.
We gain it by our thoughts,
by meditating on created things, and
by the labour of our minds;
in short, it is the result of our endeavours,
and so makes the commotion I spoke of,
while profiting the soul.
The other fountain,
like divine consolations,
receives the water from the source itself,
which signifies God:
as usual,
when His Majesty wills to bestow on us
any supernatural favours,
we experience the greatest peace, calm, and
sweetness in the inmost depths of our being;
I know neither where nor how.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 4: Ch2: #4 ]
______________________________
[114]
Ps. cxviii. 32.
Way of Perf. ch. xxviii. 11.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Ps. cxviii. 32.
"I have run the way of thy commandments,
when thou didst enlarge my heart"
[Psalm 119:32 ]
______________________________
[115]
Life, ch. iii. 1.
______________________________
[116]
Life, ch. xii. 2-4.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
2. Of this kind are all those things which
- produce a devotion - acquired in part by means of the understanding, though it can neither be merited nor had (aquired), if God grants it not. It is best for a soul which God has not raised to a higher state than this not to try to rise of itself. Let this be well considered, because all the soul will gain in that way will be a loss. In this state it can make - many acts of good resolutions to do much for God, and -- enkindle its love; - other acts also, which -- may help the growth of virtues, according to that which is written in a book called The Art of Serving God, [1] a most excellent work, and profitable for those who are in this state, because the understanding is active now. 3. The soul may also - place itself in the presence of Christ, - and accustom itself to many acts of love directed to His sacred Humanity, and - remain in His presence continually, and - speak to Him, - pray to Him in its necessities, and - complain to Him of its troubles; - be merry with Him in its joys, and - yet not forget Him because of its joys. All this it may do without set prayers, but rather with words befitting its desires and its needs. 4. This is an excellent way whereby to advance, and that very quickly. He that - will strive to have this precious companionship, and - will make much of it, and - will sincerely love our Lord, to whom we owe so much, is one, in my opinion, who has made some progress. There is therefore no reason why we should trouble ourselves because we have no sensible devotion, as I said before. [2] But let us rather give thanks to our Lord, who allows us to have a desire to please Him, though our works be poor. This practice of the presence of Christ - is profitable in all states of prayer, and - is a most safe way -- of advancing in the first state, and -- of attaining quickly to the second; -- and as for the last states, it secures us against those risks which the devil may occasion. [ Life, ch. xii. 2-4 ]
______________________________
[117]
Found. ch. v. 2.
Way of Perf. ch. xxxi. 6, 12.
Life, ch. xv, 16,
ch. XXX. 19.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Bk of Foundations: Ch. v.2.
2. Perfect prayer
2. In the first place,
I wish to show,
so far as my poor understanding is able,
wherein lies the essence
of perfect prayer;
for some I have met with,
think the whole matter
lies in thinking,
and so,
if they can think long about God,
though by doing great violence
to themselves,
they believe forthwith
that they are spiritual people;
and if unable to hold out longer,
they turn to other occupations,
however good,
they fall immediately
into great discomfort,
and look upon themselves as lost.
Learned men do not labour
under ignorance like this,
yet I have found one who did so;
but for us women
it is well we should be warned
to beware of all ignorance
in these matters.
I am not saying
that it is not a grace
from our Lord
that a person should be always able
to persevere in meditation on His works,
and it is right to make an effort to do so;
but it must be understood
♦ that not every imagination is
by nature able to do it,
♦ but every soul is able to love Him,
[and
perfection lies in that (loving God)
rather than in thinking ].
I have already in another place
spoken of the causes
of the disorder
of our imagination
— not of all, I believe,
for that would be impossible,
but of some —
and so I do not treat of them now,
but I would rather show:
♦ that the soul is not
the power of thinking, and
♦ that the will is not ordered by it,
for that would be a sad state,
as I said just now,
seeing that
♦ the good of the soul
does not consist in its thinking much,
♦ but in its loving much.
And if you were to ask
how is this love to be had,
My answer is,
- by a good resolution
to do and suffer for God,
and
- by carrying out that resolution
into action
whenever the opportunity occurs.
[Bk of Foundations: Ch. 5: #2 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Way of Perf. ch. xxxi. 6
"we can no more control this prayer
than we can make the day break,
or stop night from falling;
it is supernatural and
something we cannot acquire.
... but, being most unworthy
and undeserving of it,
can only receive it with thanksgiving.
--------
It is well to seek greater solitude
so as to
make room for the Lord
and
allow His Majesty to do His own work
in us.
The most we should do is
occasionally, and quite gently,
to utter a single word,
like a person giving a little puff
to a candle,
when he sees it has almost gone out,
so as to make it burn again;
Though, if it were fully alight...
the only result of blowing it would be
to put it out.
