THE INTERIOR CASTLE

By
St. Teresa of Avila

Translated from the Autograph of St. Teresa of Jesus by

The Benedictines of Stanbrook

Revised, with Notes and an Introduction, by the

Very Rev. Fr. Benedict Zimmerman, O.C.D.

PRIOR

Third Edition with Additional Notes

Thomas Baker, London

[1921]

Nihil Obstat:

Dom Michael Barrett, O.S.B.
Censor Deputatuus


Imprimatur:

✠Edward
Apostolic Administrator
Birmingham, Oscott.
February 24, 1921




DEDICATED TO
The Martyred Daughters of St. Teresa,
The Blessed Martyrs of Compiegne, France,
by the Descendants of Their Fellow Prisoners.
Stanbrook Abbey
Day of the Beatification
May 27, 1906
_________________________________________________________________

NOTE

IN this new edition the wording has been revised I and condensed, chiefly
with a view to rendering the translation more pregnant. Only one passage
(VI. Mansion, ch. v. r 3) has been substantially changed, in conformity with
an explanation received from a high authority. It is admittedly a very
difficult passage which appears to have been misunderstood by nearly all
translators; but it is gratifying to notice that the new French translation
by the Carmelite nuns of Anderlecht agrees with our interpretation. The
editor is under an obligation to that translation for several interesting
facts embodied in the Introduction and in the notes to the text.

B. Z.

WINCANTON
December 25. 1911
_________________________________________________________________

THE

INTERIOR CASTLE

The Benedictines of Stanbrook desire to express their gratitude to the very
Rev. Benedict Zimmerman for having kindly revised the translation of the
˜Interior Castle and also for the Introduction, Notes, and Index which he
has added to the book.

INTRODUCTION

SAINT TERESA began to write the Interior Castle on June 2, 1577, Trinity
Sunday, and completed it on the eve of St. Andrew, November 29, of the same
year. But there was a long interruption of five months, [1] so that the
actual time spent in the composition of this work was reduced to about four
weeks”a fortnight for the first, and another fortnight for the second half
of the book. The rapidity with which it was written is easily explained by
the fact that the Saint had conceived its plan some time previously. On
January 17, 1577, she had written to her brother, Don Lorenzo de Cepeda, at
Avila:˜I have asked the bishop”Don Alvaro Mendoza”for my book (the Life)
because I shall perhaps complete it by adding those new favours our Lord has
lately granted me. With these one may even compose a new work of
considerable size, provided God grants me the grace of explaining myself;
otherwise the loss will be of small account. [2] She never asked for
permission to write anything, but waited until she received a command from
her superiors, which, in this case, came from Father Jerome Gracian,
superior of the Discalced J. Carmelites of the Provinces of Andalusia and
Castille, and from Don Alonso Velasquez, canon of Toledo, afterwards bishop
of Osma. [3] The Saint was not in good health at the time; she repeatedly
complains of noises in the head and other infirmities, but, worst of all,
she was weighed down by troubles and anxieties resulting from the action of
the superiors of the Order and of the Papal Nuncio against the nuns and
friars of the Reform. Matters became even more serious when, in October, the
nuns of the Incarnation of Avila proceeded to the election of a new
prioress. Notwithstanding the prohibition of the provincial, fifty-five
electors recorded their votes in favour of the Saint and were immediately
declared excommunicated. The whole work of the Reform seemed on the brink of
ruin, the Saint, as well as all her friends, was in disgrace, subject to
obloquy and ill-treatment.

No trace of these trials is to be found in the Interior Castle. Saint Teresa
possessed the power of concentration of thought in a marvellous degree. The
early mornings and late evenings were devoted to the composition of the
book, while the rest of the day was taken up by the affairs of the Order.
Mother Mary of the Nativity, a member of the community of Toledo, where the
book was begun, declared afterwards, [4] that she often saw her writing,
generally after Holy Communion, her face resplendent, with such rapidity and
so absorbed in her occupation that she seemed undisturbed by, and in fact
quite unconscious of, any noise that was made. Mother Mariana of the Angels
[5] reports having heard from the same witness, that entering her cell one
day to deliver a message, the holy Mother was just beginning a new sheet of
her book. While taking off her spectacles to listen to the message she was
seized by a trance in which she remained for several hours. The nun,
terrified at this, did not stir, but kept her eyes steadily on the Saint.
When she came to, it was seen that the paper, previously blank, was covered
with writing. Noticing that her visitor had discovered it, Saint Teresa put
the paper quietly in the box. Another nun, Mary of St. Francis, left the
following declaration:˜I know that our holy Mother wrote four books, the
Life, the Way of Perfection, the Foundations, and the Mansions, which I have
seen her writing. Once, while she was composing the last-named work, I
entered to deliver a message, and found her so absorbed that she did not
notice me; her face seemed quite illuminated and most beautiful. After
having listened to me she said:Sit down, my child, and let me write what
our Lord has told me ere I forget it, and she went on writing with great
rapidity and without stopping. [6]

Mary of St. Joseph says she heard from Mary of the Nativity that Father
Jerome Gracian commanded the Saint to write the Mansions; she, however,
begged to be excused, because so many books having been written by holy and
learned men, there remained nothing for a woman to write. At length she
yielded under obedience. This nun (Mary of the Nativity) was frequently in
the Saints cell while she was writing and she noticed her resplendent face
and the almost preternatural velocity with which her hand travelled over the
paper. [7]

Writing to Mother Mary of St. Joseph, Prioress of Seville, November 8, 1581,
St. Teresa gives her a message for Father Rodrigo Alvarez, S. J.:˜Our
Father (Jerome Gracian, then provincial) tells me that he has handed you a
book written by me, which perhaps you do not feel inclined to read yourself.
Kindly read to Father Rodrigo Alvarez, at his next visit, the last Mansion,
but under the seal of confession, as he asks this in his superior wisdom.
This is only for you two. Tell him that the person he knows has arrived at
this Mansion and enjoys the peace there described; that she is entirely at
rest, and that some grave theologians have assured her that she is on a safe
road. In case you could not read these pages to him do not send him the
book, for it might lead to unpleasantness. Until I have his answer on this
matter I will not write to him. Give him my compliments.

At the end of the original manuscript, before the epilogue (marked with
Ihs.) there is a notice in Father Alvarez hand-writing to this effect:˜The
Mother Prioress of the convent of Seville has read to me this seventh
Mansion, whither a soul may arrive in the present life. Let all the saints
praise the infinite goodness of God, Who communicates Himself to His
creatures so that they truly seek His glory and the salvation of their
neighbour. What I feel and judge of this matter is, that everything that has
been read to me is conformable to Catholic truth and in accordance with Holy
Scripture and the teaching of the Saints. Whosoever has read the doctrine of
the Saints, such as the books of St. Gertrude, St. Catharine of Siena, or
St. Bridget of Sweden, and other saints and spiritual writers, will clearly
understand that the spirit of Mother Tireza (sic) of Jesus is true, since it
leads to the same effects as are to be found in the saints; and because this
is in truth my judgment and opinion, I have hereunto set my name, this, the
22nd day of February, 1582. P. Rodrigo Alvarez. [8]

The work was copied, probably under the supervision of the Saint, who
introduced many changes; when completed the original was handed to Father
Jerome Gracian and to the Dominican, Fray Diego de Yanguas, for approval.
Both, particularly the former, made numerous corrections, which Fuente, not
without reason, calls impertinent, scratching out whole sentences and adding
others. The book thus revised must have enjoyed a certain celebrity, though
not to the same extent as the Life, to which St. Teresa herself preferred
it. Scarcely a week after its completion she wrote to Father Salazar, S.J.:
˜If Se±or Carillo [Salazar himself] came, the person in question [the Saint]
thinks he would find another jewel which in her opinion is superior to the
former [the Life]. This one reflects nothing foreign to itself, but is
resplendent in its own beauty. It is enriched with more delicate enamels
than the former, the workmanship, too, is more perfect. For, as the person
in question says, the jeweller was less experienced when he fashioned the
previous one. Moreover, the gold of the new one is of better quality than
that of the former, though the precious stones are not so well set. It has
been done, as might be expected, according to the designs of the Jeweller
Himself. [9] Later on she wrote to Father Jerome Gracian: The book I have
written since seems to me superior [to the Life]; at least I had more
experience when I wrote it. [10]

One day, speaking with Mother Mary of Jesus on spiritual matters, she said
that our Lord had communicated so much to her since she had reached what she
described in the seventh Mansion,”the spiritual Marriage,”that she did not
consider it possible to advance further in this life, in the way of prayer,
nor even to wish to do so. [11]

