The Interior Castle or The Mansions
S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
St. Teresa of Avila
Mansion 6 Chapter 2
|
Mansion 6 Chapter 2
Chapter Contents
• Treats Of Several Ways
Whereby Our Lord Quickens The Soul;
• There Appears No Cause For Alarm
In Them
• Although They Are Signal Favours
Of A Very Exalted Nature.
░░░░░░░░░░░░
1. Our Lord excites the love
of His spouse.
2. The wound of love.
3. The pain it causes.
4. The call of the Bridegroom.
5. Effect on the soul.
6. A spark of the fire of love.
7. The spark dies out.
8. This grace evidently divine.
9. One such wound repays many trials.
10. First reason of immunity
from deception.
11. Second and third reasons.
12. The imagination not concerned in it.
13. St. Teresa never alarmed
at this prayer.
14. The odour of Thine ointment.'
15. No reason to fear deception here.
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Mansion 6 Chapter 2
CHAPTER II.
1. Our Lord excites the love
of His spouse.
1.
IT seems as if
we had deserted the little dove
for a long time,
but this is not the case,
for these past trials cause her
to take a far higher flight.
I will now describe the way
in which the Spouse treats her
before uniting her entirely to Himself.
He increases her longing for Him
by devices so delicate
that the soul itself cannot discern them;
nor do I think I could explain them
except to people
who have personally experienced them.
These desires
are delicate and subtle impulses
springing from the inmost depths
of the soul;
I know of nothing
to which they can be compared.
2. The wound of love.
2.
These graces differ entirely
from anything we ourselves can gain,
and even
from the spiritual consolation
before described. [228]
In the present case,
even when the mind is not recollected
or
even thinking of God,
although no sound is heard,
His Majesty arouses it suddenly
as if by a swiftly flashing comet
or
by a clap of thunder. [229]
Yet the soul
thus called by God
hears Him well enough
--so well, indeed,
that sometimes, especially at first,
it trembles and even cries out,
although it feels no pain.
It is conscious of having received
a delicious wound
but cannot discover how,
nor who gave it,
yet recognizes it
as a most precious grace
and
hopes the hurt will never heal.
3. The pain it causes.
3.
The soul makes amorous complaints
to its Bridegroom,
even uttering them aloud;
Nor can it control itself,
knowing that though He is present,
He will not manifest Himself
so that it may enjoy Him.
This causes a pain,
keen although sweet and delicious
from which the soul could not escape
even if it wished;
But this it never desires. [230]
This favour is more delightful
than the pleasing absorption
of the faculties in the prayer of quiet
which is unaccompanied by suffering.
[231]
4. The Call of the Bridegroom.
4.
I am at my wits' end, sisters,
as to how to make you understand
this operation of love:
I know not how to do so.
It seems contradictory to say
that the Beloved clearly shows
He dwells in the soul
and
calls by
so unmistakable a sign
and
a summons so penetrating,
that the spirit cannot choose but hear it,
while He appears to reside
in the seventh mansion.
He speaks in this manner,
which is not a set form of speech,
and the inhabitants of the other mansions,
the senses,
the imagination and the faculties,
dare not stir. [232]
5. Effect on the soul.
5.
O Almighty God!
How profound are Thy secrets
and
how different are spiritual matters
from anything that can be seen or heard
in this world!
I can find nothing
to which to liken these graces,
insignificant as they are,
compared with many others
Thou dost bestow on souls.
This favour acts so strongly
upon the spirit
that it is consumed by desires
yet knows not what to ask,
for it realizes clearly
that its God is with it.
You may inquire,
if it realizes this so clearly,
what more does it desire
and
why is it pained?
What greater good can it seek?
I cannot tell:
I know
that this suffering seems
to pierce the very heart,
and
when He Who wounded it
draws out the dart,
He seems to draw the heart out too,
so deep is the love it feels. [233]
6. A spark of the fire of love.
6.
