From June 2nd AD 1577 to November 29th
of the same year, St. Teresa of Avila wrote the inspired work, “The Interior
Castle.” After experiencing a vision of seven castles with regards to the
spiritual life and growth in it, St. Teresa’s two superiors, Fr. Jerome
Gracian, of the Discalced Carmelites of the Provinces of Andalusia and
Castille, and Don Alonso Velasquez,
Canon of Toledo, ordered her to write about what see had seen and understood in
her vision. The work is not meant to be a discourse on Mystical Theology, but rather
a help for souls to grow closer in union with God.
The Interior Castle is broken up into seven parts,
corresponding to the various “castles” or “mansions” seen in St. Teresa’s
vision. The first two mansions explain the “purgative” way of the spiritual
life, the third and fourth mansions explain the illuminative way of spiritual
growth, and the last three mansions explain the unitive way of being with God. St
.Teresa begins her work by saying that any errors that may be found in it were
not intentional, and submits everything written therein to the teaching of the
Church.
The first “castle” describes the beauty and dignity
of the soul; it is a “castle,” as St. Teresa says, like a diamond or crystal,
with many rooms within it. This “castle” is made in God’s image, and prayer and
meditation are the gate into the interior. God communicates himself through
this gate. St. Teresa makes a good point in saying that the body is the simply
the outer wall of this castle; the outer shell hiding a greater beauty within.
She asks, why do people then focus so much on the exterior of the castle, i.e.,
the body? Souls who focus so much on the body and neglect prayer are like
people who are lame, she says.
The focus of this castle is on purification. Sin
must be removed from the soul to advance towards God, first and foremost mortal
sin, which St. Teresa describes as like a blanket covering and darkening a diamond
formally glistening interiorly from the sunlight. To remedy she says one must
examine oneself, seeing what sin needs to be rooted out of the soul, but also one
needs to focus more on Christ and less on oneself. St. Teresa points out here
the necessity to take care of one’s own soul first before attempting to help
others.
The second castle describes the souls who have
discovered the gift of prayer, but still lack the determination to stop putting
themselves into occasions of sin. The Devil tries to prevent advances in union
with God, to keep the soul in this state, but, St. Teresa encourages the soul
to place its trust in God and let Him lead. She encourages souls going through
trials and even relapses into sin to not lose heart, but to keep up struggling
to grow in holiness, as, God will even bring good out of our falls and
mistakes.
The third castle is an exhortation to vigilance.
Flee to the mercy of God, says St. Teresa. Do not trust in one’s own strength,
but in God’s. This third stage can bring great trials to the soul...but St.
Teresa teaches that, despite all of them, one should keep the soul in peace and
resignation, as, God is still with the soul but is giving it these trials to
grow closer to him. She reminds her readers to remember how much Our Lord did
for us during his life on earth. If he suffered so much for us, we should
likewise bear our cross with him.
The fourth castle teaches guidance in different movements
in the soul, whether they are from God or not. There can be a difference
between a certain “sweetness” felt in prayer (which may come from ourselves,
i.e. natural, though aided by grace) and spiritual “consolations” which come from God. St. Teresa reassures the
reader though that one should not be distressed or anxious by our various
thoughts and feelings. One must just be patient and simply ignore those
thoughts that are alien to the life of a Christian. Just because the mind tends
to wander does not mean that out prayer is displeasing to God. St. Teresa ends
with saying that by keeping peace, one will overcome any trial.
The fifth castle is the castle of union with God.
The various disorders of the imagination, understanding, and memory cannot
hinder graces from God in this castle. St.Teresa uses the analogy of a silkworm
that was in its cocoon and has now left it and begins to fly freely. She goes
on to say that the more one grows in love of neighbor, the more one grows in
love of God...an important reminder at this point in the spiritual life, as
being close to God does not mean being further away from one’s neighbor. St.
Teresa even goes so far to say that even if one feels devotion at prayer and
yet does not practice charity towards others, one is actually far from union
with God.
The sixth castle is where the soul is “wounded” by
divine love. The particular soul is firm in its determination to follow Christ,
but, Our Lord holds back from giving himself fully to the soul at this point,
so it’s desires for Him will increase. St. Teresa says that at this stage, a
new set of trials await the soul seeking to advance, often in the form of others
speaking against it, in other words, persecution. Other trials include illness
of various kinds, and dryness and darkness felt in the soul during prayer. Nevertheless,
in spite of these trials, if the soul perseveres, says St. Teresa, special
graces are given to it by Christ. Some of these include a mystical wound of
love in the soul, the interior voice of God (locution), (St. Teresa describes
how to distinguish between a true locution from God and what could come from
the Devil or, even one’s own imagination), and even ecstasies and visions. In
all these things though, St. Teresa strongly recommends caution and revealing
them to an experienced priest or theologian to see whether they are of God or
not. One important sign she mentions that is a good indicator that they are
from God is that, at the same time these phenomenon are going on, peace,
humility, and sorrow for sin, grows in the soul. Though such things are truly amazing,
St. Teresa teaches that one should not seek such things. The safer route is to
not have such things go on, but, it is God who decides what is best for the
soul. The great longing for God that is in the soul of this castle, receives a
supernatural blow from a fiery dart of pain and love, which purifies the soul
further, so to be able to enter the seventh castle.
The seventh castle is the soul’s experience of the
intellectual vision of God, who dwells within it, and becomes one with it. St.
Teresa describes this as a “marriage” between the soul and God, likening it to the
fire of two wax candles, the tips of which touch each other and become one
light. She goes on to say that by emptying oneself of all attachments to
creatures, for the love of God, God then comes and fills the soul with Himself.
At this point, the soul does everything for love of God; even if trials come,
as, being on earth never frees one of them, interior peace will never be lost.
Souls at this state are free from mortal sin and do not even commit willful venial
sins.
St. Teresa of Avila’s “Interior Castle,” though
written centuries ago, remains for all time a solid guide for souls to grow in
union with God. The details and insights contained within its pages are of invaluable
worth. Anyone who has doubts, or questions as to where they are in the
spiritual life should read this book. Even with failures and regression in the
soul, St. Teresa offers many words of encouragement and solutions on how one
can get back on the right track. She ends her work again asking that any mistakes
or errors found in it be forgiven her, as, they were not placed within from
malice, but ignorance, and submits all to Holy Mother Church’s judgement. One
of the last lines of “The Interior Castle” sums up well the sentiment St.
Teresa believes the soul should possess while on its spiritual journey: “Fix
your eyes on the crucified one, and all will seem easy.”[1]
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