In 1577 St. Teresa of Avila, now a doctor of the Church, completed her work The Interior Castle. This book takes the reader on an incredible journey through the "mansions" of the soul along the path to spiritual perfection as it can be achieved on earth. This book was inspired by the Holy Spirit and instructed by Christ himself to St. Teresa. One nun who often witnessed this great Saint write said she "noticed the resplendent face and the almost preternatural velocity with which her hand travelled over the paper."[1] The saint was also known to be seen in a heavenly trance while writing. This work is a powerful tool which is to be used by all Christians who seek not only to grow spiritually, but to understand their call to communion with God.
St.Teresa split her book into seven mansions, each of which can be seen as a level so to speak of spiritual growth. The first mansion contains people who are not living in grave sin, yet are weakened by worldly attractions and pleasures. Conversion is the main action in this room of the soul. "We must convert from a worldly life to a Trinitarian life."[2] Emphasizing mediation, self-knowledge and humility will help to advance through this first "room" and into the next.
The second mansion is characterized by those who are experiencing notable and significant growth, yet are in a tug-of-war between the attractive pleasure of the world and the call of God. "For now the devil sets on us the reptiles, that is to say, thoughts about the world and its joys which they picture as unending ; they remind us of the high esteem men held us in, of our friends and relations; they tell us how penances which souls in this mansion always begin to wish to perform would injure our health."[3] Companionship, embracing of one's cross, daily fidelity to divine will, persistence, and fidelity in prayer are her advised.[4]
In the third mansion, the soul has advanced to having a great desire of not offending God. This entails active focus on the indwelling presence, humility, perseverance, and the acceptance of dryness in prayer. The fourth mansion is characterized by sweetness in prayer, divine consolations and prayer of the quiet. "Without any labor of one's own, the temple of which I spoke is reared for the soul I which to pray: the senses and exterior surroundings appear to lose their hold, while the spirit gradually reigns its lost sovereignty."[5]
The fifth mansion of the soul entails those who have detached from the world, who frequently enter into and desire solitude with God, and who desire to suffer for God's glory. Advised here are "disposal of self, perseverance, love of neighbor and avoidance of all occasions of sin."[6] This mansion leads to the sixth in which the souls has become so selfless as to experience life on earth as burdensome. This requires courage of the soul and a desire for God's will alone.
The seventh and final mansion holds those who have achieved "intellectual vision of the Blessed Trinity and spiritual marriage."[7] This is complete oneness with God, achieved by complete selflessness and desire for God's glory and will, even to the point of great suffering and rejection of all earthly pleasures. "As far as can be understood, the soul, I mean the spirit of this soul, is made one with God Who is Himself a spirit, and Who has been pleased to show certain persons how far His love for us extends in order that we may praise His greatness."[8]
This deep and beautiful study of the journey to oneness with God is a personally inspiring and challenging story. St. Teresa of Avila was a woman of immense holiness. She suffered greatly, yet her love for Christ and attentiveness to his will allowed her to live in oneness with the Lord while on earth. This book is one which has the ability to provide a life changing experience. The way in which it is laid out is not only beautiful and unique but also deep while remaining readable and relatable. "Her great contribution to mystical literature lies not in the original conception of the castle symbol which apparently was an image of the soul enjoying some currency in a country with numerous castles, but in the transformation the symbol underwent as the author of the changes herself evolved in the mystical life."[9] By reading St. Teresa's The Interior Castle, one is sure to have a spiritually dynamic experience.
[1] St. Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle (Baker, London: Tan Books, 2011), xv.
[2] Fr. Richard Conlin, Summary of Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila at The Prodigal Catholic, 2018, prodigalcatholic.com
[3] St. Teresa, The Interior Castle, 27.
[4] Conlin, Summary of Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila.
[5] St. Teresa, The Interior Castle, 64.
[6] Conlin, Summary of Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila.
[7] Conlin, Summary of Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila.
[8] St. Teresa, The Interior Castle, 194.
[9] Mary Coelho, "St. Teresa of Avila's Transformation of the Symbol of the Interior Castle," Teresianum no. 38, (1987), 110.
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