Teresa of Ávila also called Teresa of Jesus was born in Avila, Spain in 1515.[1] She entered the Order of Carmelites, a religious community, where she became the mother and teacher of a more strict observance. God inspired Teresa to do a spiritual growth plan in the form of ascension by degrees of the soul to God. However, because of the reform of her Order, she had to suffer difficulties, which she overcame with patience and with the help of John of the Cross.[2] St. Teresa of Avila had reached an extraordinary spiritual maturity when she wrote the fantastic literary work called "The Interior Castle" or "The Mansions" in the 16th century. The Interior Castle is more than a book; it is an excellent symbol of the mystery of the human being. This book is like the soul of its author; moving and elevating from one mansion to another. Before dying, she deposited into this book the best of her knowledge and spiritual experience. “Probably no other book by a Spanish author is a widely known in Spain as the Life or the Interior Castle of St. Teresa, with the single exception of Cervantes’ immortal Don Quixote.“[3]
For Teresa of Avila, the soul is a castle formed by dwelling places through which the practitioner advances in his or her interiorization. The dwelling places correspond to the seven different levels of interiorization, which conclude with the union of the practitioner with the Holy Trinity. These spiritual stages are developed through silent prayer, solitude, and service. In this way, the practitioner gets closer to God who is within the human being. Teresa wrote this spiritual guide in obedience to her Superiors. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, she started to write her last work on June 2, 1577, and concluded on November 29, 1577, in San José of Ávila. Concerned about the division of the Church and the Protestants, she wrote her personal experiences with God. “Teresa's treatise, Interior Castle, is her most trenchant response to such suspicions and fears about the mystical life.”[4]
The first dwelling place explains the situation of ordinary people who live outside the castle of the soul. “The souls in the First Mansions are in a state of grace, but are still very much in love with the venomous creatures outside the castle -- that as, with occasions of sin -- and need a long and searching discipline before they can make any progress.”[5] The practitioners must stay away from temptations and seek solitude. This step is critical because once done, it will mark the difference between the ordinary people and those who have started this spiritual guide.
The second dwelling place explains the battle or resistance of human nature once it has started the journey back to its spiritual essence. The practitioners have a great determination to live in a state of grace that is the reason they seek prayer and mortification because there are many temptations in the world. “It is not yet completely secure from the attacks of the poisonous reptiles which infest the courtyard of the castle, but its powers of resistance are increasing.”[6]
The third dwelling place explains that once the practitioners have won the battle against human nature, the trip back to their spiritual essence is free to be traveled easily. “Yet, although the soul which reaches the Third Mansions may still fall back, it has attained a high standard of virtue.”[7] The practitioners need humility and obedience in order to advance to the next dwelling place.
The fourth dwelling place is the state of mind in silence, calm, or rest, which has been achieved with great effort. It is also the border between the human and spiritual world. “Here the supernatural element of the mystical life first enters: that is to say, it is no longer by its own efforts that the soul is acquiring what it gains.”[8] It is the beginning of supernatural things, but the soul must stay away from the world.
The fifth dwelling place is already technically a state of ecstasy, that is, a state beyond the universe, body, and mind. This place is the full mystical life, the total union, and certainty of God's presence. “St. Teresa explains how far the soul can prepare itself to receive what is essentially a gift from God.”[9] However, among the tribulations and suffering, practitioners need to have a great fidelity to God.
The sixth dwelling place is essentially the same as the one before it. The difference is that now the practitioners begin to realize that, as the process moves forward, they will end up uniting themselves indissolubly with God. Teresa calls this state "spiritual espousal" because here an excellent interior purification of the soul is achieved. For example, graces like mystical experiences and ecstasy are manifested in this phase. Nonetheless, it is necessary that the humanity of Christ is contemplated here in order to reach the upper grades of the mystical life
The last dwelling place is the supreme culmination in which the practitioners indissolubly become one with God. This is the last step of the mystical ladder back to God: “I and the Father are one”(Jn 10:30 NAB). Teresa calls this level "spiritual marriage."[10] In this dwelling place, the grace of this spiritual marriage and an intimate communication with the Holy Trinity are received.
For those who desire advancement on the path of prayer and union with God, it is necessary to do two things. First, with the grace of God, stay away from all kinds of sin and all the things that deviate them from the Lord. The second part is to obtain grace from God. If he wants and sees the willingness of the people, he will invite them to an intimacy and pour out mystical graces in their souls. Finally, the deeper the encounter with the Lord, the more profound is the relationships with others because they have learned to love as Jesus loves.
[1] “St. Teresa of Avila- saints and angels”, at Catholic Online (3 August, 2016), at www. catholiconline.org.
[2] “St. Teresa of Avila- saints and angels”, at Catholic Online (3 August, 2016), at www. catholiconline.org.
[3] Teresa of Avila, Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, Translated and edited by E. Allison Peers (Dover, Mineola, New York 2010), xxxviii.
[4] Terrace G. Walsh, Writing anxiety in Teresa’s Interior Castle, Gregorian University, Rome, Theological Studies. Jun95, Vol. 56 Issue 2, p251. 25p.
[5] Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila, at Catholic First (3 August, 2016), at www.catholicfirst.com.
[6] Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila, at Catholic First (3 August, 2016), at www.catholicfirst.com.
[7] Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila, at Catholic First (3 August, 2016), at www.catholicfirst.com.
[8] Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila, at Catholic First (3 August, 2016), at www.catholicfirst.com.
[9] Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila, at Catholic First (3 August, 2016), at www.catholicfirst.com.
[10] Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila, at Catholic First (3 August, 2016), at www.catholicfirst.com.
Bibliography
Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila, at Catholic First. 1 August 2016, at
www.catholicfirst.com.
St. Teresa of Avila- saints and angels, at Catholic Online. 3 August, 2016, at www.
catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=208
Walsh, Terrace G., Writing anxiety in Teresa’s Interior Castle, Gregorian University,
Rome, Theological Studies. Vol. 56. 2013.
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