I think the puff should be a gentle one
because, if we begin to tax our brains
by making up long speeches,
the will may become active again.
[ Way of Perfection: Ch31 : # 6,7 excerpts ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Way of Perf. ch. xxxi. 12.
When one of you finds herself
in this sublime state of prayer,
which...is most markedly supernatural,
and
the understanding (or... the thought)
wanders off after the most ridiculous things
in the world, she should
- laugh at it and
- treat it as the silly thing it is, and
- remain in her state of quiet.
For thoughts will come and go,
but the will is mistress and all-powerful,
and will recall them
without your having to trouble about it.
But if you try to drag the understanding
back by force,
you lose your power over it,
which comes from your taking and receiving
that Divine sustenance, and
neither will nor understanding will gain,
but both will be losers...
[ Way of Perfection: Ch31 : # 12 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Life, ch. xv, 16,
And if the soul is
- humble, - indifferent to, and - detached from, all joy, however spiritual, and - if it loves the cross, it will make no account of the sweetness which Satan sends. But it cannot so deal with that
which comes from the Spirit of God;
Of that it will make much. [ Life, ch. xv, 16]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Life, ch. XXX. 19.
19. Sometimes I
laugh at myself, and
recognise my wretchedness:
I watch my understanding, and
leave it alone to see what it will do.
... runs ...considering what is going
on here, or there, or elsewhere.
I see then, more and more,
the exceeding great mercy of our Lord
to me,
when He keeps this lunatic
bound in the chains
of perfect contemplation.
I am very sorry
when I see my soul in such bad company;
I long to see it delivered therefrom, and
so I say to our Lord:
When, O my God,
shall I see my whole soul praising Thee,
that it may have the fruition of Thee
in all its faculties?
Let me be no longer, O Lord, thus
torn to pieces,
and every one of them, as it were,
running in a different direction...
[ Life, ch. 30: #19 ]
______________________________
[118]
Life, ch. xv. 9, 10.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Life, ch. xv. 9, 10.
9. What the soul has to do at those seasons
wherein it is raised to the prayer of quiet is nothing more than to - be gentle and
- without noise.
-- By noise, I mean
going about with the understanding in search of words and reflections ---whereby to give God thanks
for this grace, and
--- heaping up its sins and imperfections
together
to show that it does not deserve it. All this commotion takes place now, and
- the understanding comes forward, and
- the memory is restless,
and certainly to me these powers bring much weariness at times;
for, though my memory is not strong,
I cannot control it. Let the will
- quietly and wisely understand
-- that it is not by dint of labour on our part -- that we can converse
to any good purpose with God,
and
-- that our own efforts are only
great logs of wood,
laid on without discretion to quench this little spark; and - let it confess this, and in humility say, -- O Lord, what can I do here? -- what has the servant to do
with her Lord,
and earth
with heaven?
-- or words of love
that suggest themselves now,
firmly grounded in the conviction that what it says is truth; and
- let it make no account
of the understanding,
which is simply tiresome. 10.
And if the will
- wishes to communicate
to the understanding
any portion of that the fruition
of which itself has entered on, or
- if it labours
to make the understanding recollected, it shall not succeed; for it will often happen that the will is in union and at rest, while the understanding is
in extreme disorder.
- It is better for it
to leave it alone,
and
not to run after (the Understanding)
I am speaking of the will; For the will should
- abide in the fruition of that grace,
- recollected itself,
like the prudent bee;
for if no bees entered the hive, and each of them wandered abroad in search of the rest, the honey would hardly be made.
In the same way, the soul will lose much
if it be not careful now, especially if the understanding be acute; for when it begins to make reflections and search for reasons, it will think at once
that it is doing something
if its reasons and reflections are good. [ Life: Ch. 15: #9, 10 ]
______________________________
[119]
Second Relation
addressed to Fr. Rodrigo Alvarez.
(See the book, "The Relations"
at the end of "The Life"
Translated by Lewis,
______________________________
[120]
Way of Perf. ch. xxxiii. 8.
Life, ch. xxi. S.
Rel. ii. 12.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Life, ch. xxi. S.
...All this makes one risk life;
for I long frequently to lose mine,
and
that would be to lose a little
for the chance of gaining much;
for surely it is not possible to live,
when we see with our eyes
the great delusion
wherein we are walking,
and
the blindness
in which we are living.
[ Life: Ch. 21: #5 ]
______________________________
[121]
According to Fr. Gracian,
the Saint here refers to Cant. viii. 1:
Et jam me nemo despiciat.'
______________________________
[122]
Way of Perf. ch. xvii. 2.
______________________________
[123]
Way of Perf. ch, xxxi. 9.
|
End of
of Mansion 4 Chapter 1
The Interior Castle
or
The Mansions
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
|
