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 11
|
Mansion 6 Chapter 11
Chapter Contents
Treats
• Of How God Inspires The Soul
With Such Vehement
And Impetuous Desires
• Of Seeing Him As To Endanger Life.
The Benefits Resulting
From This Divine Grace.
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
1. Favours increase
the soul's desire for God.
2. The dart of love.
3. Spiritual sufferings produced.
4. Its physical effects.
5. Torture of the desire for God.
6. These sufferings are a purgatory.
7. The torments of hell.
8. St. Teresa's painful desire after God.
9. This suffering irresistible.
10. Effects of the dart of love.
11. Two spiritual dangers to life.
12. Courage needed here
and given by our Lord.
|
Mansion 6 Chapter 11
CHAPTER XI.
1. Favours increase
the soul's desire for God.
1.
WILL all these graces
bestowed by the Spouse
upon the soul
suffice to content
this little dove or butterfly
( you see I have not forgotten
her after all!)
so that she may
settle down
and
rest in the place where she is to die?
No indeed:
Her state is far worse than ever;
Although she has been receiving
these favours for many years past,
she still sighs and weeps
because each grace augments her pain.
She sees herself still far away from God,
yet
with her increased knowledge of His attributes,
her longing and her love for Him
grow ever stronger
as she learns more fully
as she learns more fully
how this great God and Sovereign
deserves to be loved.
As, year by year
her yearning after Him
gradually becomes keener,
she experiences the bitter suffering
I am about to describe.
I speak of 'years'
because relating what happened
to the person I mentioned,
though I know well
that with God time has no limits
and
in a single moment He can raise a soul
to the most sublime state
I have described.
His Majesty has the power
to do all He wishes
and
He wishes to do much for us.
These longings, tears, sighs, and violent
and impetuous desires and strong feelings,
which seem to proceed
from our vehement love,
are yet as nothing
compared with what I am about to describe
and
seem but a smouldering fire,
the heat of which,
though painful,
is yet tolerable.
2. The dart of love.
2.
While the soul is thus inflamed with love,
it often happens
that,
from a passing thought or spoken word
of how death delays its coming,
the heart receives,
it knows not how or whence,
a blow as from a fiery dart. [378]
I do not say that this actually is a 'dart,'
but, whatever it may be,
decidedly it does not come
from any part of our being. [379]
Neither is it really a 'blow'
though I call it one,
but it wounds us severely
--not, I think, in that part of our nature
subject to physical pain
but in the very depths and centre
of the soul,
where this, thunderbolt,
in its rapid course,
reduces all the earthly part of our nature
to powder.
At the time we cannot even remember
our own existence,
for in an instant,
the faculties of the soul are so fettered
as to be incapable of any action
except the power they retain
of increasing our torture.
Do not think I am exaggerating;
Indeed I fall short of explaining
what happens which cannot be described.
3. Spiritual sufferings produced.
3.
This is a trance
of the senses and faculties
except as regards what helps
to make the agony more intense.
The understanding realizes acutely
what cause there is for grief
in separation from God
and
His Majesty now augments this sorrow
by a vivid manifestation of Himself.
This increases the anguish to such a degree
that the sufferer gives vent to loud cries
which she cannot stifle,
however patient and accustomed to pain
she may be,
because this torture is not corporal
but attacks the innermost recesses of the soul.
The person I speak of
learnt from this
how much more acutely
the spirit is capable of suffering
than the body;
She understood
that this resembled the pains of purgatory,
where the absence of the flesh
does not prevent the torture's being far worse
than any we can feel in this world.
4. Its physical effects.
4.
I saw some one in this condition
who I really thought would have died,
nor would it have been surprising,
for there is great danger of death
in this state.
Short as is the time it lasts,
it leaves
the limbs all disjointed
and
the pulse as feeble
as if the soul were on the point of departure,
which is indeed the case,
for the natural heat fails,
while that which is supernatural
so burns the frame
that were it increased ever so little,
God would satisfy the soul's desire for death.
Not that any pain is felt by the body
at the moment,
although, as I said,
all the joints are dislocated
so that for two or three days afterwards,
the suffering is too severe for the person
to have even the strength to hold a pen; [380]
Indeed, I believe that
the health becomes permanently enfeebled
in consequence.