I have been thinking
that God might be likened
to a burning furnace [234]
from which a small spark
flies into the soul
that feels the heat of this great fire,
which, however, is insufficient
to consume it.
The sensation is so delightful
that the spirit lingers in the pain
produced by its contact.
This seems to me the best comparison
I can find,
for the pain
is delicious
and
is not really pain at all,
nor does it always continue
in the same degree;
Sometimes it lasts for a long time;
on other occasions it passes quickly.
This is as God chooses,
for no human means can obtain it;
and though felt at times for a long while,
yet it is intermittent.
7. The spark dies out.
7.
In fact it is never permanent
and
therefore does not wholly inflame the spirit;
but when the soul is ready to take fire,
the little spark suddenly dies out,
leaving the heart longing
to suffer anew its loving pangs.
No grounds exist for thinking
- (that) this comes
from any natural cause
or
from melancholy,
or
- that it is an illusion
of the devil
or
(of) the imagination.
Undoubtedly this movement of the heart
comes from God
Who is unchangeable;
nor does its effects
resemble those of other devotions
in which the strong absorption of delight
makes us doubt their reality.
8. This grace evidently divine.
8.
There is no suspension here
of the senses or other faculties:
they wonder at what is happening,
without impeding it.
Nor do I think that they can either
increase or dispel this delightful pain.
Any one
who has received this favour
from our Lord,
will understand my meaning
on reading this:
let her thank Him fervently:
there is no need to fear deception
but far more fear
of not being sufficiently grateful
for so signal a grace.
Let her endeavour
to serve Him
and
to amend her life in every respect;
then she will see
what will follow
and
how she will obtain
still higher and higher gifts.
9. One such wound repays many trials.
9.
A person
on whom this grace was bestowed
passed several years without receiving
any other favour,
yet was perfectly satisfied,
for even had she served God
for very many years
in the midst of severe trials,
she would have felt abundantly repaid.
May He be for ever blessed!
Amen.
10. First reason of immunity
from deception.
10.
Perhaps you wonder
why we may feel
more secure against deception
concerning this favour
than in other cases.
I think it is for these reasons.
Firstly,
because the devil cannot give
such delicious pain:
He may cause pleasure or delight
which appears spiritual
but is unable to add suffering,
especially suffering
of so keen a sort,
united to peace and joy of soul.
His power is limited to what is external;
Suffering produced by him
is never accompanied with peace,
but with anxieties and struggles.
11. Second and third reasons.
11.
Secondly,
because this welcome storm
comes from no region
over which Satan has control.
Thirdly,
because of the great benefits
left in the soul
which, as a rule,
- is resolute to suffer for God
and
- longs to bear many crosses.
It is also far more determined than before
to withdraw from worldly pleasures
and intercourse
and other things of the same sort.
12. The imagination not concerned in it.
12.
It is very clear that this is no fiction:
The imagination
may counterfeit some favours
but not this,
which is too manifest
to leave room for doubt.
Should any one still remain uncertain,
let her know
that hers were not genuine impulses; [235]
that is, if she is dubious
as to whether or no she experienced them,
for they are as certainly perceived
by the soul
as is a loud voice by the ears.
It is impossible for these experiences
to proceed from melancholy
whose whims arise and exist
only in the imagination,
whereas this emotion
comes from the interior of the soul.
13. St. Teresa never alarmed
at this prayer.
13.
I may be mistaken,
but I shall not change my opinion
until I hear reasons to the contrary
from those who understand these matters.
I know some one
who has always greatly dreaded
such deceptions,
yet could never bring herself
to feel any alarm about this state of prayer.
[236]
14. The odour of Thine ointment.'
14.
Our Lord also uses other means
of rousing the soul;
for instance--
when reciting vocal prayer
without seeking to penetrate the sense,
a person may be seized
with a delightful fervour [237]
as if suddenly encompassed with a fragrance
powerful enough to diffuse itself
through all the senses.
