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In 1577, Teresa wrote one of her major works, The Interior Castle. Composed near the end of her life, this book represents the culmination of Teresa's spiritual experience. Teresa attempted to explain the beauty of the inner life of the soul, the stages in a life of prayer, and the characteristic joys and trials of each stage.
Theme: For Teresa, the soul is like an interior castle. The goal of the spiritual journey is to be united with God, who resides in the inmost center.
Opening prayer: God of glory, let me know your presence in me.
About Teresa
Teresa pictured the soul as a beautiful mansion in which God resides in the centermost place. This interior castle contains seven dwelling places. We start our spiritual journey in the most exterior dwelling (the first) and, God willing, move toward the seventh. A person enters this seventh dwelling—one’s own center—only when God allows it. In the innermost dwelling, the person becomes united with God in continuous, conscious love.
As Teresa began writing The Interior Castle, she struggled to find the best image that she could think of for representing the soul. She prayed that God would give her…
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