The Interior Castle or The Mansions
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
St. Teresa of Avila
Discussion of Mansion 5 - Chapter 3
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Discussion of Mansion 5 - Chapter 3
█ Summary
Continues in the discussion of the Fifth Mansions
"what graces God gives (the soul) in this state"
▀ The Image of the Dove as Likened to the Soul
■ Emergence of the Image of the Dove
from that of the Butterfly
True Union with God
is Conformity with the Will of God
■ The Essence of the Fifth Mansion
is Conformity to the Will of God
■ The Essence of the Fifth Mansion
is not Spiritual Consolation
■ Contemplation is Not Necessary
for True Union with God
■ But Surrender of the Will is Necessary
■ The Advantage of the Work
of Surrendering the Will to God
▀ The Will of God is
Love for God and Others
▀ Proof that one is conformed to God's Will
■ Love of God is demonstrated
through Love of Others.
■ Love of Others is rooted in
the Love for God.
▀ Obstacles to the Preparation for True Union
Obstacles to Conformity to God's Will
▀ How to Daily Follow God's Will
■ Prayer
vs Unactualized Plans and Imaginary Virtues
that we never actually carry through:
"No genuine determination of the will
But only some trick of the imagination"
■ Trust in God's Plan for us.
God grants the grace of contemplation
according to what is best for each one
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▀ The Image of the Dove as Likened to the Soul
Regarding the soul
that "...endeavours to advance
in the service of our Lord
and
in self-knowledge",
St. Teresa wrote,
"Let us now return to our little dove"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #1 ]
■ Emergence of the Image of the Dove
from that of the Butterfly
Up to now, in this translation / edition,
St. Teresa did not refer to
the image of a dove;
So, the dove image seems to have emerged
from the earlier discussion of
the silkworm's development into the butterfly.
In fact, in Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #1,
she explicitly correlates them
by her phrasing, "this little dove or butterfly"
"Will all these graces bestowed
by the Spouse upon the soul
suffice to content
this little dove or butterfly...
so that she may settle down
and rest in the place
where she is to die?
No indeed...she still...weeps
because each grace augments her pain.
She sees herself still far away from God,
yet ...her longing and her love for Him
grow ever stronger
as she learns more fully
how this great God...deserves to be loved."
■ Expansion of the Image
The expansion of the butterfly
into the image of the dove
embraces not only the flight of the soul
to a new "state"
but also the painstaking search and longing
for peace in the Beloved.
In the Seventh Mansion: Ch. 3: #12
She writes:
"...here the dove sent out by Noah
to see whether the flood had subsided,
has plucked the olive branch,
showing that she has found firm land
amongst the floods and tempests
of this world."
O Jesus!
Who knows how much in Holy Scripture
refers to this peace of soul?"
Gen. 8: 10 - 11.
And having waited yet seven other days,
he again sent forth the dove out of the ark.
And she came to him in the evening,
carrying a bough of an olive tree,
with green leaves, in her mouth.
Noe therefore understood
that the waters were ceased
upon the earth."
Another simile comes to mind
of the dove's search for peace in God
from Psalm 55: 6
"Who will give me wings like a dove,
and I will fly and be at rest?"
The dove searches
- like the turtledove searching for her mate
- like the bride in the Canticles:
"My dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the hollow places of the wall,
shew me thy face"
[ Canticles 2: 14 ]
"...I sought him whom my soul loveth:
I sought him, and found him not.
I will rise, and will go about the city:
in the streets and the broad ways
I will seek him whom my soul loveth:
I sought him, and I found him not."
[ Canticles 3: 1-2 ]
"Behold my beloved speaketh to me:
Arise, make haste, my love, my dove,
my beautiful one, and come
[ Canticles 2:10 ]
"One is my dove, my perfect one..."
[ Canticles 6:8 ]
"I will cry like a young swallow,
I will meditate like a dove:
my eyes are weakened looking upward:
Lord, I suffer violence,
answer thou for me"
[ Isaias 38:14 ]
St. John of the Cross also referred
to the soul as a Dove who is seeking God:
"Return, My Dove!
for the communications I make to you now
are not those of the state of glory
wherein you desire to be;
but return to Me,
for I am He Whom you,
wounded with love,
are seeking,
and
I, too, as the hart,
wounded with your love,
begin to show Myself to you
on the heights of contemplation,
and
am refreshed and delighted
by the love
which your contemplation involves."