I do not assert
that there really is any perfume
but use this comparison
because it somewhat resembles the manner
by which the Spouse
by which the Spouse
makes His presence understood,
moving the soul to a delicious desire
of enjoying Him
and
thus
disposing it to heroic acts,
and
causing it to render Him fervent praise.
15. No reason to fear deception here.
15.
This favour springs
from the same source as the former,
but causes no suffering here,
nor are the soul's longings
to enjoy God painful:
This is what is more usually experienced
by the soul.
For the reasons already given,
there appears no cause here for fear,
but rather for receiving it with thanksgiving.
Foot Notes:
[228]
Mansion iv. ch. i.
Life, ch. xxix. 10-15.
Rel. ch. viii. 15.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #2's
Footnote reference #228
"2. These graces differ entirely
from anything we ourselves can gain,
and even
from the spiritual consolation
before described. [228]
Rel. ch. viii. 15.
"The ordinary impetus is,
that this desire of serving God
comes on with a certain tenderness,
accompanied with tears,
out of a longing to depart
from this land of exile;
but as the soul retains its freedom,
wherein it reflects
that its living on
is according to our Lord's will,
it takes comfort in that thought, and
offers its life to Him,
beseeching Him
that it may last only
for His glory.
This done, it bears all."
[ Relations 8: #15 ]
______________________________
[229]
The saint first wrote 'relampago,'
flash of lightning,
but afterwards altered it to 'trueno',
clap of thunder.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #2's
Footnote reference #229
"although no sound is heard,
His Majesty arouses it suddenly
as if by a swiftly flashing comet
or
by a clap of thunder. [229]
Yet the soul
thus called by God
hears Him well enough"
______________________________
[230]
Rel. viii. 16.
St. John of the Cross,
Spiritual Cant. st. i. 22 sqq.
Poems 7, 8.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #3's
Footnote reference #230
"The soul makes amorous complaints
to its Bridegroom,
even uttering them aloud;
Nor can it control itself,
knowing that though He is present,
He will not manifest Himself
so that it may enjoy Him.
This causes a pain,
keen although sweet and delicious
from which the soul could not escape
even if it wished;
But this it never desires. [230]"
Rel. viii. 16.
"Another prayer very common
is a certain kind of wounding;
for it really seems to the soul
as if an arrow were thrust
through the heart, or
through itself.
Thus it causes great suffering,
which makes the soul complain;
but the suffering is so sweet,
that it wishes it never would end.
The suffering is
not one of sense,
neither is the wound physical;
it is in the interior of the soul,
without any appearance
of bodily pain..."
...the pains of the spirit
are very different
from those of earth.
[ Relation 8: #16
Translation: David Lewis ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
St. John of the Cross,
Spiritual Cant. st. i. 22 sqq.
"STANZA I THE BRIDE
Where have You hidden Yourself,
And abandoned me to my sorrow,
O my Beloved!
You have fled like the hart,
Having wounded me.
I ran after You, crying; but You were gone."
"IN this first stanza the soul,
enamored of...the Son of God,
the Bridegroom,
desiring to be united to Him...,
sets before Him the anxieties of its love,
complaining of His absence.
And this the more so
because, now pierced and wounded
with love..."
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 1: #1
Translation: David Lewis ]
"...'It was not enough
that I should feel the pain and grief
which Your absence causes, and
from which I am continually suffering,
but You must,
after wounding me
with the arrow of Your love,
and
increasing my longing and desire
to see You,
run away from me
with the swiftness of the hart,
and
not permit me to lay hold of You,
even for a moment.
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 1: #22
Translation: David Lewis ]
"...beside the many kinds of God's visits
to the soul,
in which He wounds it with love,
there are commonly
certain secret touches of love,
which, like a fiery arrow,
pierce and penetrate the soul,
and
burn it with the fire of love.
These are properly called
the wounds of love,
and
it is of these the soul is here speaking.
These wounds so inflame the will,
that the soul becomes so enveloped
with the fire of love
as to appear consumed thereby.