The book was eagerly read by those who were able to obtain copies. At the
archiepiscopal Seminary at Salamanca it was read publicly after dinner; the
students, contrary to custom, sacrificing the recreation rather than miss so
edifying an instruction. The result was that several entered the religious
life, one becoming a Franciscan, two others, who had already taken their
degrees, joining the Discalced Carmelites. [12] We also know of a lady who
became a Poor Clare through reading the Interior Castle. [13] The process
of Beatification contains the following evidence of Don Francisco de Mora,
architect to Philip III:˜The same prioress (of aconvent of Dominican nuns)
being concerned about my salvation gave me a book in manuscript, called The
Mansions, by Mother Teresa, hoping I should derive some benefit from it. I
fear this was not the case, but it made me acquainted with Teresa of Jesus,
the foundress of the Discalced Carmelite nuns, of whom I had not yet heard,
but for whom I now felt devotion. [14]

In August 1586 it was decided to print Saint Teresas works, the Augustinian
Fray Luis de Leon being selected as editor, as he was unconcerned in the
quarrels raging round the Reform. Accordingly, the manuscript of the
Interior Castle was handed to him. On the first leaf he wrote the following
note:

Many passages of this book written by the holy Mother have been scored
through, other words being substituted or notes being added in the margin.
Most of these corrections are badly done, the original text being much
better. It will be noticed that the holy Mothers sentences are superior and
agree with the context, which is not the case with the corrections. These
improvements and glosses may therefore be dispensed with. Having myself read
and considered everything with great care, it appears to me that the reader,
too, should have before him the words of the author who knew best what to
say; for this reason I have left out the additions, and have restored what
has been changed, excepting only a few corrections made by the writer
herself. I beg of the reader that he would in charity reverence the words
and even the letters traced by so holy a hand, and strive to understand what
has been written. He will then see that there was no need for corrections;
should he fail to understand her, let him believe that the writer knew what
she said, and that her words cannot be tampered with if they are not to lose
their meaning; otherwise what was to the point will seem out of place. This
is how books become corrupted, useless, and are finally lost. [15]

When Luis de Leon undertook the editing of St. Teresas writings he received
a long letter from Don Diego de Yepes, afterwards Bishop of Tarazona, a
former friend and confessor of the Saint, in which he records his personal
recollections. I shall only insert here what he says about the Interior
Castle:

This holy Mother desired to see the beauty of a soul in the state of grace,
a thing greatly to be coveted both for the sake of seeing and of possessing
it. While this desire lasted, she was commanded to write a treatise on
prayer, of which she had much personal experience. On the eve of the Blessed
Trinity, while considering what subject to choose for this treatise, God,
Who disposes everything in due season, fulfilled her wish and furnished a
suitable subject. He showed her a most beautiful globe of crystal, in the
shape of a castle, with seven rooms, the seventh, situated in the centre,
being occupied by the King of glory, resplendent with the most exquisite
brilliancy, which shone through and adorned the remaining rooms. The nearer
these lay to the centre, the more did they partake of that wondrous light.
It did not, however, penetrate beyond the crystal, for everything round
about was a mass of darkness and impurity, full of toads and vipers and
other venomous animals.

She was still admiring this beauty which, by the grace of God dwells in the
soul, when, to! the light suddenly disappeared, and the crystal, wherein the
King of glory was still residing, became opaque and as dark as coal,
emitting an intolerable odour; the venomous animals, formerly held in check
outside, obtained admittance into the castle. The holy Mother wished that
every one should behold this vision, for she thought that no one having seen
the beauty and splendour of grace, which is forfeited by sin and replaced by
such repulsive misery, would ever dare to offend God.

She told me this vision on the same day, for in this as well as in other
things she was so communicative that on the following morning she said to
me:How I forgot myself yesterday! I cannot think how it could have
happened. Those high aspirations of mine, and the affection I have for you
must have caused me to go beyond all reasonable limits. God grant I may have
derived some profit therefrom. I promised her to say nothing about it
during her lifetime, but since her death I should like to make it known to
all men. From this vision she learnt four important matters.

First, she came to understand this axiom, which in this form she had never
heard of in her life, [16] that God is present in all things by His
essence, presence, and power. As she was deeply humble and submissive and
obedient to the doctrine of the Church and the teaching of the learned
ministers of God, she never rested until her revelations had been approved
of by her superiors and by theologians, and were shown to be conformable to
Holy Scripture. She went so far as to say that if all the angels of heaven
said one thing, and her superiors another, though she could not doubt that
the former were true angels, yet she would hold what was told her by her
superiors, because faith comes through these and there remains no room for
deceit, whereas revelations coming from angels might be illusionary.

With such regard for obedience, she asked me one day at Toledo”probably at
the time when she saw the vision of the Castle”whether it was true that God
was in all things by His power, presence, and essence, to which I replied in
the affirmative, explaining it as best I could on the authority of St. Paul,
particularly where he saysthe sufferings of this time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us, [17] Laying
stress on these words,shall be revealed in us, she was so overjoyed that
I was quite astonished. Though in a way it seemed to me a kind of curiosity,
I could not help thinking there was some mystery about it, for she said:
This is the very thing.

Secondly, she was greatly surprised at the malice of sin, since,
notwithstanding the presence of God in these various ways, it prevents the
soul from partaking of that powerful light.

Thirdly, she derived such humility and self-knowledge from this vision,
that from that moment she never thought of herself in all the good she was
doing; for she learnt that all the beauty of the soul emanates from that
resplendent light, and that the powers of the soul and of the body are
enlivened and strengthened by the Power established in the centre, whence
comes all our good, so that we have but a small share in our good works. All
the good she did, she from this moment referred to God as its principal
author.

Fourthly, she derived from it the subject of the book she was ordered to
write on prayer, comparing the seven rooms of the Castle with as many
degrees of prayer, whereby we enter within ourselves and draw nearer to God.
So that, penetrating to the depths of our soul and gaining perfect
self-knowledge, we reach the seventh room where God Himself dwells, with
Whom we become united by as perfect a union as is possible in the present
life, being made partakers of His light and love.

I will say no more of this vision and the Mansions, because your Reverence
must by now have seen this admirable book, and must know with what accuracy,
with what majestic doctrine, with what lucid examples she describes the
progress of the soul from the gate to the very centre. It is clearly seen in
this treatise how she communicated with our Lord, and how His Majesty
vouchsafed to place her in the centre and to unite her with Himself, as she
puts it, by the bonds of marriage and an inseparable union. [18]

After the publication of the Interior Castle, in 1588 at Salamanca, it
became not only more widely known, but also more and more appreciated.
Francis Suarez, the great theologian of the Society of Jesus, says in his
deposition in the process of Beatification that he had read some of St.
Teresas works, particularly the Mansions, which contain an absolutely safe
doctrine and give proof of a wonderful spirit of prayer and contemplation.
[19]

Thomas Hurtado, professor of theology at Seville, speaks as follows:

As often as I read the books of the holy Mother, I admire the wonderful
manner in which God instructed her in mystical theology for the sake of
souls giving themselves truly to familiar intercourse with His divine
Majesty. But where I most regret my inability of expressing in fitting
terms my sentiments towards this excellent teacher is when I look at, and
refresh myself in that Castle with its seven rooms; for there is seen the
effect of infused knowledge such as St. Denis received from St. Hierotheus
[20] and both from St. Paul, and which has been committed to writing in
the famous book of Mystical Theology. Hence comes, as from a
fountain-head, notwithstanding the obscurity (to our manner of thinking)
of its language, the doctrine of the great masters of the spiritual life
such as Hugh of St. Victor, St. Bernard, Ruysbroek, Tauler, Gerson, and
many others whom I pass by.

