At last, we have arrived at the seventh mansions of the Interior Castle! Well, in our blog posts anyway. In case you were wondering, I have not arrived there yet in my own soul. Since it is impossible to understand many of the things Teresa writes about here without having experienced them, I’m going to …
Getting back to Interior Castle, we’ve been talking about the sixth mansions. Last time we looked at raptures and ecstasy. There are many more types of mystical phenomena that one can experience in the sixth mansions. Among them are what St. Teresa of Avila calls transports, touches, wounds of love, flights of spirit, and even …
In the advanced stages of Teresa of Avila’s fifth mansions, the effects of infused contemplation overflow to the body. The soul experiences what are known as raptures and ecstasies. let’s look at both these phenomena more closely. Not locutions or visions First we should distinguish between raptures and ecstasies and what some authors call “extraordinary …
Today we finish the discussion of the fifth mansions in Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle. The soul is passive in the prayer of union, but she must not be passive in her spiritual life if she would maintain her closeness to God. Teresa has been using the analogy of a silkworm to describe the …
Since I have been studying and writing a lot about Centering prayer lately, I can’t help but compare it to the prayer of union, which occurs in the fifth mansions. I wrote about the prayer of union back in May, before my blogging break. Let’s look at it again. 1. Certitude As I said last …
Souls generally remain in the fourth mansions of the Interior Castle for years. But for those who are raised beyond them, even greater intimacy with God lies ahead. Today we begin exploring Teresa of Avila’s fifth mansions. The prayer of union begins in the fifth mansions. How does it differ from the prayer of quiet? …