At the time this is not felt,
probably because the spiritual torments are
so much more keen
that the bodily ones remain unnoticed;
Just as when there is very severe pain
in one part,
slighter aches elsewhere
are hardly perceived,
as I know by experience.
During this favour
there is no physical suffering
either great or small,
nor do I think the person would feel it,
were she torn to pieces.
5. Torture of the desire for God.
5.
Perhaps
you will say this is an imperfection,
and
you may ask
why she does not conform herself
to the will of God
since she has so completely surrendered
herself to it.
Hitherto
she has been able to do so
and
she consecrated her life to it;
But now she cannot
because her reason is reduced to such a state
that she is no longer mistress of herself;
Nor can she think of anything
but what tends to increase her torment--
for why should she seek to live apart
from her only Good?
She feels a strange loneliness,
finding
no companionship
in any earthly creature;
nor could she, I believe, among those
who dwell in heaven,
since they are not her Beloved:
Meanwhile all society is a torture to her.
She is like one suspended in mid-air,
who can
neither touch the earth
nor mount to heaven;
She is unable to reach the water
while parched with thirst
and
this is not a thirst that can be borne,
but one which nothing will quench
nor would she have it quenched
save with that water
of which our Lord
spoke to the Samaritan woman,
but this is not given to her. [381]
6. These sufferings are a purgatory.
6.
Alas, O Lord,
to what a state dost Thou bring those
who love Thee!
Yet these sufferings are as nothing
compared with the reward
Thou wilt give for them.
It is right
that great riches should be dearly bought.
Moreover,
her pains purify her soul
so that it may enter the seventh mansion,
as purgatory cleanses spirits
which are to enter heaven: [382]
then indeed these trials will appear
like a drop of water compared to the sea.
Though this torment and grief could not,
I think, be surpassed by any earthly cross
(so at least this person said
and she had endured much
both in body and mind),
yet they appeared to her as nothing
in comparison with their recompense.
The soul realizes
that it has not merited anguish
which is of such measureless value.
This conviction,
although bringing no relief;
enables the sufferer to bear her trials willingly
--for her entire lifetime, if God so wills,--
although instead of dying once for all,
this would be but a living death,
for truly it is nothing else.
7. The torments of hell.
7.
Let us remember, sisters,
how those who are in hell
lack
this submission to the divine will
and
the resignation and consolation
God gives such a soul
and
the solace of knowing
that their pains benefit them,
for the damned will continually suffer
more and more;
(more and more, I mean in regard
to accidental pains ). [383]
The soul feels far more keenly
than the body
and
the torments,
I have just described,
are incomparably less severe
than those endured by the lost,
who also know
that their anguish will last for ever:
What, then, will become
of these miserable souls?
What can we do or suffer
during our short lives
which is worth reckoning
if it will free us
from such terrible and endless torments?
I assure you that,
unless you have learned by experience,
it would be impossible to make you realize
how acute are spiritual pangs
and
how different from physical pain.
Our Lord wishes us to understand this,
so that we may realize
what gratitude we owe Him
for having called us to a state
where we may hope, by His mercy,
to be freed from and forgiven our sins.
8. St. Teresa's painful desire after God.
8.
Let us return to the soul
we left in such cruel torment.
This agony does not continue for long
in its full violence
--never, I believe, longer
than three or four hours;
Were it prolonged,
the weakness of our nature could not endure it
except by a miracle.
In one case,
where it lasted only a quarter of an hour,
the sufferer was left utterly exhausted;
indeed, so violent was the attack
that she completely lost consciousness.
This occurred when she unexpectedly
heard some verses to the effect
that life seemed unending;
She was engaged in conversation
at the time,
which was on the last day of Easter.
All Eastertide she had suffered such aridity
as hardly to realize
what mystery was being celebrated. [384]
9. This suffering irresistible.
9.
It is as impossible
to resist this suffering
as it would be
to prevent the flame's having heat enough
to burn us if we were thrown into a fire.
These feelings cannot be concealed:
All who are present
recognize the dangerous condition
of such a person
although they are unable to see
what is passing within her.