Nevertheless, I will boldly say that no one has given us water more
limpid from that Apostolical and Areopagitical well than the holy Mother
Teresa, who, in her books, but chiefly in the Mansions, has cleared up in
simple language the most difficult questions of this divine theology, and
has brought forth light from darkness, as it is written: (He) commanded
light to shine out of darkness. [21] Who has ever been able to show as
clearly as our Saint how God takes possession of the soul, how He unites
Himself with its substance, whence comes to the intellect the light of
faith, to the will the ardour of love, and to the senses the jubilation
over His works? No one has ever turned theory into practice in a more
convincing or more catholic manner. The most profound secrets of this
supernatural wisdom are here treated with such ease, so amiably, so
delightfully, they are illustrated by such nice and homely examples, that
instead of awe-inspiring obscurity, we find lovely flowers and the
sweetness of love, through which, as through an avenue, the soul passes
onwards. When God made known His exalted doctrine to St. Dionysius and
other mystical writers, He made use of their own language and pen. But St.
Teresa in the Mansions is like the light of dawn whose rays are not
intercepted by the clouds of this world; like a soft rain from above,
whereby the soul grows and profits by its communications with God. Until
the teaching of this great door became known it seemed as though God were
inaccessible, being surrounded by darkness, through which Moses and some
other persons had to pass when approaching Him; [22] but they neither
explained the manner nor showed the way whereby they came to the enjoyment
of the sweetness of the Spouse. Now, however, this way is clear and patent
to all, having been pointed out in the Mansions, in language so straight
and so methodical, and no longer such as could not be understood, or
required further explanation. In my opinion this holy writer derived not
only the substance of her teaching from infused knowledge, but even the
words with which she explains it. [23]

Likewise Don Alvaro de Villegas, canon of Toledo, expressed his opinion that
the Way of Perfection and the Interior Castle contain˜heavenly doctrine.
The weight of the subject-matter, the propriety of the comparisons, the
force of the expressions, the consistency of the teaching, the sweetness of
her well-chosen, vivid words, the clearness of the arguments, all this
proves that she was guided by her heavenly Spouse, in Whom are hidden the
treasures of the wisdom of God; and that the Holy Ghost, Who more than once
was seen resting on her head like a dove, was dilating these works. Villegas
does not believe that any one could read them, as such books ought to be
read, without becoming himself a master of the spiritual life. For they are
like heavenly dew, rendering the soul fruitful in the matter of prayer. [24]

It would be a mistake to consider the Interior Castle a complete treatise of
mystical theology. Like St. Teresas other works, it is intensely personal:
she describes the road by which she has been led, being well aware that
others may be led in a different way. In the heavenly Fathers house there
are many mansions, not only seven, and many paths lead to them. What gives
the work such high value is, that it is the result of a most searching
inquiry into the various phases whereby a soul is gradually transformed into
the likeness of God Himself. Here St. Teresa is always at her best. She
takes nothing for granted, even her own personal experiences are admitted
only after having been fully investigated and found to be consistent one
with the other, and conformable to the teaching of the Church and the words
of Holy Scripture.

Mystical theology is generally divided into three parts, respectively called
the purgative, the illuminative, and the unitive life. In the first, man is
cleansed from sin and habitual imperfection by the use of the sacraments and
by voluntary mortification of the passions. The mind is purified by sedulous
meditation on the last end and on the Life and Passion of Christ, which must
ever be the great model of the Christian. This first portion of the way to
heaven can be covered by the help of the ordinary means of grace, without
any direct and extraordinary intervention of divine power. The second part
differs in many ways from the first. It comprises the passive purification
of the soul and the passive enlightenment of the mind. By sending it keen
interior and exterior trials and sufferings, God completes the cleansing of
the soul in a manner far surpassing any voluntary effort of man. By raising
it to the stage of contemplation He gives it fresh light on the mysteries of
our Redemption. The mind is then no longer compelled to strain the memory,
the reason, and the will, in order to dwell upon the great truths of
religion and to derive some personal benefit therefrom, for these truths are
now more or less permanently before it and fill it with holy thoughts,
sometimes giving it consolation in trouble, at other times striking a
warning note against imperfection. Again, the subtraction of sensible
consolation, and the interior aridity arising therefrom, leave a terrible
blank in the soul, showing it that, without Gods help, it is mere
nothingness. This apparent estrangement from God is the keenest trial that
can befall a soul, but also the most powerful means of cleansing it from the
least, the most subtle imperfections.

Emerging from this state of probation, the soul enters upon the third stage,
in which, though perhaps in the midst of severe suffering and sharp
persecution, it knows itself to be a chosen child of God, to Whom it is
united by perfect conformity of the will. Such phenomena as revelations,
visions, locutions, and even more wonderful manifestations, like the wound
of love, spiritual betrothal and nuptials, are incidental rather than
essential to the second and third stages. Some great contemplatives have
never experienced anything of the kind, while, on the other hand, some of
these occurrences may sometimes have been merely the work of an exuberant
imagination, or even the result of diabolical illusion. They should
therefore never be wished for, or cherished, but rather shunned and ignored,
in as far as that is possible. If they are real and come from God, they will
do their work without the co-operation of the soul. The danger of
self-deception is so great that a person labouring under such phenomena
should offer every resistance, and the spiritual director should exercise
the utmost vigilance. St. Teresa is very eloquent on this point, and
undeceived many would-be contemplatives, while her disciple, St. John of the
Cross, is even more thorough-going in the deprecation of spiritual favours.
Among the numerous marks whereby the trained theologian may discriminate
between real and imaginary phenomena, there is one about which Saint Teresa
speaks with wonderful clearness. If they proceed from hysteria the
imagination alone is active and the higher powers of the soul are torpid;
if, however, they come from God, the intellect and the will are so intensely
active, that the lower powers and even the body lose all strength for the
time being.

It will be noticed that the first two Mansions belong to the purgative life,
the third and fourth to the illuminative, and the remaining three to the
unitive life. Compared with similar works, the treatment of the first stage
must be called meagre. True, in her Life and in the Way of Perfection St.
Teresa has dealt with this subject somewhat more fully. Indeed, the
last-named work was designed as a treatise on Christian Ascetics, dealing
with the purgation of the soul by mortification and the enlightenment of the
mind by meditation. There, too, appears the first idea of the Mansions, [25]
and Fuente remarks that the passage in question may be taken for the
parting of the ways between the two works. However, this is not the only,
nor, indeed, the chief reason why St. Teresa is so reticent about the
preliminary stage of the contemplative life. The fact is that she herself
did not pass through these experiences. By Gods grace she was preserved
from childhood from grievous sin and gross imperfection. Though she never
grows tired of bewailing her faults and unfaithfulness, these avowals must
be taken cum grano salis. While yet a child, she sometimes gave way to
vanity in dress and wasted her time in reading romances. As a young
religious, she was sought after by friends and relatives who took pleasure
in her attractive conversation. This proved further loss of time and caused
distractions. Owing to acute suffering, she for some years left off the
practice of mental prayer, though she faithfully performed all her religious
obligations, as far as her weak state of health allowed. This is all. The
war of the flesh against the spirit, the insubordination of the lower parts
of nature, the fickleness of the will, which so often thwart the most noble
aspirations of a soul, were unknown to her. Under these circumstances, we
cannot be surprised to find her entering upon the journey towards God at a
point which in many cases marks but the closing stage.

As to the remaining parts of this book, it will be seen from the parallel
passages that they cover much the same ground as her Life and the Relations.
With her singular gift of introspection and analysis, the Saint studied her
own case from every point of view, so as to make sure that her extraordinary
experiences were due to no illusion, and offered no obstacle to the safety
of her soul. Although the Interior Castle contains little that we do not
already know from her other works, it is superior to them by reason of its
logical order and the masterly treatment of the most recondite matters of
mystical theology. While ostensibly dealing with general facts, St. Teresa
in reality records her personal experiences. How definite these were, how
little room there remained for the freaks of the imagination, will appear
from the fact that she nearly always repeats the very words she had used in
her Life and in the other reports of her interior progress, although she did
not have these writings before her eyes, nor had she ever seen them since
they first left her hands. Every one of her experiences must have produced a
profound impression to be remembered so minutely after an interval of years.

There is that in the Interior Castle which reminds one of Dantes Paradiso.
In the one and the other, the soul, purified from earthly dross, is
gradually being invested with new and glorious qualities, and is being led
through regions unknown until it arrives at the very threshold of the throne
of God. Not even the boldest imagination could have designed so wonderful a
picture of a soul adorned with graces at once so varied and so true. In one
case we know, the poet has drawn abundantly from the treasury of the
Angelical Doctor, putting in verse the conclusions of the scholastic
theologian. In the other case we can follow, chapter by chapter, the
influence of the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Teresa had never
studied it herself, but her directors and confessors were deeply versed in
it and solved her doubts and perplexities on the lines of the greatest of
the school men. The Interior Castle might almost be considered a practical
illustration of certain parts of the Summa theologica, [26] as it describes
the progress of the soul through every stage of perfection. When we have
reached the second chapter of the seventh Mansion, there remains but one
thing: the Beatific Vision, and this is reserved for the next life.