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 1: #23
Translation: David Lewis ]
"... this burning of the heart, and the soul,
through love,
...a great pain, and longing
for the vision of God;
it seems to the soul
that God treats it with intolerable severity,
...not because it is wounded
-- for it considers such wounds
to be its salvation --
but
because it is thus suffering from its love,
and
because He has not wounded it
more deeply so as to cause death,
that it may be united to Him in the life
of perfect love.
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 1: #24
Translation: David Lewis ]
"...the groaning because of His absence;
for these visitations of God
are not like those
which recreate and satisfy the soul,
because they are
rather for wounding than for healing...
rather to quicken the knowledge, and
increase the longing, and...pain
with the longing for the vision of God.
They are called
the spiritual wounds of love,
most sweet to the soul and desirable;
...the soul would willingly
die a thousand deaths
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 1: #25
Translation: David Lewis ]
"There can be no remedy
for the wounds of love
but from Him who inflicted them.
And so the wounded soul...
runs after the Beloved,
crying to Him for relief.
...crying after God, 'O my Bridegroom,'
"By this touch of Yours and wound of love
have You drawn me away
not only from all created things,
but also from myself
...crying after You in detachment
from all things
that I might be attached to You:
' You were gone. ' "
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 1: #26
Translation: David Lewis ]
"...saying, ''When I sought Your presence,
I found You not;
and I was detached from all things
without being able to cling to You
-- borne painfully by the gales of love
without help in You or in myself.
'I will seek Him
Whom my soul loves.
I have sought Him and
have not found .
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 1: #27
Translation: David Lewis ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Poems 7, 8.
Poem 7.
"The Compact"
"Ya toda me entregue y di.
Now am I wholly yielded up, foregone,
And this the pact I made,
That the Beloved should be all mine own,
I His alone !
Struck by the gentle Hunter
And overthrown,
Within the arms of Love
My soul
lay prone.
Raised to new life at last
This contract 'tween us passed,
That the Beloved should be all mine own,
I His alone !
With lance embarbed with love
He took His aim —
One with its Maker
hence
My soul became.
No love but His I crave
Since self to Him I gave,
For the Beloved is mine own,
I His alone !
[ Poems of St. Teresa: Poem 7,
"The Compact "
Translation: Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Poem 8.
"On The Transverberation
of the Saint's Heart"
"En las internas entranas.
Within my heart a stab I felt —
A sudden stab, expecting naught ;
Beneath God's standard was it dealt
For goodly were the deeds it wrought.
And though the lance hath wounded me,
And though the wound be unto death,
Surpassing far all other pain,
Yet doth new life therefrom draw breath !
How doth a mortal wound
give life ?
How, while life-giving,
yet doth slay ?
I now heal
while wounding,
leaving thee
United to thy God always ?
Celestial was that hand, and though
With peril dire
the fray was fraught,
It came forth victor o'er the lance
And goodly v. deeds it wrought."
[ Poems of St. Teresa: Poem 8,
"On the Transverberation
of the Saint's Heart. "
Translation: Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
______________________________
[231]
Life, ch. xxix. 18.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #3's
Footnote reference # 231
"This favour is more delightful
than the pleasing absorption
of the faculties in the prayer of quiet
which is unaccompanied by suffering. [231]
Life, ch. xxix. 18.
"During the days that this lasted,
I went about as if beside myself.
I wished to see, or speak with, no one,
but only to cherish my pain,
which was to me a greater bliss
than all created things could give me. [441]
( FootNote #441 in The Life
'Brev. Rom. in fest. S. Teresiæ,
Oct. 15, Lect. v.:
The Carmelites keep the feast
of this piercing of the Saint's heart
on the 27th of August.' "
[ Life, ch. 29: #18
Translation: David Lewis ]
______________________________
[232]
Life, ch. xv. 1.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #4's
Footnote reference # 232
".. the Beloved... calls
by so unmistakable a sign...
which is not a set form of speech,
and the inhabitants of the other mansions,
the senses,
the imagination and the faculties,
dare not stir. [232]"
Life, ch. xv. 1.