True, she knows her friends are near,
but they and all earthly things seem to her
but shadows.
To show you that,
should you ever be in this state,
it is possible
for your weakness and human nature
to be of help to you,
I may tell you that at times,
when a person seems dying
from her desire for death [385]
which so oppresses her soul with grief
that it appears on the point
of leaving her body,
yet her mind, terrified at the thought,
tries to still its pain
so as to keep death at bay.
Evidently this fear arises
from human infirmity,
for the soul's longings for death
do not abate
meanwhile nor can its sorrows
be stilled or allayed
until God brings it comfort. [386]
This He usually does
by a deep trance or by some vision
whereby the true Comforter
consoles and strengthens the heart,
which thus becomes resigned to live
as long as He wills. [387]
10. Effects of the dart of love.
10.
This favour entails great suffering
but leaves most precious graces
within the soul,
which loses all fear of any crosses
it may henceforth meet with,
for in comparison with the acute anguish
it has gone through
all else seems nothing.
Seeing what she has gained,
the sufferer would gladly endure frequently
the same pains [388]
but can do nothing to help herself
in the matter.
There are no means
of reaching that state again
until God chooses to decree it,
when
neither resistance
nor escape is possible.
The mind feels far deeper contempt
for the world than before,
realizing that nothing earthly can succour it
in its torture;
It is also much more detached from creatures,
having learnt
that no one but its Creator
can bring it consolation and strength.
It is more anxious and careful
not to offend God,
seeing that He can torment
as well as comfort. [389]
11. Two spiritual dangers to life.
11.
Two things in this spiritual state
seem to me to endanger life, --
one
is that of which I have just spoken
which is a real peril and no small one;
The Other,
an excessive gladness and a delight
so extreme
that the soul
that the soul
appears to swoon away
and
seems on the point of leaving the body,
which indeed would bring it no small joy.
12. Courage needed here
and given by our Lord.
12.
Now you see, sisters,
whether I had not reason to tell you
that courage was needed for these favours
and
that when any one asks for them
from our Lord
He may well reply,
as He did to the sons of Zebedee:
'Can you drink the chalice that I shall drink?'
[390]
I believe, sisters,
- we should all answer 'Yes' --
and
- we should be perfectly right
for His Majesty gives strength
when He sees it needed:
He ever
defends such souls
and
answers for them
when they are persecuted and slandered
as He did for the Magdalen--
if not in words, at least in deeds. [391]
At last, ah, at last!
Before they die
He repays them for all they have suffered,
as you shall now learn.
May He be for ever blessed
and
May all creatures praise Him!
Amen.
Foot Notes:
[378]
Life, ch. xxix. 17.
(Transverberation.)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #2's
Footnote reference #378
"the heart receives,
it knows not how or whence,
a blow as from a fiery dart. [378]"
Life, ch. xxix. 17.
(Transverberation.)
"I saw an angel close by me,
on my left side, in bodily form.
This I am not accustomed to see,
unless very rarely.
Though I have visions of angels frequently,
yet I see them
only by an intellectual vision,
It was our Lord's will
that in this vision
I should see the angel in this wise.
He was not large, but small of stature,
and most beautiful,
his face burning,
as if he were one of the highest angels,
who seem to be all of fire:
they must be those
whom we call cherubim.
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 16]
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, and
to pierce my very entrails;
when he drew it out,
he seemed...
to leave me all on fire
with a great love of God.
...
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,
even a large one.
It is a caressing of love so sweet
which now takes place
between the soul and God...
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 17]
_____________________
[379]
Ibid. ch. xxix. 13, 14.
Rel. viii. 16-19.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #2's
Footnote reference #379
"I do not say that this actually is a 'dart,'
but, whatever it may be,
decidedly it does not come
from any part of our being. [379]"
Ibid. ch. xxix. 13, 14.
It is not we
who apply the fuel;
the fire is already kindled...
It is by no efforts of the soul
that it sorrows over the wound
which the absence of our Lord
has inflicted on it...
for an arrow is driven
...into the heart at times,
...
It understands clearly enough
that it wishes for God, and
that the arrow
...makes the soul
hate itself for the love of our Lord,
and willingly lose its life for Him...
