Interior Castle - Teresa of Avila

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was recently told by a great theologian that souls without prayer are like bodies, palsied and lame, having hands and feet they cannot use. Just so, there are souls so infirm and accustomed to think of nothing but earthly matters, that there seems no cure for them. It appears impossible for them to retire into their own hearts; accustomed as they are to be with the reptiles and other creatures which live outside the castle, they have come at last to imitate their habits. Though these souls are by their nature so richly endowed, capable of communion even with God himself, yet their case seems hopeless. Unless they endeavor to understand and remedy their most miserable plight, their minds will become, as it were, deprived of movement, just as Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt for looking backwards in disobedience to God’s command (Gn 19:26).

      9. As far as I can understand, the gate by which to enter this castle is prayer and meditation. I do not allude more to mental than to vocal prayer, for if it is prayer at all, the mind must take part in it. If a person neither considers to Whom he is addressing himself, what he asks, nor what he is who ventures to speak to God, although his lips may utter many words, I do not call it prayer. Sometimes, indeed, one may pray devoutly without making all these considerations through having practiced them at other times. The custom of speaking to God Almighty as freely as with a slave — caring nothing whether the words are suitable or not, but simply saying the first thing that comes to mind from being learned by rote, by frequent repetition — cannot be called prayer: God grant that no Christian may address Him in this manner. I trust His Majesty will prevent any of you, sisters, from doing so. Our habit in this Order of conversing about spiritual matters is a good preservative against such evil ways.

      10. Let us speak no more of these crippled souls, who are in a most miserable and dangerous state, unless our Lord bid them rise, as He did the palsied man who had waited more than thirty years at the pool of Bethsaida (Jn 5:5). We will now think of the others who at last enter the precincts of the castle; they are still very worldly, yet have some desire to do right, and at times, though rarely, commend themselves to God’s care. They think about their souls every now and then; although very busy, they pray a few times a month, with minds generally filled with a thousand other matters, for where their treasure is, there is their heart also (Mt 6:21). Still, occasionally they cast aside these cares; it is a great boon for them to realize to some extent the state of their souls, and to see that they will never reach the gate by the road they are following.

      11. At length they enter the first rooms in the basement of the castle, accompanied by numerous reptiles6 which disturb their peace, and prevent their seeing the beauty of the building; still, it is a great gain that these persons should have found their way in at all.

      12. You may think, my daughters, that all this does not concern you, because, by God’s grace, you are farther advanced; still, you must be patient with me, for I can explain myself on some spiritual matters concerning prayer in no other way. May our Lord enable me to speak to the point; the subject is most difficult to understand without personal experience of such graces. Anyone who has received them will know how impossible it is to avoid touching on subjects which, by the mercy of God, will never apply to us.

      Describes the hideous appearance of a soul in mortal sin as revealed by God to someone: offers a few remarks on self-knowledge: This chapter is useful as it contains some points requiring attention. An explanation of the mansions.

      1. Effects of mortal sin

      2. It prevents the soul’s gaining merit

      3. The soul compared to a tree

      4. Disorder of the soul in mortal sin

      5. Vision of a sinful soul

      6. Profit of realizing these lessons

      7. Prayer

      8. Beauty of the Castle

      9. Self-knowledge

      10. Gained by meditating on the divine perfections

      11. Advantages of such meditation

      12. Christ should be our model

      13. The devil entraps beginners

      14. Our strength must come from God

      15. Sin blinds the soul

      16. Worldliness

      17. The world in the cloister

      18. Assaults of the devil

      19. Examples of the devil’s arts

      20. Perfection consists in charity

      21. Indiscreet zeal

      22. Danger of detraction

      1. Before going further, I wish you to consider the state to which mortal sin brings this magnificent and beautiful castle, this pearl of the East, this tree of life, planted beside the living waters of life (Ps 1:3), which symbolizes God himself. No night can be so dark, no gloom nor blackness can compare to its obscurity. Suffice it to say that the sun in the center of the soul, which gave it such splendor and beauty, is totally eclipsed, though the spirit is as fitted to enjoy God’s presence as is the crystal to reflect the sun.

      2. While the soul is in mortal sin nothing can profit it; none of its good works merit an eternal reward, since they do not proceed from God as their first principle, and by Him alone is our virtue real virtue. The soul separated from Him is no longer pleasing in His eyes, because by committing a mortal sin, instead of seeking to please God, it prefers to please the devil, the prince of darkness, and so comes to share his blackness. I knew a person to whom our Lord revealed the result of a mortal sin7 and who said she thought no one who realized its effects could ever commit it, but would suffer unimaginable torments to avoid it. This vision made her very desirous for all to grasp this truth, therefore I beg you, my daughters, to pray fervently to God for sinners, who live in blindness and do deeds of darkness.

      3. In a state of grace the soul is like a well of clear water, from which flows only streams of clearest crystal. Its works are pleasing both to God and man, rising from the River of Life, beside which it is rooted like a tree. Otherwise it would produce neither leaves nor fruit, for the waters of grace nourish it, keep it from withering from drought, and cause it to bring forth good fruit. But the soul by sinning withdraws from this stream of life, and growing beside a black and putrid pool, can produce nothing but disgusting and unwholesome fruit. Notice that it is not the fountain and the brilliant sun which lose their splendor and beauty, for they are placed in the very center of the soul and cannot be deprived of their luster. The soul is like a crystal in the sunshine over which a thick black cloth has been thrown, so that however brightly the sun may shine the crystal can never reflect it.

      4. O souls, redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ, take these things to heart; have mercy on yourselves! If you realize your pitiable condition, how can you refrain from trying to remove the darkness from the crystal of your souls? Remember, if death should take you now, you would never again enjoy the light of this Sun. O Jesus! how sad a sight must be a soul deprived of light! What a terrible state the chambers of this castle are in! How disorderly must be the senses — the inhabitants of the castle — the powers of the soul its magistrates, governors, and stewards — blind and uncontrolled as they are! In short, as the soil in which the tree is now planted is in the devil’s domain, how can its fruit be anything but evil? A man of great spiritual insight once told me he was not so much surprised at such a soul’s wicked deeds as astonished that it did not commit even worse sins. May God in His mercy keep us from such great evil, for nothing in this life merits the name of evil in comparison with this, which delivers us over to evil which is eternal.

      5. This is what we must dread and pray God to deliver us from, for we are weakness itself, and unless He guards the city, in vain shall we labor to defend it (Ps 127:1). The person of whom I spoke said that she had learned two things from the vision granted her. The first was, a great fear of offending God; seeing how terrible were the consequences, she constantly begged Him to preserve her from falling into sin. Second, it was a mirror to teach her humility, for she saw that nothing good in us springs from ourselves but comes from the waters of grace near which

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