The Interior Castle or The Mansions
S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
St. Teresa of Avila
Discussion of Mansion 6 - Chapter 11
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Discussion of Mansion 6 Chapter 11
█ Summary or Highlights
▀ God's Operation of Love: The Dart of love.
▀ The Soul's Anguish
■ Benefits of this Suffering
▪ The Soul's Preparation and Purification
for entry into the Seventh Mansion
▪ An Increased and More Perfect
Love of God
▪ Courage
▪ Heightened Fear of Offending God
▪ Desire to Live and Suffer for God
Desire to Labor for Him
Greater Awareness
of the Soul's Indebtness to Him
▪ Detachment
▪ Spiritual Knowledge
▀ St. Teresa Advises:
▪ Conformity to the Will of God
Trust in His Providence
▪ Courage is Needed
▪ Gratitude
▪ Humility
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▀ God's Operation of Love: The Dart of love.
(Transverberation.)
■ "A blow as from a fiery dart"
"I do not say that this actually is a 'dart' "
"Neither is it really a 'blow'
though I call it one"
"where this thunderbolt,
in its rapid course,
reduces all the earthly part of our nature
to powder."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #2 ]
"I saw an angel close by me,
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 16]
I saw in his hand a long spear of gold,
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 soul is satisfied now
with nothing less than God.
"It is a caressing of love so sweet
which now takes place
between the soul and God..."
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 17]
"for an arrow is driven
...into the heart at times"
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 13]
"A spark seems to have fallen
suddenly upon it,
that has set it all on fire" (with love for God).
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 14]
■ Where
"the heart receives,
it knows not how or whence,
it does not come
from any part of our being.
but it wounds us severely...
but in the very depths and centre of the soul"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #2 ]
"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 ]
■ When Occurs:
"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"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #2 ]
"This occurred when she unexpectedly
heard some verses to the effect
that life seemed unending"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #8 ]
"Last night, being with the community,
I heard one of them singing
(regarding) how hard it is
to be living away from God.
...the effect of that singing on me was such
...I go out of myself
in raptures of joy,
so then my soul was thrown into a trance
through the excessive pain"
[ Relation 4: #1 ]
"Isabel of Jesus...
declares that she was the singer.
The words were:
"Good Sweet Jesus
Let my eyes see you
and then may I die"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #8
Footnote reference #384 ]
■ The Faculties are Occupied
"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.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #2 ]
"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"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #3 ]
"indeed, so violent was the attack
that she completely lost consciousness. "
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #8 ]
■ Duration
"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"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #8 ]
■ Spiritual Effects
"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...
because this torture is not corporal
but attacks the innermost recesses of the soul."
"how much more acutely
the spirit is capable of suffering
than the body;
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #3 ]
"the spiritual torments are
so much more keen
that the bodily ones remain unnoticed"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #4 ]
■ Physical Effects
"there is great danger of death in this state."
"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."
"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.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #4 ]
"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
appears to swoon away
and
seems on the point of leaving the body,
which indeed would bring it no small joy."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #11 ]
■ Aftermath
"...for two or three days afterwards,
the suffering is too severe for the person
to have even the strength to hold a pen"
"Indeed, I believe that
the health becomes permanently enfeebled
in consequence."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #4 ]
■ The Soul is powerless
to acquire, resist or prolong this favor.
"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.
[Relation 8: #17 ]
"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"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: # 9 ]
"Seeing what she has gained,
the sufferer would gladly endure frequently
the same pains
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."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: # 10 ]
"It is by no efforts of the soul
that it sorrows over the wound
which the absence of our Lord
has inflicted on it...
[ 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.
[ Life: Ch. 29: # 14]
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▀ The Soul's Anguish
"Alas, O Lord,
to what a state dost Thou bring those
who love Thee!
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #6 ]
"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
how this great God and Sovereign
deserves to be loved. "
Her yearning after Him
gradually becomes keener,
she experiences the bitter suffering."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #1 ]
"...how long is mortal life....
What torture does it give me
from my yearning to possess my God !
...very long and weary to the soul
that desires to be in God's presence ! "
[ Exclamations, or Meditations
of the Soul on its God: 14: 1, 2 ]
St. Teresa explains
◦ that the soul's intense anguish
and arduous desires for God
are not an imperfection
and
◦ that in the past the soul conformed herself
to the will of God
and had so completely surrendered
herself 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 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. "
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #5 ]
"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 ]
■ Benefits of this Suffering
▪ The Soul's Preparation and Purification
for entry into the Seventh Mansion
"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"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #6 ]
"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 ]
▪ An Increased and More Perfect Love of God
"it enkindles him with passionate
yet afflictive love,
until he be spiritualized and refined
by this same fire of love"
[ Dark Night
Bk 2: Ch. 12: #4
St. John of the Cross
Translation: E. A. Peers ]
"The effects of it
are those longings after God,
[Relation 8: #17 ]
"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 ]
▪ Courage
"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.'
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #10 ]
"...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 ]
▪ Heightened Fear of Offending God
"It is more anxious and careful
not to offend God
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #10 ]
▪ Desire to Live and Suffer for God
Desire to Labor for Him
Greater Awareness of her Indebtedness to Him
Overriding her desire to quit
the exile of the world,
is the soul's desire to suffer and labor for God
and to satisfy her indebtedness for His mercies.
"when a person seems dying
from her desire for death
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
...nor can its sorrows
be stilled or allayed
until God brings it comfort.
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."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: # 9]
"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."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #6 ]
"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]
"The inward stirring of my love
urges me to do something
for the service of God"
[ Life: Ch. 30: # 25 ]
"...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 ]
"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..".
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 7: Ch. 3: #14 ]
▪ Detachment
"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."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: # 5 ]
"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.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: # 10 ]
▪ Spiritual Knowledge
"increased knowledge of His attributes"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: # 1 ]
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▀ St. Teresa Advises:
▪ Conformity to the Will of God
Trust in His Providence
"His Majesty has the power
to do all He wishes
and
He wishes to do much for us.
that with God, time has no limits
and
in a single moment, He can raise a soul
to the most sublime state
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #1 ]
"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!'
[ Exclamations, or Meditations
of the Soul on its God: 6: #5 ]
"The soul, thus pent in bondage,
longs for liberty,
yet would not move one hair's breadth
from the path Thou choosest for it."
[ Exclamations, or Meditations
of the Soul on its God: 6: #3
Translation:
The Benedictines Of Stanbrook ]
"O my joy and my God !
What can I do to please Thee ?
My services are contemptible...
Why then should I remain
in such utter misery ?
That the will of God may be done"
"...the longer thy battle,
the more thou provest thy love
for thy God"
[ Exclamations, or Meditations
of the Soul on its God: 14: #6 ]
▪ Courage is Needed
"...courage was needed for these favours
and...
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?'
[
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
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: # 12 ]
▪ Gratitude
"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."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 6: Ch. 11: #7 ]
▪ Humility
"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 ]
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End of the Discussion of
Mansion 6 Chapter 11
of
The Interior Castle
or
The Mansions
S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
St. Teresa of Avila
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