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 13]
and seeing distinctly
that it never did anything
whereby this love should come to it,
and
that it does come from that exceeding love
which our Lord bears it.
A spark seems to have fallen
suddenly upon it,
that has set it all on fire.
Oh, how often do I remember,
when in this state,
those words of David:
"Quemadmodum desiderat cervus
ad fontes aquarum"!
They seem to me to be literally true
of myself.
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 14]
[ Psalm xli. 2:
Quemadmodum desiderat cervus
ad fontes aquarum
ita desiderat anima mea ad te Deus
"As the longing of the hart
for the fountains of waters,
so is the longing of my soul for Thee,
O my God."
Psalm 41 (42) : 2 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rel. viii. 16-19.
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.
...the suffering is so sweet,
that it wishes it never would end.
The suffering is...
in the interior of the soul...
[ Relation 8: # 16 ]
...All this that I speak of
cannot be the effect of the imagination...
[ Relation 8: # 19 ]
_____________________
[380]
St. John of the Cross, Obscure Night,
bk. ii. ch. i. (in fine);
Spiritual Canticle,
stanza xiii; xiv-xv. (in fine).
When this happened to St. Teresa,
she was unable to write for twelve days.
Ribera, Acta SS. p. 555 (in fine).
Rel. viii. 13.
Life, ch. xx. 16.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #4's
Footnote reference #380
"all the joints are dislocated
so that for two or three days afterwards,
the suffering is too severe for the person
to have even the strength to hold a pen;
[380]"
When this happened to St. Teresa,
she was unable to write for twelve days.
Ribera, Acta SS. p. 555 (in fine).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rel. viii. 13.
"and there is no pain in the world...
that is equal or like unto this,
for if it lasts but half an hour
the whole body is out of joint, and
the bones so racked,
that I am not able
to write with my hands:
the pains I endure are most grievous
[ Relation 8: #13 ]
_____________________
[381]
St. John iv. 15.
Life, ch. xxx. 24.
Way of Perf. ch. xix. 4 sqq.
Concept. ch. vii. 7, 8.
Found. ch. xxxi. 42.
See note, Life, ch. i. 6.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #5's
Footnote reference #381
"nor would she have it quenched
save with that water
of which our Lord
spoke to the Samaritan woman,
but this is not given to her. [381]"
St. John iv. 15.
13 Jesus answered, and said to her:
Whosoever drinketh of this water,
shall thirst again;
but he that shall drink of the water
that I will give him,
shall not thirst for ever:
14 But the water that I will give him,
shall become in him a fountain of water,
springing up into life everlasting.
15 The woman saith to him:
Sir, give me this water,
that I may not thirst,
nor come hither to draw.
[ John 4:13-15 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Life, ch. xxx. 24.
"that living water
of which our Lord spoke
to the Samaritan woman.
...
I used to pray much to our Lord
for that living water; and
I had always a picture of it,
representing our Lord at the well,
with this inscription,
"Domine, da mihi aquam."
[ Life: Ch. 30: # 24 ]
(Lord, give to me that water. )
This love is also like a great fire,
which requires fuel continually,
in order that it may not burn out.
So those souls I am speaking of,
however much it may cost them,
will always bring fuel,
in order that the fire
may not be quenched.
...
The inward stirring of my love
urges me to do something
for the service of God"
[ Life: Ch. 30: # 25 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Way of Perf. ch. xix. 4 sqq.
the living fountain of water
of which our Lord spoke
to the Samaritan woman, promising that
whoever drank of it
should never thirst again.
How true is this which was told us
by Truth Himself!
For the soul thirsts no more for the things
of this world,
although its craving for the next life
exceeds any natural thirst
that can be imagined.
Yet how the heart pines for this thirst,
realising its priceless value!
This drought brings its own remedy with it:
it allays all desire of created things and
satisfies the soul.
When it has been satiated by God,
one of the greatest graces He can bestow
on the spirit is to leave it with this thirst,
which, after drinking,
increases the longing to partake again
and again of this water.
[Way of Perfection: Ch. 19: # 4 ]
...