After the publication of the Interior Castle by Luis de Leon, the manuscript
came into the possession of Father Jerome Gracian, who, after having made a
copy of it which is still extant, presented the original, on the occasion of
a visit to the convent of Seville, to Don Pedro Cereso Pardo, a great friend
of the Saint, and a benefactor to the convent. When his only daughter took
the habit there, the precious manuscript was part of her dowry. Do±a Juana
de Mendoza, Duchess of Beguiar, a novice in the same convent, had it bound
in silver and precious stones. It is still there, [27] and the present
writer had the privilege of seeing it. It comprises a hundred and thirteen
leaves in folio, but originally there must have been some more leaves which
at a later period were torn out. These, it is presumed, contained the
headings of the chapters. Unlike the Life and the Foundations, the text of
the Castle is divided only by figures, without indication of the contents of
each chapter, but the arguments which have come down to us are so entirely
similar to those of the two works named, that it is impossible to consider
them otherwise than the genuine work of the author. In the present
translation they have been inserted in their proper places.

On the occasion of the ter-centenary of Saint Teresas death, a
photo-lithographic edition of the original was published under the direction
of Cardinal Lluch, Carmelite of the old observance, Archbishop of Seville:


El Castillo Ynterior³ Tratado de las Moradas,

escrito por Sta. Teresa de Jesºs.

Litografia de Juan Moyano (Seville) 1882.

The present translation, the third in English, [28] has been made directly
from this autograph edition. It has been thought advisable that, as far as
the genius of the language allows it, the wording of the author should be
strictly adhered to, and that not even a shade of her expression should be
sacrificed. For Teresa is not only a saint whose every word is telling, but
she is a classic in her own language who knows how to give expression to her
deepest thoughts. Having compared word for word the translation with the
original, I am in a position to affirm that this programme has been
faithfully carried out. For the foot-notes”with few exceptions”as well as
for the Index, I am responsible. It seemed to me important to point out all
the parallel passages from the various works of the Saint. Only by this
means can it be seen how consistent Saint Teresa is in all her writings.
[29] It would have been easy to multiply quotations from the works of
other writers on mystical theology. Thus, the influence of the Imitation of
Christ and of the Life of our Lord by Ludolphus the Carthusian can be
distinctly traced in the Interior Castle. Both these works, as well as some
Spanish books, were held in such esteem by St. Teresa, that she ordered the
prioress of each convent to keep them at the disposal of the nuns. As there
is a limit to footnotes, I have contented myself with such references as
seemed to me conducive to the elucidation of the doctrine laid down in this
treatise.

In conclusion I venture to express the hope that this new translation will
be found helpful by those who feel called to a higher life.

BENEDICT ZIMMERMAN,
Prior, O.C.D.

ST. LUKES PRIORY,

WINCANTON, SOMERSET.

July, 1, 1905, and December 25, 1911.
_________________________________________________________________

[1] Castle, Mansions v. ch. iv. I.

[2] Letters of St. Teresa, Vol. ii.

[3] The French Carmelite nuns in their new translation, Å’uvres compl¨tes de
Sainte Th©r¨se, t. vi, Introduction, p. 5, quoting the A±o Teresiano, t. vii
ad 7 July, and Father Gracians Dilucidario, as well as his additions to
Ribera, show the exact share of Fr. Gracian and Dr. Velasquez in the
preliminaries of this work.

[4] Fuente, Obras de Santa Teresa de Jesus. Edit. 1881, Vol. vi, p. 278.

[5] Ibid. p. 178. A somewhat similar incident is reported by Mother Anne of
the Incarnation (Ibid. p. 213), but it appears to be wrongly brought into
connection with the composition of the Castle. The nun in question had
belonged to the convent of St. Joseph at Segovia at an earlier period, but
there is no evidence that St. Teresa visited this place in the course of the
six months during which she composed this work. The Bollandists, indeed,
maintain that it was commenced at Toledo, continued at Segovia and completed
at Avila (n. 1541), but their sole authority for including Segovia is the
passage in question, which, however, must refer to some other work of the
Saint. The sister, passing St. Teresas door, saw her writing, her face
being lit up as by a bright light. She wrote very fast without making any
corrections. After an hour, it being about midnight, she ceased and the
light disappeared. The Saint then knelt down and remained in prayer for
three hours, after which she went to sleep.

[6] Fuente, p. 223.

[7] Ibid. p. 255.

[8] Autograph, fol. cx.

[9] December 7, 1577. Letters Vol. II.

[10] Jan. 14, 1580. Letters Vol. IV:

[11] Fuente, Obras. l.c. p. 275.

[12] l.c. p. 217.

[13] Ibid. p. 227.

[14] Fuente, Obras. p. 190.

[15] Autograph. fol. 1.

[16] See Life, ch. xviii. 20. Mansions v. ch. i. 9. The ignorance of the
priest who had told her that God was only present by His grace, made a
lasting impression on St. Teresa. She was first undeceived by a Dominican.

[17] Rom. viii. 18.

[18] Fuente; pp. 131-133.

[19] l.c. 184.

[20] Allusion to the famous Mystical Theology attributed to Dionysius the
Areopagite, and long considered the chief authority on this subject.

[21] 2 Cor. iv. 6.

[22] The example of Moses is scarcely to the point (cf. Exod. xxxiii. 11,
and Num. xii. 7, 8).

[23] Fuente, pp. 330-332.

[24] l.c. p. 334. These testimonies could be easily multiplied.

[25] Way of Perf. ch. xx. 1

[26] S. Theol. 2da 2d¦, qq. 171-184.

[27] Bollandists, Acta, n. 1495. See also Impressions in Spain. By Lady
Herbert. London, 1867, p, 171.

[28] The first translation is to be found in the Works of the Holy Mother
St. Teresa of Jesus (third part). Printed in the year MDCLXXV, pp. 137-286.
It bears the title: The Interiour Castle: or, Mansions. As to the authors of
this translation”Abraham Woodhead and another, whose name is not known”see
my book Carmel in England, p. 342, note. It is stated there that the third
part, containing the Way of Perfection and the Castle, has no title-page.
This is true with regard to the copy I had before me when writing that book.
The one I have now is more complete. The second translation, by the Rev.
John Dalton, appeared in 1852 and has been repeatedly reprinted. It was
dedicated to Bishop Ullathorne. Of foreign translations it will be
sufficient to mention the one by Cyprien de la Nativit©, in Å’uvres de la
Sainte M¨re T©r¨se de J©sus, Paris, 1657, and the new one in Å’uvres already
mentioned.

[29] The present translation ought to dispose of the reservations expressed
by an able critic in his otherwise valuable appreciation of the works of the
Saint. See Santa Teresa, by the late Alexander Whyte, D.D. London, 1898, p.
32. Criticisms which have appeared in various papers, or have been privately
conveyed, have been gratefully received and acted upon in the second and the
present edition.
_________________________________________________________________

THE INTERIOR CASTLE

OR THE MANSIONS

BY ST. TERESA

IHS

THIS TREATISE, STYLED THE INTERIOR CASTLE, WAS WRITTEN BY TERESA OF JESUS,
NUN OF OUR LADY OF CARMEL, FOR HER SISTERS AND DAUGHTERS, THE DISCALCED
CARMELITE NUNS.

RARELY has obedience laid upon me so difficult a task as this of writing
about prayer; for one reason, because I do not feel that God has given me
either the power or the desire for it, besides which, during the last three
months I have suffered from noises and a great weakness in my head that have
made it painful for me to write even on necessary business. [30]

However, as I know the power obedience has of making things easy which seem
impossible, my will submits with a good grace, although nature seems greatly
distressed, for God has not given me such strength as to bear, without
repugnance, the constant struggle against illness while performing many
different duties. May He, Who has helped me in other more difficult matters,
aid me with His grace in this, for I trust in His mercy. I think I have but
little to say that has not already been put forth in my other works written
under obedience; in fact, I fear this will be but repetition of them. I am
like a parrot which has learnt to talk; only knowing what it has been taught
or has heard, it repeats the same thing over and over again. If God wishes
me to write anything new, He will teach it me, or bring back to my memory
what I have said elsewhere. I should be content even with this, for as I am
very forgetful, I should be glad to be able to recall some of the matters
about which people say I have spoken well, lest they should be altogether
lost. If our Lord will not even grant me this, still, if I weary my brains
and increase my headache by striving to obey, I shall gain in merit, though
my words should be useless to any one. So I begin this work on the Feast of
the Blessed Trinity in the year 1577, in the Convent of St. Joseph of Carmel
at Toledo, where I am living, and I submit all my writings to the judgment
of those learned men by whose commands I undertake them. That it will be the
fault of ignorance, not malice, if I say anything contrary to the doctrine
of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, may be held as certain. By Gods goodness
I am, and always shall be, faithful to the Church, as I have been in the
past. May He be for ever blessed and glorified. Amen.

