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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 the words to best express the truth of what she wanted to say. Eventually, the image of the interior castle came to her mind:
. . . We consider our soul to be like a castle made entirely out of a diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in heaven there are many dwelling places. For in reflecting upon it carefully, Sisters, we realize that the soul of the just person is nothing else but a paradise where the Lord says He finds His delight. (The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Ávila, vol. 2, p. 283)
Pause: Reflect on what God’s indwelling presence means to you and on what image best represents God’s presence.
Teresa’s Words
I don’t find anything comparable to the magnificent beauty of a soul and its marvelous capacity. Indeed, our intellects, however keen, can hardly comprehend it, just as they cannot comprehend God; but He himself says that He created us in His own image and likeness. . . .
It is a shame and unfortunate that through our own fault we don’t understand ourselves or know who we are. Wouldn’t it show great ignorance, my daughters, if someone when asked who he was didn’t know, and didn’t know his father or mother or from what country he came? Well now, if this would be so extremely stupid, we are incomparably more so when we do not strive to know who we are, but limit ourselves to considering only roughly these bodies. Because we have heard and because faith tells us so, we know we have souls. But we seldom consider the precious things that can be found in this soul, or who dwells within it, or its high value. Consequently, little effort is made to preserve its beauty. All of our attention is taken up with the plainness of the diamond’s setting or the outer wall of the castle; that is, with these bodies of ours.
Well, let us consider that this castle has, as I said, many dwelling places: some up above, others down below, others to the sides; and in the center and the middle is the main dwelling place where the very secret exchanges between God and the soul take place. (Interior Castle, pp. 283–84)
Reflection
Today, as in Teresa’s time, external affairs and realities can very easily lure us into ignoring our own soul. Even when we acknowledge that fact (or the possibility) that we may possess a soul, we rarely think of entering into it, or we candidly admit we do not know quite how to do this.
For Teresa, the door of entry into the soul was prayer and reflection. And those who start to practice prayer often experience a strange exhilaration, a new peace, a more vivid life. As with any exercise, prayer may seem laborious and unproductive at the beginning. But once beyond these beginnings, a new realm of intimacy, resourcefulness, and security gradually manifests itself. God invites us toward the center of our interior castle.
Teresa spoke of the soul as a castle or a garden in which God takes delight. How do you allow God to delight in you? Dialog with God about the delight you find in yourself as God’s friend. How do you celebrate the delight that you find in your soul? If you have not expressed delight in God’s presence in your soul, perhaps you can hum, sing, or whistle a favorite hymn of praise or thanksgiving. Do not worry about the quality of your voice, the strength of your whistle, or even about your ability to remember the song’s lyrics. Just hum, sing, or whistle, knowing that God is in your soul and enjoys your recognition of God’s presence.
In early stages of prayer, we may become bogged down in what Teresa called “a mud of fears.” Instead of being able to relate to God, our fears clog our attention.
Let your mind explore. Ask yourself what some of your fears are, and write a list or a description of your fears. Then write about how these fears affect your emotional and spiritual life.
Next, sit quietly. Close your eyes. Put your fears aside for a moment and concentrate on your slow, deep, rhythmic breathing. Relax.
As you continue to breathe slowly in and out, imagine the deepest part of your soul as a wonderful garden or a room, the innermost place in your interior castle. This place is filled with light, warmth, security, and love. See, hear, and feel this place in your soul where you meet the loving God.
As you draw close to God, take off your fears also. Offer each fear to God. Ask God to free you, to wash away your fears. Then, walk into the water, allowing it to refresh and cleanse you. Let all tensions go. Thank God for this baptismal cleansing.
Hear God’s response: “Be not afraid. I am with you.” Repeat these words softly over and over in a prayer.
Use Jesus’ name as a repeated prayer.
With soft music playing in the background, sketch on paper or model in clay an image that depicts the indwelling of God in your soul.
God’s Word
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for whatever you please and you will get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit and be my disciples. I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete. (John 15:7-11)
Closing prayer: Life-giving God, I believe that you are ever dwelling within me. Draw me to yourself in light and love. Teach me to walk happily in all my inner spaces.
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