[ Spiritual Canticle: St. John of the Cross
Stanza 13: #2
A Spiritual Canticle Of The Soul
And The Bridegroom Christ
By St. John Of The Cross
Translated By David Lewis ]
"Explanation of Stanzas treating
of the exercise of love
between
the soul and Jesus Christ, its spouse
dealing with and commenting
on certain points and effects of prayer;
Written at the request of
Mother Ann of Jesus,
Prioress of the Discalced Carmelite
Nuns of St. Joseph's convent,
Granada, 1584." ]
"WHEN the dove -- that is the soul --
was flying on the gale of love
over the waters of the deluge
of the weariness and longing of its love,
not finding where her foot might rest,
the compassionate father Noah...
brought her into the ark
of his charity and love.
That took place
when the Bridegroom said,
'Return, My Dove.'
In the shelter within the ark,
the soul, finding all it desired...
begins to sing the praises
of the Beloved...in that union"
[Spiritual Canticle: St. John of the Cross
Stanza 13 #17 ]
"God does not establish His grace and love
in the soul
but in proportion to the good will
of that soul's love."
[ Spiritual Canticle: St. John of the Cross
Stanza 13 #17 ]
"It is as if He said, 'O My Dove,
in your high and rapid flight
of contemplation,
in the love with which you are inflamed,
in the simplicity of your regard'
-- these are three characteristics
of the dove --
Return from that flight
in which you aim
at the true fruition of Myself
-- the time is not yet come
for knowledge so high --
Return..."
[ Spiritual Canticle: St. John of the Cross
Stanza 13 #10 ]
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▀ Advice for those in the Fifth Mansion
■ Avoid presumption and carelessness
"If it receives the grace of union
and
then does no more,
thinking itself safe,
and so leads a careless life,
wandering off the road to heaven
(that is,
the keeping of the commandments)"
It can "lose everything by their own fault"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #1,2 ]
"How many people there must be
to whom our Lord communicates Himself,
who, like Judas, are
called to the Apostleship
and...
yet who afterwards lose everything
by their own fault!
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #2 ]
■ St. Teresa teaches:
"endeavour.. to advance
in the service of our Lord
and
in self-knowledge.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #1 ]
"...if we would
merit fresh favours
and
avoid losing those we already possess,
our only safety lies
in obedience
and
in following the law of God.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #2 ]
■ Others may profit from one's good example
"God will not allow so great a favour
to be lost
but that if the recipient does not profit by it,
others will.
For while it keeps to the right path,
this soul,
with its ardent desires and great virtues,
helps others
and
kindles their fervour with its own.
Yet even after having lost this,
it may still
long to benefit others
and
delight to make known the mercies
shown by God to those
who love and serve Him.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #1 ]
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▀ True Union is Conformity with the Will of God
■ The Essence of the Fifth Mansion
is Conformity to the Will of God
"Union with the Will of God
(is) the basis of all supernatural union."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #4 ]
Perfection lies
in surrender to the Will of God,
not in experiencing spiritual gifts.
"With the help of divine grace,
true union can always be attained
• by forcing ourselves
to renounce our own will
and
• by following the will of God
in all things."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #3 ]
"... unless they first
- resign themselves
and
- offer themselves a daily sacrifice to Me:
for without this,
Divine Union
neither is,
nor will be obtained.'
(Imitation of Christ,
book iii. ch. xxxvii. 4.)
"there is no road
that leads more quickly
to the highest perfection
than this of obedience...
...the highest perfection...lies
in the conformity
of our will
to the will of God..."
[Bk of Foundations: Ch. 5: #10 ]
■ The Essence of the Fifth Mansion
is not Spiritual Consolation
"When I see people very anxious to know
what sort of prayer they practise...
afraid to move or think
lest they should lose
any slight tenderness and devotion they feel,
I know how little they understand
how to attain union with God
since they think
it consists in such things as these.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #11 ]
"...none should despair
of ...entering (this mansion)
because God does not give them
the supernatural gifts described..."
(in the Fifth mansion: Chapters 1,2 )
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #3 ]
"we need not wish
for that other delightful union
described above,
(in the Fifth mansion: Chapters 1,2 )
for its chief value lies
in the resignation of our will
to that of God
without which it could not be reached.