"- Instructions for Those Who Have
Attained to the Prayer of Quiet...
1...This quiet and recollection of the soul
makes itself in great measure
felt in the satisfaction and peace,
attended with very great joy
and
repose of the faculties...
It dares not move nor stir,
because it thinks
that this blessing it has received
must then escape out of its hands...
[ Life: Ch. 15: #1
Translation: David Lewis ]
______________________________
[233]
Ibid. ch. xxix. 17, 18.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #5's
Footnote reference #233
"I know
that this suffering seems
to pierce the very heart,
and
when He Who wounded it
draws out the dart,
He seems to draw the heart out too,
so deep is the love it feels. [233]
Ibid. ch. xxix. 17, 18.
Ibid. ch. xxix. 17
"I saw in his hand
a long spear of gold,
and
at the iron's point there
seemed to be a little fire.
He appeared to me
to be thrusting it
at times into my heart,
when he drew it out,
he seemed...
to leave me all on fire
with a great love of God.
The pain was so great,
that it made me moan; and
yet so surpassing was the sweetness
of this excessive pain,
that I could not wish to be rid of it.
The soul is satisfied now
with nothing less than God.
The pain is not bodily, but spiritual;
though the body has its share in it...
It is a caressing of love so sweet
which now takes place
between the soul and God...
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 17
Translation: David Lewis ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ibid. ch. xxix. 18.
"I wished...only to cherish my pain,
which was to me a greater bliss
than all created things could give me.
[ Life, ch. 29: #18
Translation: David Lewis ]
______________________________
[234]
Ibid. ch. xv, 6;
Ibid. ch. xviii. 4.;
Ibid. ch. xxi. 9.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #6's
Footnote reference # 234
"I have been thinking
that God might be likened
to a burning furnace [234]
from which a small spark
flies into the soul
that feels the heat of this great fire,
which, however, is insufficient
to consume it."
Ibid. ch. xv, 6
"The prayer of quiet, then,
is a little spark
of the true love of Himself,
which our Lord begins to enkindle
in the soul;
and His will is, that the soul should understand what this love is by the joy it brings. This quiet and recollection
and little spark,
if it is the work of the Spirit of God... produces great results. ...it is not a thing that can be acquired... This spark, then,
however slight it may be,
causes a great crackling; and if men do not quench it
by their faults,
it is the beginning of the great fire, which sends forth...the flames
of that most vehement love of God
which His Majesty
will have perfect souls to possess.
... I shall speak of it
in the proper place..."
( in the later mansions)
[ Life: Ch. 15: # 6
Translation: David Lewis ]
"This little spark is
a sign or pledge
which God gives to a soul,
in token of His having chosen it
for great things,
-- if it will prepare to receive them.
[ Life: Ch. 15: # 7
Translation: David Lewis ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ibid. ch. xviii. 4
"...that the soul sometimes leaps forth
out of itself,
like a fire that is burning
and is become a flame;
and occasionally this fire
increases violently--
the flame ascends high above the fire..."
[ Life: Ch. 18: #4
Translation: David Lewis ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ibid. ch. xxi. 9
"9. Oh,
if we were utterly detached,
if we never placed our happiness
in anything of this world,
how the pain,
caused by living always
(separated) away from God,
would temper the fear of death
with the desire of enjoying the true life!
Sometimes I consider,
if a person like myself
because our Lord has given this light
to me,
whose love is so cold, and
whose true rest is so uncertain,
for I have not deserved it
by my works
frequently feels her banishment so much,
(then imagine) what the feelings
of the Saints must have been.
What must St. Paul and the Magdalene,
and others like them,
have suffered,
in whom the fire of the love of God
has grown so strong?
Their life must have been
a continual martyrdom.
It seems to me
that they
who bring me any comfort, and
whose conversation is any relief,
are those persons
in whom I find these desires
I mean, desires with acts.
I say "with acts"...
