But here the Lord asks only two things of us: love for His Majesty and love for our neighbour. It is for these two virtues that we must strive, and if we attain them perfectly we are doing His will and so shall be united with Him.”

The Interior Castle: Saint Teresa’s Diamond | Carmelite The Interior Castle: Saint Teresa’s Diamond | Carmelite

Second mansions – The soul seeks a deeper relationship with the Father through daily thoughts of God and daily prayer. She told me this vision on the same day, for in this as well as in other things she was so communicative that on the following morning she said to me: "How I forgot myself yesterday! I cannot think how it could have happened. Those high aspirations of mine, and the affection I have for you must have caused me to go beyond all reasonableMore than a book, The Interior Castle is a powerful image of the mystery of the human person. It is, in a very real sense, Teresa’s soul. Using the image of a castle, Teresa describes the soul’s progressive inner journey through seven dwelling places, until finally reaching the center where, now transformed, it is united with God. Secondly, she was greatly surprised at the malice of sin, since, notwithstanding the presence of God in these various ways, it prevents the soul from partaking of that powerful light. Active Recollectio – Praesens in tribus primis gradibus

Interior Castle | EWTN Interior Castle | EWTN

Seek greater solitude (without neglecting work or duty), in imitation of Christ. 6. The Fifth MansionsAn 8-week online course journeying through the seven mansions of St. Teresa of Ávila’s Interior Castlewith James Finley and Mirabai Starr as guides. Deepen your awareness of the “inner witness” and experience the Interior Castle an embodied pathway of union with God. Despite this, God still desires more for this soul. This includes a deeper freedom to love and more spiritual joys in prayer. One day, speaking with Mother Mary of Jesus on spiritual matters, she said that our Lord had communicated so much to her since she had reached what she described in the seventh Mansion,--the spiritual Marriage,--that she did not consider it possible to advance further in this life, in the way of prayer, nor even to wish to do so. 11 true perfection consists in the love of God and our neighbor, and the better we keep both these commandments, the more perfect we shall be.” Quaedam secundae meditationes de S. Teresia; Humilitas est essentialis omnium incrementorum vitae spiritualis. Agnosce quis sis, et cognosce quis sit Deus. Quomodo bonus mundus creatus est cognosce. Videntes Creatorem et Eius pulchritudinem in mundo attachiamenta reponere debent.

the Mansions of the Interior Castle? - We Dare To Say What are the Mansions of the Interior Castle? - We Dare To Say

The French Carmelite nuns in their new translation, Œuvres complètes de Sainte Thérèse, t. vi, Introduction, p. 5, quoting the Año Teresiano, t. vii ad 7 July, and Father Gracian's Dilucidario, as well as his additions to Ribera, show the exact share of Fr. Gracian and Dr. Velasquez in the preliminaries of this work. I will say no more of this vision and the Mansions, because your Reverence must by now have seen this admirable book, and must know with what accuracy, with what majestic doctrine, with what lucid examples she describes the progress of the soul from the gate to the very centre. It is clearly seen in this treatise how she communicated with our Lord, and how His Majesty vouchsafed to place her in the centre and to unite her with Himself, as she puts it, by the bonds of marriage and an inseparable union.' 18 Avoid associating with “evil” or “mediocre” people. Instead, associate with people pursuing Christ.It’s important to know that spiritual dryness still occurs in the sixth mansions. 8. The Seventh Mansions locutions, and even more wonderful manifestations, like the wound of love, spiritual betrothal and nuptials, are incidental rather than essential to the second and third stages. Some great contemplatives have never experienced anything of the kind, while, on the other hand, some of these occurrences may sometimes have been merely the work of an exuberant imagination, or even the result of diabolical illusion. They should therefore never be wished for, or cherished, but rather shunned and ignored, in as far as that is possible. If they are real and come from God, they will do their work without the co-operation of the soul. The danger of self-deception is so great that a person labouring under such phenomena should offer every resistance, and the spiritual director should exercise the utmost vigilance. St. Teresa is very eloquent on this point, and undeceived many would-be contemplatives, while her disciple, St. John of the Cross, is even more thorough-going in the deprecation of spiritual favours. Among the numerous marks whereby the trained theologian may discriminate between real and imaginary phenomena, there is one about which Saint Teresa speaks with wonderful clearness. If they proceed from hysteria the imagination alone is active and the higher powers of the soul are torpid; if, however, they come from God, the intellect and the will are so intensely active, Expect and persevere through all spiritual dryness and desolations in prayer. This can include the “ night of the senses“. Here, God purifies the soul of both worldly and spiritual attachments to consolation. Through storytelling and illuminative teaching, Mirabai Starr offers an embodied understanding of St. Teresa’s life, context, and essence. the manner nor showed the way whereby they came to the enjoyment of the sweetness of the Spouse. Now, however, this way is clear and patent to all, having been pointed out in the Mansions, in language so straight and so methodical, and no longer such as could not be understood, or required further explanation. In my opinion this holy writer derived not only the substance of her teaching from infused knowledge, but even the words with which she explains it.' 23