When God gives you this water, sisters,
... how a genuine love of God
that is powerful and freed from earthly dross
rises above mortal things and
is sovereign over all the elements
of this world.
[Way of Perfection: Ch. 19: # 5 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Concept. ch. vii. 7, 8.
Often have I thought
of the woman of Samaria,
who must have been intoxicated
with this draught.
How well her heart must have mastered
our Lord's teaching,
since she actually left Him
that she might profit her fellow-
by winning them to Him !
...
Blessed are the souls
on whom our Lord bestows these graces !
How strictly are they bound to serve Him !
[ Minor Works Of St. Teresa
Exclamations, Maxims And Poems
Of Saint Teresa Of Jesus
Conceptions Of The Love Of God
Ch. 7: # 7
Translation:
The Benedictines Of Stanbrook ]
The holy Samaritan,
divinely inebriated as she was...
She was indeed most humble, for
when our Lord told her of her sins,
she showed no such resentment
as the world does nowadays,
when people can hardly endure
to hear the truth,
but she told Him
that He must be a prophet.
In fact, her neighbours believed her word,
and...large numbers flocked out of the town
to see our Lord.
...those persons do great good
who,
after having been in intimate converse
with His Majesty for several years,
now that they receive caresses and
consolations from Him,
do not hesitate to undergo
fatiguing labours for Him
even at the cost of these delights and joys.
[ Minor Works Of St. Teresa
Exclamations, Maxims And Poems
Of Saint Teresa Of Jesus
Conceptions Of The Love Of God
Ch. 7: # 8
Translation:
The Benedictines Of Stanbrook ]
_____________________
[382]
St. John of the Cross,
Obscure Night,
bk. ii. ch. xii.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #6's
Footnote reference #382
"her pains purify her soul
so that it may enter the seventh mansion,
as purgatory cleanses spirits
which are to enter heaven: [382]"
St. John of the Cross,
Obscure Night,
bk. ii. ch. xii.
"the nearer to God ...the more completely
are they purged and enlightened
with more general purification;
But, when it illumines man,
who is impure and weak...
It plunges him into darkness and
causes him affliction and distress,
it enkindles him with passionate
yet afflictive love,
until he be spiritualized and refined
by this same fire of love;
and it purifies him
until he can receive with sweetness
the union of this loving infusion
[ Dark Night
Bk 2: Ch. 12: #4
St. John of the Cross
Translation: E/A. Peers ]
_____________________
[383]
Marginal note in the Saint's handwriting.
The 'substantial' pain of hell consists
in the irrevocable loss of God,
our last end and supreme Good;
this is incurred from the first moment
in its fullest intensity and
therefore cannot increase.
The physical pain with which the bodies
will be afflicted when united to the souls
after the general resurrection may vary,
but will neither increase nor abate.
The 'accidental' pain of the damned
arises from various causes,
for instance from the ever-increasing
effects of evil actions,
and therefore
increases in the same proportion.
Thus a heresiarch will suffer keener
accidental pain as more and more souls
are lost through his false teaching.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #7's
Footnote reference #383
"for the damned will continually suffer
more and more;
(more and more, I mean in regard
to accidental pains ). [383]"
_____________________
[384]
Rel. iv. 1.
Concept. ch. vii. 2.
Isabel of Jesus, in her deposition
in the Acts of Canonisation
(Fuente, Obras, vol. vi. 316)
declares that she was the singer.
The words were:
Veante mis ojos,
Dulce Jesus bueno:
Veante mis ojos,
Y muerame yo luego.
Fuente, l.c. vol. v. 143, note 1.
OEuvres, ii. 231.
(Poem 36, English version.)
There is a slight difference
in the two relations of this occurrence.
In Rel. iv.
St. Teresa seems to imply
that it happened
on Easter Sunday evening,
but here she says distinctly:
'Pascua de Resurreccion, el postrer dia,'
that is, on Easter Tuesday,
April 17, 1571, at Salamanca.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #8's
Footnote reference #384
"indeed, so violent was the attack
that she completely lost consciousness.
This occurred when she unexpectedly
heard some verses to the effect
that life seemed unending;
She was engaged in conversation
at the time,
which was on the last day of Easter.