He who bids me write this, tells me that the nuns of these convents of our
Lady of Carmel need some one to solve their difficulties about prayer: he
thinks that women understand one anothers language best and that my
sisters affection for me would make them pay special attention to my words,
therefore it is important for me to explain the subject clearly to them.
Thus I am writing only to my sisters; the idea that any one else could
benefit by what I say would be absurd. Our Lord will be doing me a great
favour if He enables me to help but one of the nuns to praise Him a little
better; His Majesty knows well that I have no other aim. If anything is to
the point, they will understand that it does not originate from me and there
is no reason to attribute it to me, as with my scant understanding and skill
I could write nothing of the sort, unless God, in His mercy, enabled me to
do so.
_________________________________________________________________

[30]I am always suffering from my head. Letter of June 28, 1577. Letters.
VOL. II.
_________________________________________________________________

THE FIRST MANSIONS
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER I.

THIS CHAPTER TREATS OF THE BEAUTY AND DIGNITY OF OUR SOULS AND MAKES A
COMPARISON TO EXPLAIN THIS. THE ADVANTAGE OF KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING THIS
AND THE FAVOURS GOD GRANTS TO US IS SHOWN, AND HOW PRAYER IS THE GATE OF THE
SPIRITUAL CASTLE.

1. Plan of this book. 2. The Interior Castle. 3. Our curable self ignorance.
4. God dwells in the centre of the soul. 5. Why all souls do not receive
certain favours. 6. Reasons for speaking of these favours. 7. The entrance
of the Castle. 8. Entering into oneself. 9. Prayer. 10. Those who dwell in
the first mansion. 11. Entering. 12. Difficulties of the subject.

1. WHILE I was begging our Lord to-day to speak for me, since I knew not
what to say nor how to commence this work which obedience has laid upon me,
an idea occurred to me which I will explain, and which will serve as a
foundation for that I am about to write.

2. I thought of the soul as resembling a castle, [31] formed of a single
diamond or a very transparent crystal, [32] and containing many rooms,
just as in heaven there are many mansions. [33] If we reflect, sisters, we
shall see that the soul of the just man is but a paradise, in which, God
tells us, He takes His delight. [34] What, do you imagine, must that
dwelling be in which a King so mighty, so wise, and so pure, containing in
Himself all good, can delight to rest? Nothing can be compared to the great
beauty and capabilities of a soul; however keen our intellects may be, they
are as unable to comprehend them as to comprehend God, for, as He has told
us, He created us in His own image and likeness. [35]

3. As this is so, we need not tire ourselves by trying to realize all the
beauty of this castle, although, being His creature, there is all the
difference between the soul and God that there is between the creature and
the Creator; the fact that it is made in Gods image teaches us how great
are its dignity and loveliness. It is no small misfortune and disgrace that,
through our own fault, we neither understand our nature nor our origin.
Would it not be gross ignorance, my daughters, if, when a man was questioned
about his name, or country, or parents, he could not answer? Stupid as this
would be, it is unspeakably more foolish to care to learn nothing of our
nature except that we possess bodies, and only to realize vaguely that we
have souls, because people say so and it is a doctrine of faith. Rarely do
we reflect upon what gifts our souls may possess, Who dwells within them, or
how extremely precious they are. Therefore we do little to preserve their
beauty; all our care is concentrated on our bodies, which are but the coarse
setting of the diamond, or the outer walls of the castle. [36]

4. Let us imagine, as I said, that there are many rooms in this castle, of
which some are above, some below, others at the side; in the centre, in the
very midst of them all, is the principal chamber in which God and the soul
hold their most secret intercourse. [37] Think over this comparison very
carefully; God grant it may enlighten you about the different kinds of
graces He is pleased to bestow upon the soul. No one can know all about
them, much less a person so ignorant as I am. The knowledge that such things
are possible will console you greatly should our Lord ever grant you any of
these favours; people themselves deprived of them can then at least praise
Him for His great goodness in bestowing them on others. The thought of
heaven and the happiness of the saints does us no harm, but cheers and urges
us to win this joy for ourselves, nor will it injure us to know that during
this exile God can communicate Himself to us loathsome worms; it will rather
make us love Him for such immense goodness and infinite mercy.

5. I feel sure that vexation at thinking that during our life on earth God
can bestow these graces on the souls of others shows a want of humility and
charity for ones neighbour, for why should we not feel glad at a brothers
receiving divine favours which do not deprive us of our own share? Should we
not rather rejoice at His Majestys thus manifesting His greatness wherever
He chooses? [38] Sometimes our Lord acts thus solely for the sake of
showing His power, as He declared when the Apostles questioned whether the
blind man whom He cured had been suffering for his own or his parents sins.
[39] God does not bestow these favours on certain souls because they are
more holy than others who do not receive them, but to manifest His
greatness, as in the case of St. Paul and St. Mary Magdalen, and that we may
glorify Him in His creatures.

6. People may say such things appear impossible and it is best not to
scandalize the weak in faith by speaking about them. But it is better that
the latter should disbelieve us, than that we should desist from
enlightening souls which receive these graces, that they may rejoice and may
endeavour to love God better for His favours, seeing He is so mighty and so
great. There is no danger here of shocking those for whom I write by
treating of such matters, for they know and believe that God gives even
greater proofs of His love. I am certain that if any one of you doubts the
truth of this, God will never allow her to learn it by experience, for He
desires that no limits should be set to His work: therefore, never discredit
them because you are not thus led yourselves.

7. Now let us return to our beautiful and charming castle and discover how
to enter it. This appears incongruous: if this castle is the soul, clearly
no one can have to enter it, for it is the person himself: one might as well
tell some one to go into a room he is already in! There are, however, very
different ways of being in this castle; many souls live in the courtyard of
the building where the sentinels stand, neither caring to enter farther, nor
to know who dwells in that most delightful place, what is in it and what
rooms it contains.

8. Certain books on prayer that you have read advise the soul to enter into
itself, [40] and this is what I mean. I 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
endeavour to understand and remedy their most miserable plight, their minds
will become, as it were, bereft of movement, just as Lots wife became a
pillar of salt for looking backwards in disobedience to Gods command. [41]

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. [42] Sometimes, indeed, one may pray devoutly
without making all these considerations through having practised 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 learnt 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.
[43] 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 Gods 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. [44] 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 reptiles [45] 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 Gods 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. Any one 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.
_________________________________________________________________

[31] Way of Perfection, ch. xxviii, 9.

[32] In her Life St. Teresa likened God to a diamond (ch. xl, 14); and
elsewhere (ch. xi, 10) the soul to a garden wherein our Lord takes His
delight.

[33] St. John xiv. 2:˜In domo Patris mei mansiones mult¦ sunt. St. John of
the Cross uses the same comparison:˜If the soul shall overcome the devil in
the first combat, it shall then pass on to the second; and if it shall be
victorious there also, it shall then pass on to the third; and then through
the seven mansions, the seven degrees of love, until the Bridegroom shall
bring it to thecellar of wine of perfect charity. (Ascent of Mount
Carmel, bk. ii. ch. xi. 7.)

[34] Prov. viii. 31:˜Delici¦ me¦ esse cum filiis hominum.

[35] Gen. i. 26:˜Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram.

[36] Way of Perf. ch. xxviii.

[37] St. John of the Cross on the words of his stanza:˜In the inner cellar
of my Beloved have I drunk.˜Here the soul speaks of that sovereign grace
of God in taking it into the house of His love, which is the union or
transformation of love in God . . . The cellar is the highest degree of love
to which the soul can attain in this life, and is therefore said to be the
inner. It follows from this that there are other cellars not so interior;
that is, the degrees of love by which souls reach to this, the last. These
cellars are seven in number, and the soul has entered them all when it has
in perfection the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, so far as it is possible
for it. . . . Many souls reach and enter the first cellar, each according to
the perfection of its love, but the last and inmost cellar is entered by few
in this world, because therein is wrought the perfect union with God, the
union of the spiritual marriage. A Spiritual Canticle, stanza xxvi. 1-3.
Concept. ch. vi. (Minor Works of St. Teresa.)

[38] St. Matt. xx. 15:˜Alit non licet mihi quod volo, facere? an oculus
tuus nequam est, quia ego bonus sum?