...the soul realizes thoroughly
that God's disposal is wiser
than its own desires."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #4 ]
■ Contemplation is Not Necessary
for True Union
"There is no need for us
to receive special consolations from God
in order to arrive at conformity with His will;
He has done enough
in giving us His Son to teach the way."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #7 ]
"Is it necessary,
in order to attain
to this kind of divine union,
for the powers of the soul to be suspended ?
No;
God has many ways of
enriching the soul
and
bringing it to these mansions
besides what might be called a 'short cut.' "
■ But Surrender of the Will is Necessary
"But...in any case
the silkworm must die
and
it will cost you more in this way.
In the former manner,
this death is facilitated
by finding ourselves introduced
into a new life;
Here, on the contrary,
we must give ourselves the death-blow.
I own that the work will be much harder,
but then it will be of higher value
so that your reward will be greater
if you come forth victorious;
Yet there is no doubt
it is possible for you to attain
this true union with the will of God."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #5 ]
"It is in our power to gain it
if we will."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #7 ]
"She who is without (contemplation)
yet who follows the counsels I have given,
will attain great perfection."
[ Way of Perfection: Ch 17: #2 ]
"It may be that she will gain far more merit,
as she has to work harder
on her own account"
[ Way of Perfection: Ch 17: #2 ]
"Do not fancy
(that) it will cost you nothing
and
that you will find it all done for you:
Think what the love He bore for us
cost our Spouse,
Who,
to free us from death,
Himself, suffered the most painful death
of all -- the death of the Cross.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #12 ]
■ The Advantage of the Work
of Surrendering the Will to God
St. Teresa said:
"This is the union
(that) I have longed for all my life
and
that I beg our Lord to grant me;
It is
the most certain
and
the safest.
But alas,
how few of us ever obtain it!
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #6 ]
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▀ The Will of God
is Love for God and Others
"Divine union obtained by perfect love
of God and our neighbour."
"What do you think...is His will?
"Our Lord asks but two things of us:
Love,
• for Him
and
• for our neighbour:
These are what we must strive to obtain.
If we practise both these virtues perfectly
we
shall be doing His will
and so
shall be united to Him.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #7 ]
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▀ Proof that one is conformed to God's Will
"... the most certain sign
that we keep these two commandments
is that we have a genuine love for others.
We cannot know
whether we love God
although there may be strong reasons
for thinking so,
but there can be no doubt about
whether we love our neighbour or no."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #8 ]
"not so much for her sake
as because you know
your Lord asks it of you.
This is the true union of our will
with the will of God."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #11 ]
■ Love of God is demonstrated
through Love of Others.
"If any man say,
I love God, and hateth his brother;
he is a liar.
For he that loveth not his brother,
whom he seeth,
how can he love God,
whom he seeth not?
[ 1 St. John: 4: 20 ]
"Love for God and our neighbour
are proportionate".
If you possess fraternal charity...
you will certainly obtain the union
I have described.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #12 ]
■ Love of Others is rooted in
the Love for God.
"...as you advance in fraternal charity,
you are increasing in your love of God,
"we could not feel a perfect charity
for our neighbour
unless it were rooted in the love of God.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #8 ]
"The best sign
that any one has made progress
is that she
- thinks herself the last of all
and
- proves it by her behaviour,
and that she
- aims at the well-being and good
of others in all that she does.
This is 'the true test'
not sweetness in prayer, ecstasies, visions,
and other divine favours of the same kind.
...
I speak of great humility and mortification,
and implicit obedience...
[ Way of Perf: Ch 18: #5
Translated by Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
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▀ Obstacles to Preparation for True Union
Obstacles to Conformity to God's Will
"Although perforce
we satisfy our obligations sufficiently
to avoid sin,
yet we fall far short of what must be done
in order to obtain perfect union
with the will of God.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #6 ]
■ Be watchful and strive to correct faults
"Those
who are careful not to offend God,
and
who...think there is nothing more to do..."
"How many maggots remain in hiding
until...they have destroyed our virtues.