All Eastertide she had suffered such aridity
as hardly to realize
what mystery was being celebrated.
[384]"
Rel. iv. 1.
I found myself the whole of yesterday
in great desolation,
and, except at Communion,
did not feel
that it was the day of the Resurrection.
Last night, being with the community,
I heard one [663] of them singing
how hard it is
to be living away from God.
As I was then suffering,
the effect of that singing on me was such
that a numbness began in my hands, and
no efforts of mine could hinder it;
but as I go out of myself
in raptures of joy,
so then my soul was thrown into a trance
through the excessive pain, and
remained entranced;
and until this day I had not felt this.
...
and I understand more of that piercing
which our Lady suffered;
[ Relation 4: #1 ]
[663]
Isabel of Jesus, born in Segovia,
and whose family name was Jimena,
told Ribera (vide lib. iv. c. v.)
that she was the singer,
being then a novice in Salamanca.
[ Relation 4: #1: Foot Note #663 ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Concept. ch. vii. 2.
Do not suppose, daughters,
that I exaggerate when I say
that such a person is in a dying state,
as I repeat that this is really the case.
Sometimes love is so strong
as to dominate over the powers of nature.
I know someone
who
during this state of prayer
heard a beautiful voice singing,
and she declares
that unless the song had ceased
she believes
that her soul would have left her body
from the extreme delight and sweetness
which our Lord made her feel.
His Majesty providentially stopped
the singer,
for the person in this state of trance
might have died in consequence,
yet she could not say a word
to check the songstress,
for she was incapable of any bodily action
nor could she even stir.
[ Minor Works Of St. Teresa
Exclamations, Maxims And Poems
Of Saint Teresa Of Jesus
Conceptions Of The Love Of God
Ch. 7: # 2
Translation:
The Benedictines Of Stanbrook ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Veante mis ojos,
Dulce Jesus bueno:
Veante mis ojos,
Y muerame yo luego.
Let my eyes see you
Good Sweet Jesus
Let my eyes see you
and then may I die
_____________________
[385]
Compare the words
'Que muero porque no muero'
in the Glosa of St. Teresa.
Way of Perf. ch. xlii . 2.
Castle, M. vii. ch. iii. 14.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #9's
Footnote reference #385
"when a person seems dying
from her desire for death [385]
which so oppresses her soul with grief
that it appears on the point
of leaving her body,
yet her mind, terrified at the thought,
tries to still its pain
so as to keep death at bay."
'Que muero porque no muero'
I die because I do not die.
Way of Perf. ch. xlii . 2.
When I see how engulfed I am
in my own weakness, tepidity,
want of mortification, and other faults,
I feel the need of asking God
for some redress.
...
I shall never be free from these evils
in this life and so I beg to be delivered
from them in eternity.
What good do we possess on earth,
where we are destitute of all good and
absent from our Lord?
Deliver me, O God! from this deadly
nightmare; ...
Life is made unbearable by the loathing
I feel at having led so bad a life and
at the sight of its unworthiness even now,
considering my indebtedness.
[ Way of Perfection: Ch. 42: # 2
Translation: Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Castle, M. vii. ch. iii. 14.
Sometimes they long to die and be in safety,
but then their love at once
makes them wish to live
in order to serve God...
therefore
they commit all that concerns them
to His mercy.
At times they are more crushed than ever
by the thought of the many graces
they have received
lest, like an overladen ship,
they sink beneath the burden.
...such souls have their cross to bear,
yet it does not trouble them
nor rob them of their peace,
but is quickly gone like a wave or a storm
which is followed by a calm,
for God's presence within them
soon makes them forget all else.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 7: Ch. 3: #14 ]
_____________________
[386]
Way of Perf. ch. xix. 10.
Excl. vi.; xii. a.; xiv.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #9's
Footnote reference #386
"Evidently this fear arises
from human infirmity,
for the soul's longings for death
do not abate
meanwhile nor can its sorrows
be stilled or allayed
until God brings it comfort. [386]"
Way of Perf. ch. xix. 10.
Water is a strange thing!
We die for want of it, yet too much of it
kills us see how many men it has drowned!