[39] St. John ix. 2:˜Quis peccavit, hic, aut parentes ejus, ut c¦cus
nasceretur?

[40] Imitation, bk. II. ch. 1:˜Regnum Dei intra vos est. Luke. xvii. 21.
The Imitation is one of the books which according to St. Teresas
Constitutions, (§ 7) every prioress was bound to provide for her convent.

[41] Gen. xix. 26:˜Respiciensque uxor ejus post se, versa est in statuam
salis.

[42] Way of Perf. ch. xxi. 6; xxix. 4.

[43] St. John v. 5:˜Erat autem quidam homo ibi triginta et octo annos
habens in infirmitate sua.

[44] St. Matt. vi. 21:˜Ubi enim est thesaurus tuus ibi est et cor tuum.

[45] Many an ancient castle was provided with a bear-garden where rare
animals were kept for the amusement of the inhabitants. This may have
supplied the material for St. Teresas comparison.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER II.

DESCRIBES THE HIDEOUS APPEARANCE OF A SOUL IN MORTAL SIN AS REVEALED BY GOD
TO SOME ONE: 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 souls 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 devils arts. 20. Perfection
consists in charity. 21. Indiscreet zeal. 22. Danger of detraction.

1. BEFORE going farther, I wish you to consider the state to which mortal
sin [46] brings this magnificent and beautiful castle, this pearl of the
East, this tree of life, planted beside the living waters of life [47] which
symbolize 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 centre of
the soul, which gave it such splendour and beauty, is totally eclipsed,
though the spirit is as fitted to enjoy Gods presence as is the crystal to
reflect the sun. [48]

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 gratify 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 sin [49] 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 limpid water, from which
flow 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 fetid pool, can produce nothing but
disgusting and unwholesome fruit.

Notice that it is not the fountain and the brilliant sun which lose their
splendour and beauty, for they are placed in the very centre of the soul and
cannot be deprived of their lustre. 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
devils 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
souls 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 labour to
defend it. [50] The person of whom I spoke [51] said that she had learnt
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. Secondly, 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 the soul remains
like a tree planted beside a river, and from that Sun which gives life to
our works. She realized this so vividly that on seeing any good deed
performed by herself or by other people she at once turned to God as to its
fountain head”without whose help she knew well we can do nothing”and broke
out into songs of praise to Him. Generally she forgot all about herself and
only thought of God when she did any meritorious action.

6. The time which has been spent in reading or writing on this subject will
not have been lost if it has taught us these two truths; for though learned,
clever men know them perfectly, womens wits are dull and need help in every
way. Perhaps this is why our Lord has suggested these comparisons to me; may
He give us grace to profit by them!

7. So obscure are these spiritual matters that to explain them an ignorant
person like myself must say much that is superfluous, and even alien to the
subject, before coming to the point. My readers must be patient with me, as
I am with myself while writing what I do not understand; indeed, I often
take up the paper like a dunce, not knowing what to say, nor how to begin.
Doubtless there is need for me to do my best to explain these spiritual
subjects to you, for we often hear how beneficial prayer is for our souls;
our Constitutions oblige us to pray so many hours a day, yet tell us nothing
of what part we ourselves can take in it and very little of the work God
does in the soul by its means. [52] It will be helpful, in setting it
before you in various ways, to consider this heavenly edifice within us, so
little understood by men, near as they often come to it. Our Lord gave me
grace to understand something of such matters when I wrote on them before,
yet I think I have more light now, especially on the more difficult
questions. Unfortunately I am too ignorant to treat of such subjects without
saying much that is already well known.

8. Now let us turn at last to our castle with its many mansions. You must
not think of a suite of rooms placed in succession, but fix your eyes on the
keep, the court inhabited by the King. [53] Like the kernel of the
palmito, [54] from which several rinds must be removed before coming to
the eatable part, this principal chamber is surrounded by many others.
However large, magnificent, and spacious you imagine this castle to be, you
cannot exaggerate it; the capacity of the soul is beyond all our
understanding, and the Sun within this palace enlightens every part of it.

9. A soul which gives itself to prayer, either much or little, should on no
account be kept within narrow bounds. Since God has given it such great
dignity, permit it to wander at will through the rooms of the castle, from
the lowest to the highest. Let it not force itself to remain for very long
in the same mansion, even that of self-knowledge. Mark well, however, that
self-knowledge is indispensable, even for those whom God takes to dwell in
the same mansion with Himself. Nothing else, however elevated, perfects the
soul which must never seek to forget its own nothingness. Let humility be
always at work, like the bee at the honeycomb, or all will be lost. But,
remember, the bee leaves its hive to fly in search of flowers and the soul
should sometimes cease thinking of itself to rise in meditation on the
grandeur and majesty of its God. It will learn its own baseness better thus
than by self-contemplation, and will be freer from the reptiles which enter
the first room where self-knowledge is acquired. Although it is a great
grace from God to practise self-examination, yet˜too much is as bad as too
little, as they say; believe me, by Gods help, we shall advance more by
contemplating the Divinity than by keeping our eyes fixed on ourselves, poor
creatures of earth that we are.

10. I do not know whether I have put this clearly; self-knowledge is of such
consequence that I would not have you careless of it, though you may be
lifted to heaven in prayer, because while on earth nothing is more needful
than humility. Therefore, I repeat, not only a good way, but the best of all
ways, is to endeavour to enter first by the room where humility is
practised, which is far better than at once rushing on to the others. This
is the right road;”if we know how easy and safe it is to walk by it, why ask
for wings with which to fly? Let us rather try to learn how to advance
quickly. I believe we shall never learn to know ourselves except by
endeavouring to know God, for, beholding His greatness we are struck by our
own baseness, His purity shows our foulness, and by meditating on His
humility we find how very far we are from being humble.

11. Two advantages are gained by this practice. First, it is clear that
white looks far whiter when placed near something black, and on the
contrary, black never looks so dark as when seen beside something white.
Secondly, our understanding and will become more noble and capable of good
in every way when we turn from ourselves to God: it is very injurious never
to raise our minds above the mire of our own faults. I described how murky
and fetid are the streams that spring from the source of a soul in mortal
sin. [55] Thus (although the case is not really the same, God forbid! this
is only a comparison), while we are continually absorbed in contemplating
the weakness of our earthly nature, the springs of our anions will never
flow free from the mire of timid, weak, and cowardly thoughts, such as:˜I
wonder whether people are noticing me or not! If I follow this course, will
harm come to me? Dare I begin this work? Would it not be presumptuous? Is it
right for any one as faulty as myself to speak on sublime spiritual
subjects? [56] Will not people think too well of me, if I make myself
singular? Extremes are bad, even in virtue; sinful as I am I shall only fall
the lower. Perhaps I shall fail and be a source of scandal to good people;
such a person as I am has no need of peculiarities.

12. Alas, my daughters, what loss the devil must have caused to many a soul
by such thoughts as these! It thinks such ideas and many others of the same
sort I could mention arise from humility. This comes from not understanding
our own nature; self-knowledge becomes so warped that, unless we take our
thoughts off ourselves, I am not surprised that these and many worse fears
should threaten us. Therefore I maintain, my daughters, that we should fix
our eyes on Christ our only good, and on His saints; there we shall learn
true humility, and our minds will be ennobled, so that self-knowledge will
not make us base and cowardly. Although only the first, this mansion
contains great riches and such treasures that if the soul only manages to
elude the reptiles dwelling here, it cannot fail to advance farther.
Terrible are the wiles and strata-gems the devil uses to hinder people from
realizing their weakness and detecting his snares.

13. From personal experience I could give you much information as to what
happens in these first mansions. I will only say that you must not imagine
there are only a few, but a number of rooms, for souls enter them by many
different ways, and always with a good intention. The devil is so angry at
this that he keeps legions of evil spirits hidden in each room to stop the
progress of Christians, whom, being ignorant of this, he entraps in a
thousand ways. He cannot so easily deceive souls which dwell nearer to the
King as he can beginners still absorbed in the world, immersed in its
pleasures, and eager for its honours and distinctions. As the vassals of
their souls, the senses and powers bestowed on them by God, are weak, such
people are easily vanquished, although desirous not to offend God.

14. Those conscious of being in this state must as often as possible have
recourse to His Majesty, taking His Blessed Mother and the saints for their
advocates to do battle for them, because we creatures possess little
strength for self-defence. Indeed in every state of life all our help must
come from God; may He in His mercy grant it us, Amen! What a miserable life
we lead! As I have spoken more fully in other writings [57] on the ill
that results from ignoring the need of humility and self-knowledge, I will
treat no more about it here, my daughters, although it is of the first
importance. God grant that what I have said may be useful to you.