...my soul distinguishes clearly,
and afar off,
between
those who are detached
in words, and
those who make good those words
by deeds.
...
The little progress of the former, and
the great progress of the latter,
[ Life: Ch. 21: #9
Translation: David Lewis ]
______________________________
[235]
Life, ch. xv. 15, 16.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #12's
Footnote reference # 235
"12. It is very clear that this is no fiction:
The imagination
may counterfeit some favours
but not this,
which is too manifest
to leave room for doubt.
Should any one still remain uncertain,
let her know
that hers were not genuine impulses; [235]
that is, if she is dubious
as to whether or no she experienced them,
for they are as certainly perceived
by the soul
as is a loud voice by the ears."
Life, ch. xv. 15, 16.
Life, ch. xv. 15
" Instructions for Those Who Have
Attained to the Prayer of Quiet...
15. I believe myself
that we know whether this proceeds
from the Spirit of God, or
is brought about by endeavours
of our own"
(when)
"we seek of ourselves...
to pass onwards to this quiet of the will. Then, no effect whatever is produced; it is quickly over, and
aridity is the result.
If it comes from Satan...
it leaves
trouble behind, and scant humility and poor dispositions"
[ Life: Ch. 15: #15
Translation: David Lewis ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Life, ch. xv. 16
"16. Here Satan can do little or no harm, if the soul directs unto God the joy and sweetness it then feels;
and
if it fixes the thoughts and desires
on Him,
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. 15: #16
Translation: David Lewis ]
_____________________________
[236]
Life, ch. xxix. 6-10.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #13's
Footnote reference # 236
"...I know some one
who has always greatly dreaded
such deceptions,
yet could never bring herself
to feel any alarm
about this state of prayer. [236]"
Life, ch. xxix. 6-10.
"6... This was a great hardship for me;
for, as I could not believe
that the vision did not come from God...
and I could not wish...
that the visions should be withheld.
However, I did at last as I was bidden.
I prayed much to our Lord,
that He would deliver me from delusions.
I was always praying to that effect,
and with many tears..."
[ Life: Ch. 29: #6
Translation: David Lewis ]
"7. It was to me a most painful thing
to make a show of contempt
whenever I saw our Lord in a vision"
(as advised by a Confessor who thought
she was being deluded and tempted
by the devil by means of a false vision)
(God) "said to me
that I was not to distress myself
that I did well to obey;
but He would make them see the truth
of the matter.
He seemed to me to be angry
when they made me give up my prayer.
He told me to say to them
that this was tyranny.
He gave me reasons
for believing that the vision
was not satanic..."
[ Life: Ch. 29: #7
Translation: David Lewis ]
"9...and our Lord never released me
from that obedience;
but though He bade me obey my confessor,
He reassured me in another way, and
taught me what I was to say.
He has continued to do so until now;
and
He gave me reasons so sufficient,
that I felt myself perfectly safe.
[ Life: Ch. 29: #9
Translation: David Lewis ]
"10. Not long afterwards
His Majesty began,
according to His promise,
to make it clear
that it was He Himself who appeared,
by the growth in me
of the love of God so strong,
that I knew not who could have infused it;
for it was most supernatural,
and I had not attained to it
by any efforts of my own.
I saw myself dying
with a desire to see God, and
I knew not how to seek that life
otherwise than by dying.
Certain great impetuosities of love...
overwhelmed me.
I knew not what to do;
for nothing gave me pleasure,
and I had no control over myself.
It seemed as if my soul were really torn
away from myself.
...
Thou didst hide Thyself from me, and
didst yet constrain me
with Thy love,
with a death so sweet,
that my soul would never wish it over."
[ Life: Ch. 29: #10
Translation: David Lewis ]
______________________________
[237]
Ibid. ch. xv. 12.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #14's
Footnote reference # 237
"14. Our Lord also uses other means
of rousing the soul;
for instance--
when reciting vocal prayer
without seeking to penetrate the sense,
a person may be seized
with a delightful fervour [237]"
Ibid. ch. xv. 12.