O Lord! is any one plunged so deeply
into this living water as to die of it?
Could such a thing happen?
Yes.
This love and desire of God may increase
until nature can bear it no longer
and men have perished from this cause.
I know some one, to whose aid God came
promptly with such abundance
of this living water that she was almost
drawn out of herself in raptures.
Her thirst and growing desire were such
that she realised it was quite possible
to die of such longing
were it not remedied.
...
Such a soul appears overcome
by its loathing for this world,
but it revives in God:
His Majesty thus enables it
to enjoy this grace which,
if left to itself,
it could not have borne without loss of life.
Blessed be He Who in the Gospel
invites us to drink of this water.
... If He gives a deep draught
He makes the soul capable of drinking it...
[ Way of Perfection: Ch. 19: # 10
Translation: Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Excl. vi.;
3. O God my Creator !
Who dost wound, yet dost not heal ;
Who dost strike but leave no wound;
dost kill and give new life by it ;
...wilt Thou make such a wretched worm
suffer these conflicting pains ?
Be it so, my God, since it is Thy will,
for I only seek to love Thee.
But alas, alas, my Creator,
bitter anguish wrings this complaint
from me, making me speak of that
for which there is no remedy
until Thou providest one !
The soul, thus pent in bondage,
longs for liberty,
yet would not move one hair's breadth
from the path Thou choosest for it.
5. O my soul, submit to the will of thy God:
This is best for thee:
Serve Him and trust to His mercy
to ease thy pain,
when by penance thou hast won some
little claim to pardon for thy sins:
seek not to rejoice until thou hast suffered!
[ Minor Works Of St. Teresa
Exclamations, Maxims And Poems
Of Saint Teresa Of Jesus
Exclamations, or Meditations
of the Soul on its God: 6
Translation:
The Benedictines Of Stanbrook ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Excl. xii. 2.;
2. O blessed souls dwelling in paradise !
Relieve our miseries and intercede for us
with the divine Mercy,
that He may give us some little share
of your felicity, and
of the certain knowledge you possess.
Grant us to understand, my God,
what reward Thou givest to those
who fight valiantly
during the nightmare of this wretched life.
[ Minor Works Of St. Teresa
Exclamations, Maxims And Poems
Of Saint Teresa Of Jesus
Exclamations, or Meditations
of the Soul on its God: 12: # 2
Translation:
The Benedictines Of Stanbrook ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Excl. xiv.
1. Alas, alas, Lord !
How long this exile lasts !
What torture does it give me
from my yearning to possess my God !
Yet, Lord, what can the soul do,
held fast in this prison ?
2. Ah, Jesus, how long is mortal life,
though men call it short !
Short, indeed,
in which to gain eternal life,
but very long and weary to the soul
that desires to be in God's presence !
What medicine hast Thou
for such suffering ?
None, save to suffer for Thy sake !
...
6. O my joy and my God !
What can I do to please Thee ?
My services are contemptible,
however many I may perform
for my God !
Why then should I remain
in such utter misery ?
That the will of God may be done
...
Remember the longer thy battle,
the more thou provest thy love
for thy God, and
the greater thy never-ending bliss
and delight with thy Beloved.
[ Minor Works Of St. Teresa
Exclamations, Maxims And Poems
Of Saint Teresa Of Jesus
Exclamations, or Meditations
of the Soul on its God: 14
Translation:
The Benedictines Of Stanbrook ]
_____________________
[387]
See the two versions of the poems
written by the Saint on her recovery
from the trance
into which she was thrown, beginning
Vivir sin vivir in me' and the poem,
'Cuan triste es, Dios mio'
(Poems 2, 3, and 4, English version).
See also St. Teresa's poem,
Ya toda me entregue y di.'
(Poem 7, English version).
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 mine own,
I His alone.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #9's
Footnote reference #387
"This He usually does
by a deep trance or by some vision
whereby the true Comforter
consoles and strengthens the heart,
which thus becomes resigned to live
as long as He wills. [387]"
_____________________
[388] Rel. viii. 17.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #10's
Footnote reference #388
" Seeing what she has gained,
the sufferer would gladly endure frequently
the same pains [388]
but can do nothing to help herself
in the matter."