15 You must notice that the light which comes from the Kings palace hardly
shines at all in these first mansions; although not as gloomy and black as
the soul in mortal sin, yet they are in semi-darkness, and their inhabitants
see scarcely anything. I cannot explain myself; I do not mean that this is
the fault of the mansions themselves, but that the number of snakes, vipers,
and venomous reptiles from outside the castle prevent souls entering them
from seeing the light. They resemble a person entering a chamber full of
brilliant sunshine, with eyes clogged and half closed with dust. Though the
room itself is light, he cannot see because of his self-imposed impediment.
In the same way, these fierce and wild beasts blind the eyes of the
beginner, so that he sees nothing but them.

16. Such, it appears to me, is the soul which, though not in a state of
mortal sin, is so worldly and preoccupied with earthly riches, honours, and
affairs, that as I said, even if it sincerely wishes to enter into itself
and enjoy the beauties of the castle, it is prevented by these distractions
and seems unable to overcome so many obstacles. It is most important to
withdraw from all unnecessary cares and business, as far as compatible with
the duties of ones state of life, in order to enter the second mansion.
This is so essential, that unless done immediately I think it impossible for
any one ever to reach the principal room, or even to remain where he is
without great risk of losing what is already gained; otherwise, although he
is inside the castle, he will find it impossible to avoid being bitten some
time or other by some of the very venomous creatures surrounding him.

17. What then would become of a religious like ourselves, my daughters, if,
after having escaped from all these impediments, and having entered much
farther into the more secret mansion, she should, by her own fault, return
to all this turmoil? Through her sins, many other people on whom God had
bestowed great graces would culpably relapse into their wretched state. In
our convents we are free from these exterior evils; please God our minds may
be as free from them, and may He deliver us from such ills.

18. Do not trouble yourselves, my daughters, with cares which do not concern
you. You must notice that the struggle with the demons continues through
nearly all the mansions of this castle. True, in some of them, the guards,
which, as I explained, are the powers of the soul, have strength for the
combat, but we must be keenly on the watch against the devilss arts, lest
he deceive us in the form of an angel of light. He creeps in gradually, in
numberless ways, and does us much harm, though we do not discover it until
too late. [58]

19. As I said elsewhere, [59] he works like a file, secretly and silently
wearing its way: I will give you some examples to show how he begins his
wiles. For instance: a nun has such a longing for penance as to feel no
peace unless she is tormenting herself in some way. [60] This is good in
itself; but suppose that the Prioress has forbidden her to practise any
mortifications without special leave, and the sister thinking that, in such
a meritorious cause, she may venture to disobey, secretly leads such a life
that she loses her health and cannot even fulfil the requirements of her
rule”you see how this show of good ends. Another nun is very zealous about
religious perfection; this is very right, but may cause her to think every
small fault she sees in her sisters a serious crime, and to watch constantly
whether they do anything wrong, that she may run to the Prioress to accuse
them of it. At the same time, may be she never notices her own shortcomings
because of her great zeal about other peoples religious observance, while
perhaps her sisters, not seeing her intention but only knowing of the watch
she keeps on them, do not take her behaviour in good part.

20. The devils chief aim here is to cool the charity and lessen the mutual
affection of the nuns, which would injure them seriously. Be sure, my
daughters, that true perfection consists in the love of God and our
neighbour, and the better we keep both these commandments, the more perfect
we shall be. The sole object of our Rule and Constitutions is to help us to
observe these two laws.

21. Indiscreet zeal about others must not be indulged in; it may do us much
harm; let each one look to herself. However, as I have spoken fully on this
subject elsewhere, [61] I will not enlarge on it here, and will only beg
you to remember the necessity of this mutual affection. Our souls may lose
their peace and even disturb other peoples if we are always criticizing
trivial actions which often are not real defects at all, but we construe
them wrongly through ignorance of their motives. See how much it costs to
attain perfection! Sometimes the devil tempts nuns in this way about the
Prioress, which is still more dangerous. Great prudence is then required,
for if she disobeys the Rule or Constitutions the matter must not always be
overlooked, but should be mentioned to her; [62] if, after this, she does
not amend, the Superior of the Order should be informed of it. It is true
charity to speak in this case, as it would be if we saw our sisters commit a
grave fault; to keep silence for fear that speech would be a temptation
against charity, would be that very temptation itself. [63]

22. However, I must warn you seriously not to talk to each other about such
things, lest the devil deceive you. He would gain greatly by your doing so,
because it would lead to the habit of detraction; rather, as I said, state
the matter to those whose duty it is to remedy it. Thank God our custom here
of keeping almost perpetual silence gives little opportunity for such
conversations, still, it is well to stand ever on our guard.
_________________________________________________________________

[46] Life, ch. xxxviii. 31; ch. xl. 15.

[47] Ps. i. 3:˜Et erit tamquam lignum quod plantatum eat secus decursus
aquarum.

[48] Way of Perf. ch. xxviii. 9.

[49] In this as in most other cases when the Saint speaks of˜a person she
knows, she means herself. Life, ch. xl, 15.

[50] cxxvi. 1:Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui
custodit eam.

[51] Life, ch. xxxviii. 33; ch. xl. 15, 16.

[52] Life, ch. x. 2 sqq. Constitut. 2, 6.

[53] Way of Perf.. ch. xxviii. 1.

[54] The palmito here referred to is not a palm, but a shrub about four feet
high and very dense with leaves, resembling palm leaves. The poorer classes
and principally children dig it up by the roots, which they peel of its many
layers until a sort of kernel is disclosed, which is eaten, not without
relish, and is somewhat like a filbert in taste. See St. John of the Cross,
Accent of Mount Carmel, bk. ii. ch, xiv, 3.

[55] Supra, § 3.

[56] Life, ch. viii. 6, x. 4, xxiii. 3-5. Way of Perf. ch. xxxix. 1.

[57] Life ch. xiii. 23. Way of Perf. ch. x. 4. Castle, M. iii. ch. ii. 8.
Concep. ch. ii. 20. Const. 21.

[58] Life ch. xxxi. 23.

[59] No doubt the Saint often used this excellent comparison in her verbal
instructions, but it occurs nowhere else in her writings.

[60] Way of Perf. ch. x. 5; xxxix. 4; Rel. iii. 12.

[61] The Saint must frequently have spoken on the subject, but she never
treated it more fully than in this place. Way of Perf. ch. xii. 7. Life, ch.
xiii. 11, 14 sqq. Visitation of convents.

[62] Way of Perfection, ch. ii. 3. Visit. 20-22, 34, 36.

[63]It is terrible to think what harm a Prioress can do! For although the
Sisters witness things which scandalize them (of which there are plenty
here!), yet they think it would be sinning against obedience to see any harm
in them. (Letter to Father Gracian, written at Malagon at the beginning of
December, 5579. Letters, Vol. III.)
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THE SECOND MANSIONS
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ONLY CHAPTER

TREATS OF THE GREAT IMPORTANCE OF PERSEVERANCE IN ORDER TO ENTER THE LAST
MANSIONS, AND OF THE FIERCE WAR THE DEVIL WAGES AGAINST US. HOW ESSENTIAL IT
IS TO TAKE THE RIGHT PATH FROM THE VERY COMMENCEMENT OF OUR JOURNEY. A
METHOD OF ACTION WHICH HAS PROVED VERY EFFICACIOUS.

1. Souls in the second mansions. 2. Their state. 3. Their sufferings. 4.
They cannot get rid of their imperfections. 5. How God calls these souls. 6.
Perseverance is essential. 7. Temptations of the devil. 8. Delusion of
earthly joys. 9. God alone to be loved. 10. Reasons for continuing the
journey. 11. War fare of the devil. 12. Importance of choice of friends. 13.
Valour required. 14. Presumption of expecting spiritual consolations at
first. 15. In the Cross is strength. 16. Our falls should raise us higher.
17. Confidence and perseverance. 18. Recollection. 19. Why we must practise
prayer. 20. Meditation kindles love.

1. Now let us consider which are the souls that enter the second mansions,
and what they do there: I do not wish to enlarge on this subject, having
already treated it very fully elsewhere, [64] for I could not avoid
repeating myself, as my memory is very bad. If I could state my ideas in
another form they would not weary you, for we never tire of reading books on
this subject, numerous as they are. 2. In this part of the castle are found
souls which. have begun to practise prayer; they realize the importance of
their not remaining in the first mansions, yet often lack determination to
quit their present condition by avoiding occasions of sin, which is a very
perilous state to be in.