"- Instructions for Those Who Have
Attained to the Prayer of Quiet."
12...for the understanding then,
because of its nearness to the light, is itself illuminated; so that even I, who am what I am, seem to be a different person. And so it is; for it has happened to me, ... in the prayer of quiet... to take a delight in dwelling on the meaning of (the Psalm prayers) [ Life: Ch. 15: #12
Translation: David Lewis ]
_______________________________
On the matter treated by St. Teresa
in this chapter,
compare St. John of the Cross,
Spiritual Canticle,
stanza i. (circa finem),
stanza ix.;
The Living Flame of Love,
stanza ii.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
On the matter treated by St. Teresa
in this chapter,
compare St. John of the Cross,
Spiritual Canticle,
stanza i. (circa finem),
stanza ix.;
STANZA I
THE BRIDE
Where have You hidden Yourself,
And abandoned me to my sorrow,
O my Beloved!
You have fled like the hart,
Having wounded me.
I ran after You, crying; but You were gone.
(circa finem) (toward the end)
"28. This pain and sense
of the absence of God
is wont to be so oppressive in those
who are going onwards
to the state of perfection,
that they would die
if God did not interpose
when the divine wounds
are inflicted upon them.
...having but a glimpse of an infinite good
which they are not permitted to enjoy,
that is to them an ineffable pain
and torment."
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 1: 28 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stanza ix
Why, after wounding
This heart, have You not healed it?
And why, after stealing it,
Have You thus abandoned it,
And not carried away the stolen prey?
"HERE the soul returns to the Beloved,
still complaining of its pain;
for that impatient love
which the soul now exhibits
admits of no rest or cessation from pain;
so it sets forth its griefs in all manner of
ways until it finds relief.
The soul seeing itself wounded and lonely,
and as no one can heal it
but the Beloved Who has wounded it,
asks why He,
having wounded its heart with that love
which the knowledge of Him brings,
does not heal it
in the vision of His presence;
and why He thus abandons the heart
which He has stolen
through the love which inflames it,
...it is surrendered to the Beloved,
and yet He has not taken it to Himself
in the pure and perfect transformation
of love in glory.
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 9: #1 ]
"7. Thus, then, the soul on fire
with the love of God
longs for the perfection and consummation
of its love..."
[ Spiritual Canticle: Stanza 9: #7 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Living Flame of Love,
stanza ii.
St. John of the Cross
"O sweet burn !
O delicious wound I
"...the Three Persons
of the Most Holy Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Who accomplish the divine work
of union in the soul..."
[LFL: Stanza 2: #1: Translation: Lewis ]
"Moses saith, 'Our Lord God
is a consuming fire'
that is, a fire of love.
...He consumes infinitely,
burning with great vehemence, and
transforming into Himself
all He touches."
[LFL: Stanza 2: #3: Translation: Lewis ]
"The divine fire came down,
not consuming but enlightening
...to elevate the soul,
the burning of the fire does not distress it
but gladdens it, does not weary it
but delights it...
This is the reason
why it is said to be sweet."
[LFL: Stanza 2: #4: Translation: Lewis ]
"Wonder not that God should elevate
some souls to so high a degree."
[LFL: Stanza 2: #6: Translation: Lewis ]
"10. But the soul is burned in another
and most excellent way, which is this:
when a soul is on fire with love,...
it will feel as if a seraph
with a burning brand of love
had struck it, and
penetrated it already on fire ..as a flame,
and burns it utterly"
[LFL: Stanza 2: #10: Translation: Lewis ]
|
End of
Mansion 6 Chapter 2
The Interior Castle
or
The Mansions
S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
St. Teresa of Avila
|
Note:
Attempt was made to display the quotes
of the other books being cited
by the editor's foot notes.
But, they may not be the actual intended passages
that were cited by the editor
since the editions/translations used by the editor
may have different paragraph numbering than those
available to this blog.
|