Rel. viii. 17.
At other times,
this wound of love seems to issue
from the inmost depth of the soul;
great are the effects of it;
and when our Lord does not inflict it,
there is no help for it,
whatever we may do to obtain it;
nor can it be avoided
when it is His pleasure to inflict it.
The effects of it
are those longings after God,
...
and when the soul sees itself
hindered and kept back from entering,
as it desires, on the fruition of God,
it conceives a great loathing for the body,
on which it looks as a thick wall
which hinders it from that fruition
which it then seems
to have entered upon within itself,
and unhindered by the body.
[Relation 8: #17 ]
_____________________
[389] Acta SS. p. 64, n. 229.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #10's
Footnote reference #389
"It is also much more detached
from creatures,
having learntthat no one but its Creator
can bring it consolation and strength.
It is more anxious and careful
not to offend God,
seeing that He can torment
as well as comfort. [389]"
Acta Santorum
( Acts of the Saints)
_____________________
[390]
St. Matt. xx. 22:
Potestis bibere calicem
quem ego bibiturus sum?'
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #12's
Footnote reference #390
'Can you drink the chalice
that I shall drink?' [390]
_____________________
[391]
St. Matt. xxvi. to:
St. Mark xiv. 6;
St. John xii. 7.
Way of Perf. ch. xvi. 7;
xvii. 4.
Excl. v. 2-4.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog Addition:
Regarding Paragraph #12's
Footnote reference #391
"He ever
defends such souls
and
answers for them
when they are persecuted and slandered
as He did for the Magdalen--
if not in words, at least in deeds. [391]"
St. Matt. xxvi. 10
Why do you trouble this woman?
for she hath wrought a good work
upon me.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
St. Mark xiv. 6;
But Jesus said:
Let her alone, why do you molest her?
She hath wrought a good work upon me.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
St. John xii. 7.
Jesus therefore said:
Let her alone, that she may keep it
against the day of my burial.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Way of Perf. ch. xvi. 7;
What does it matter
if all the world blames you
and deafens you with abuse
while you are resting meanwhile
in the arms of God?
He is powerful to deliver you from all.
...
Except for the greater gain of those
who love Him, He will not permit them
to be spoken against:
His love for them is not so weak.
Then why, my sisters, should we not show
Him all the love we can?
See, what a rich exchange
to give our love for His;
to give it to Him
Who can give us all things,
while we can do nothing without His aid.
[ Way of Perfection: Ch. 16: # 7
Translation: Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Way of Perf. ch. xvii. 4.
Let not the nun who is called
to the active life murmur at others
who are absorbed in contemplation,
for she knows
our Lord will defend them;
As a rule, they themselves are silent,
for the better part makes them
oblivious of themselves and of all else.
Reflect:
that true humility consists
in being willing and ready to do
what our Lord asks of us:
it always makes us
consider ourselves unworthy
to be reckoned among His servants.
[ Way of Perfection: Ch. 17: # 4
Translation: Benedictines of Stanbrook ]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Excl. v. 2-4.
2 Sometimes I think of the holy woman
Martha's complaint ;
she was not merely blaming her sister,
but I am convinced that
what she felt most keenly was
the thought that Thou didst
not care for her labours,
nor wish to have her near Thee.
Perhaps she thought Thou hadst less love
for her than for her sister,
which would have tried her more
than labouring for the Lord
Who was so dear
that work for Him was but a pleasure.
3. Thine answer " shows
that love alone gives value to our actions
— that " the one thing necessary "
is to possess a love so strong
that it cannot leave Thee.
But, my God, how can we obtain
a love worthy of our Beloved,
unless Thy love lor us be united to it ?
Shall I make the same complaint
as this saintly woman ?
4. Ah, I have no cause for that,
having ever found in my God
greater and stronger proofs of tenderness
than I have known how to ask
or even to desire.
[ Minor Works Of St. Teresa
Exclamations, Maxims And Poems
Of Saint Teresa Of Jesus
Exclamations, or Meditations
of the Soul on its God : 5: 2-4
Translation:
The Benedictines Of Stanbrook ]
|
End of
Mansion 6 Chapter 11
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.
|