These pests are such evils as
- self-love,
- self-esteem,
- rash judgment of others
even in small matters,
and
- a want of charity
in not loving our neighbour
quite as much as ourselves."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #6 ]
■ "If you ....are wanting in this charity,
although you may feel
devotion and sweetness
and
a short absorption in the prayer of quiet
(which makes you think
you have attained to union with God),
believe me
you have not yet reached it."
"if we fail in this
I know that all is lost..."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #12 ]
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▀ How to Daily Follow God's Will
■ Prayer
• "Beg our Lord to grant you
perfect love for your neighbour,
and
leave the rest to Him."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #12 ]
"May His Majesty give us the grace
to merit union with Him"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #7 ]
■ Acting on Good Resolutions
vs Unactualized Plans and Imaginary Virtues
"Our Lord expects works from us".
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #11 ]
"When opportunity occurs
take some burden upon yourself
to ease your neighbour of it.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #12 ]
St. Teresa gives practical examples of
realizing Love of Others:
- helping "a sick sister"
"Compassionate her;
If she is in pain,
- feel for it as if it were your own
- Fast, so that she may eat,
- Rejoice at your sister's virtues being known
- Feel as sorry for the fault you see in her
as if it were yours,
hiding it from the sight of others.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #11 ]
(God) will give you ( greater love for others)
if you
• constrain yourselves
and
• strive with all your power to gain it,
forcing your will as far as possible
to comply in all things
with your sisters' wishes
although you may sometimes forfeit
your own rights by so doing.
• Forget your self-interests for theirs,
how ever much nature may rebel"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #12 ]
■ Be Wary of our own Plans and Intentions
that we never actually carry through:
"No genuine determination of the will
But only some trick of the imagination"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #10 ]
"we should
be most vigilant in little things,
taking no notice of the great works
we plan...
if our actions afterwards
belie these grand schemes,
there is no reason to imagine
that we should do anything of the sort."
"The devil's wiles are many;
He would... make us think ourselves
better than we are.
He has good reason for it,
for such fancies are most injurious;
Sham virtues springing from this root
are always accompanied
by a vainglory..."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #9 ]
St. Teresa advises that we deceive ourselves:
• when we don't "understand the difference
between
the powers of the soul
and
the imagination."
- we "imagine" the accomplishment
of great services and sacrifices
but we seldom carry them to fruition.
Works are accomplished
by the will
not by the imagination.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #10 ]
• when we "make a virtue of necessity"
by feeling deserving and meritorious
by the suffering of misfortune that befalls us
as if we had actively chosen
to mortify ourselves and suffer it.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #7 ]
▀ Trust in God's Plan for us
God grants the grace of contemplation
according to what is best for each one.
"His judgments are His own.
We have no right to interfere with them.
It is well
(that) the decision does not rest with us,
for, thinking it a more peaceful way,
we should all immediately
become contemplatives!
...God never permits the truly mortified soul
to lose aught save for its greater gain !"
[ Way of Perfection: Ch 17: #6 ]
Translation: Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
"How much is gained
by preparing ourselves for contemplation
and
the bad result of making our own choice."
(Escorial, ch. xxviii. )
[ Way of Perfection: Ch 17: #6 ]
Translation: Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
"God's disposal is wiser
than (the soul's) own desires."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 3: #4 ]
" You may be sure,
if we
do all we can
and
prepare ourselves for contemplation
with all the perfection I have described,
that if He does not grant it to us,
- He is keeping back these consolations
in reserve only to give them to us all
at once in heaven...
- He wishes to treat us as valiant women,
giving us the cross
(which) His Majesty ever bore Himself.
What truer friendship can He show
than to choose for us
what He chose for Himself?"
[ Way of Perfection: Ch 17: #6 ]
Translation: Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
"Thus it does not follow...
that they must all be contemplatives.
...contemplation is a gift of God
which is not necessary for salvation...
It may be that she will gain far more merit,
as she has to work harder
on her own account;
Our Lord is
treating her like a valiant woman
and
keeping until hereafter
all the happiness
she has missed in this life."
[ Way of Perfection: Ch 17: #2 ]
St. Teresa says of her own perseverance
in prayer:
"...For more than fourteen years
I could not meditate without a book."
[ Way of Perfection: Ch 17: #2 ]
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End of the Discussion
of Mansion 5 Chapter 3
of
The Interior Castle
or
The Mansions
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
St. Teresa of Avila
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