The Interior Castle

Sainte Thérèse, 1827, ranskalainen François Gérard

St. Theresa of Avila

               St. Theresa of Avila is a sixteenth century saint from Avila, Spain. She is now well known, respected as a Saint, a Doctor of the Church, and her written works are also well-known and studied. In life St. Theresa was indeed well known but she was not respected, she was treated as a mad woman, and her written works aroused the suspicion and watchful eye of the Inquisition. In fact, to many people, St. Theresa was nothing more than a disobedient, insane nun who caused nothing but problems wherever she went. Though her life in the world was hectic, to say the least, her interior life consisted of a rich life of prayer and an intimate relationship with Christ, for whom she endured the criticism and hardships at the hands of other religious priests and nuns. In the middle of a life of turmoil and illness, she wrote perhaps her most famous work, ­The Interior Castle.

The Interior Castle

      The Interior Castle is a book describing the spirituality of St. Theresa herself and her journey towards God. It is written from an inspiration that St. Theresa received from God, she saw the human soul “as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of a very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms”[1]. She saw that this castle had seven mansions, the seventh being the centermost one in which God himself resides. This centermost room is the goal of the spiritual journey of St. Theresa, but the person must journey through each mansion to arrive and the only way to enter the Castle in the first place is through the gate of prayer. The First Mansion(s) are the outermost ones, the ones closest to the dangers of sin that exist on the outside of the castle. Here the soul is in a state of grace, but it is so close to sin that it is still blinded by it. The Second Mansion(s) are closer to God, here the soul desires a relationship with God and works hard to build habits, but it still remains susceptible to the sin that manages to sneak its way in. In the Third Mansion(s) the soul now lives a virtuous and respectable life to the limits of human ability, but it desires a more intimate relationship with God than can be obtained by its own strength. In the Fourth Mansion(s) the soul no longer advances deeper into the Castle by its own strength, but it is God who now directly pulls the soul closer to him, here the soul may still fall back. In the Fifth Mansion(s) the soul becomes Betrothed to Christ, who numbs the soul, so he can prepare it to receive greater gifts from God. In the Sixth Mansion(s) the soul grows in intimacy with God who gives the soul more favors but also increases its afflictions (bodily illness, persecution, etc.). In the Seventh Mansion(s) the soul finally arrives at the room of God and achieves a Spiritual Marriage with Christ , this is the highest state of intimacy with God that is possible while still being alive, only the beatific vision obtained in heaven is greater.

               Though, originally this book was written with the intention of providing an example of prayer and spirituality for religious nuns who struggled with finding their own path to intimacy with Christ, St. Theresa in no way writes a lofty reflection which is heavy in philosophical and theological thought. On the contrary, reading through this book one can imagine themselves walking through the mansions themselves. St. Theresa uses vivid metaphors and imagery extensively throughout her spiritual reflection. With images painted such as; “When the soul, on the other hand, through its own fault, leaves this spring and becomes rooted in a pool of pitch-black, evil-smelling water, it produces nothing but misery and filth.”[2], an experience similar to the journey in the Divine Comedy [3] is created for the reader. At the same time this journey is not so heavily detailed so as to paint St. Theresa’s own personal castle, but allows room for the reader to imagine their own interior castle and reflect on their own life, as they are guided by St. Theresa’s hand.

Warnings

               I would stress that this book begins at the beginning of the spiritual journey, as St. Theresa stresses in the opening of her reflection that the soul is already in the state of Grace. She presupposes a fundamental understanding of the Catholic faith and of the necessity of the Sacraments in the life of a Christian, before beginning the journey, the “preparation” for it. Without a basic and fundamental understanding of Catholic belief, this book can be easily misinterpreted. For those with a basic understanding, this book may be immensely beneficial to the spiritual life and its great insight into prayer can nourish the heart and minds of anyone who takes the time to meditate upon it.

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[1] Avila, St Teresa Of. The Interior Castle. Lexington, KY: Dover Thrift Editions, 2012. IBooks, 10.

[2] Avila, St Teresa Of. The Interior Castle. Lexington, KY: Dover Thrift Editions, 2012. IBooks, 64.

[3] Ibid, 64.