3. However, it is a great grace that they should sometimes make good their
escape from the vipers and poisonous creatures around them and should
understand the need of avoiding them. In some way these souls suffer a great
deal more than those in the first mansions, although not in such danger, as
they begin to understand their peril and there are great hopes of their
entering farther into the castle. I say that they suffer a great deal more,
for those in an earlier stage are like deaf-mutes and are not so distressed
at being unable to speak, while the others, who can hear but cannot talk,
find it much harder. At the same time, it is better not to be deaf, and a
decided advantage to hear what is said to us.

4. These souls hear our Lord calling them, for as they approach nearer to
where His Majesty dwells He proves a loving Neighbour, though they may still
be engaged in the amusements and business, the pleasures and vanities of
this world. While in this state we continually fall into sin and rise again,
for the creatures amongst whom we dwell are so venomous, so vicious, and so
dangerous, that it is almost impossible to avoid being tripped up by them.
Yet such are the pity and compassion of this Lord of ours, so desirous is He
that we should seek Him and enjoy His company, that in one way or another He
never ceases calling us to Him. So sweet is His voice, that the poor soul is
disconsolate at being unable to follow His bidding at once, and therefore,
as I said, suffers more than if it could not hear Him.

5. I do not mean that divine communications and inspirations received in
this mansion are the same as those I shall describe later on; God here
speaks to souls through words uttered by pious people, by sermons or good
books, and in many other such ways. Sometimes He calls souls by means of
sickness or troubles, or by some truth He teaches them during prayer, for
tepid as they may be in seeking Him, yet God holds them very dear.

6. Do not think lightly, sisters, of this first grace, nor be downcast if
you have not responded immediately to Our Lords voice, for His Majesty is
willing to wait for us many a day and even many a year, especially when He
sees perseverance and good desires in our hearts. Perseverance is the first
essential; with this we are sure to profit greatly. However, the devils now
fiercely assault the soul in a thousand different ways: it suffers more than
ever, because formerly it was mute and deaf, or at least could hear very
little, and offered but feeble resistance, like one who has almost lost all
hope of victory.

7. Here, however, the understanding being more vigilant and the powers more
on the alert, we cannot avoid hearing the fighting and cannonading around
us. For now the devils set 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 the penances which souls in this mansion always begin to wish to
perform would injure our health: in fine, the evil spirits place a thousand
impediments in the way.

8. O Jesus! What turmoil the devils cause in the poor soul! How unhappy it
feels, not knowing whether to go forward or to return to the first mansion!
On the other hand, reason shows it the delusion of overrating worldly
things, while faith teaches what alone can satisfy its cravings. Memory
reminds the soul how all earthly joys end, recalling the death of those who
lived at ease; how some died suddenly and were soon forgotten, how others,
once so prosperous, are now buried beneath the ground and men pass by the
graves where they lie, the prey of worms, [65] while the mind recalls many
other such incidents.

9. The will inclines to love Our Lord and longs to make some return to Him
Who is so amiable, and Who has given so many proofs of His love, especially
by His constant presence with the soul, which this faithful Lover never
quits, ever accompanying it and giving it life and being. The understanding
aids by showing that however many years life might last, no one could ever
wish for a better friend than God; that the world is full of falsehood, and
that the worldly pleasures pictured by the devil to the mind were but
troubles and cares and annoyances in disguise.

10. Reason convinces the soul that as outside its interior castle are found
neither peace nor security, it should cease to seek another home abroad, its
own being full of riches that it can enjoy at will. Besides, it is not every
one who, like itself, possesses all he needs within his own dwelling, and
above all, such a Host, Who will give it all it can desire, unless, like the
prodigal son, it chooses to go astray and feed with the swine. [66] Surely
these arguments are strong enough to defeat the devils wiles! But, O my
God, how the force of worldly habits and the example of others who practise
them ruin everything! Our faith is so dead that we trust less to its
teaching than to what is visible, though, indeed, we see that worldly lives
bring nothing but unhappiness. All this results from those venomous thoughts
I described, which, unless we are very careful, will deform the soul as the
sting of a viper poisons and swells the body.

11. When this happens, great care is evidently needed to cure it, and only
Gods signal mercy prevents its resulting in death. Indeed, the soul passes
through severe trials at this time, especially when the devil perceives from
a persons character and behaviour that she is likely to make very great
progress, for then all hell will league together to force her to turn back.
O my Lord! what need there is here that, by Thy mercy, Thou shouldst prevent
the soul from being deluded into forsaking the good begun! Enlighten it to
see that its welfare consists in perseverance in the right way, and in the
withdrawing from bad company.

12. It is of the utmost importance for the beginner to associate with those
who lead a spiritual life, [67] and not only with those in the same
mansion as herself, but with others who have travelled farther into the
castle, who will aid her greatly and draw her to join them. The soul should
firmly resolve never to submit to defeat, for if the devil sees it staunchly
determined to lose life and comfort and all that he can offer, rather than
return to the first mansion, he will the sooner leave it alone.

13. Let the Christian be valiant; let him not be like those who lay down to
drink from the brook when they went to battle (I do not remember when). [68]
Let him resolve to go forth to combat with the host of demons, and be
convinced that there is no better weapon than the cross. I have already
said, [69] yet it is of such importance that I repeat it here: let no one
think on starting of the reward to be reaped: this would be a very ignoble
way of commencing such a large and stately building. If built on sand it
would soon fall down. [70] Souls who acted thus would continually suffer
from discouragement and temptations, for in these mansions no manna rains;
[71] farther on, the soul is pleased with all that comes, because it
desires nothing but what God wills.

14. What a farce it is! Here are we, with a thousand obstacles, drawbacks,
and imperfections within ourselves, our virtues so newly born that they have
scarcely the strength to act (and God grant that they exist at all!) yet we
are not ashamed to expect sweetness in prayer and to complain of feeling
dryness. [72]

15. Do not act thus, sisters; embrace the cross your Spouse bore on His
shoulders; know that your motto should be:˜Most happy she who suffers most
if it be for Christ! [73] All else should be looked upon as secondary: if
our Lord give it you, render Him grateful thanks. You may imagine you would
be resolute in enduring external trials if God gave you interior
consolations: His Majesty knows best what is good for us; it is not for us
to advise Him how to treat us, for He has the right to tell us that we know
not what we ask. [74] Remember, it is of the greatest importance”the sole
aim of one beginning to practise prayer should be to endure trials, and to
resolve and strive to the utmost of her power to conform her own will to the
will of God. [75] Be certain that in this consists all the greatest
perfection to be attained in the spiritual life, as I will explain later.
She who practises this most perfectly will receive from God the highest
reward and is the farthest advanced on the right road. Do not imagine that
we have need of a cabalistic formula or any other occult or mysterious thing
to attain it our whole welfare consists in doing the will of God. If we
start with the false principle of wishing God to follow our will and to lead
us in the way we think best, upon what firm foundation can this spiritual
edifice rest?

16. Let us endeavour to do our best: beware of the poisonous reptiles”that
is to say, the bad thoughts and aridities which are often permitted by God
to assail and torment us so that we cannot repel them. Indeed, perchance we
feel their sting! He allows this to teach us to be more on our guard in the
future and to see whether we grieve much at offending Him. Therefore if you
occasionally lapse into sin, do not lose heart and cease trying to advance,
for God will draw good even out of our falls, like the merchant who sells
theriac, who first takes poison, then the theriac, to prove the power of his
elixir. [76] This combat would suffice to teach us to amend our habits if
we realized our failings in no other way, and would show us the injury we
receive from a life of dissipation. Can any evil be greater than that we
find at home? What peace can we hope to find elsewhere, if we have none
within us? What friends or kindred can be so close and intimate as the
powers of our soul, which, whether we will or no, must ever bear us company?
These seem to wage war on us as if they knew the harm our vices had wrought
them.˜Peace, peace be unto you, my sisters, as our Lord said, and many a
time proclaimed to His Apostles. [77] Believe me, if we neither possess
nor strive to obtain this peace at home, we shall never find it abroad.

17. By the blood which our Lord shed for us, I implore those who have not
yet begun to enter into themselves, to stop this warfare: I beg those
already started in the right path, not to let the combat turn them back from
it. Let them reflect that a relapse is worse than a fall, and see what ruin
it would bring. They should confide in Gods mercy, trusting nothing in
themselves; then they will see how His Majesty will lead them from one
mansion to another, and will set them in a place where these wild beasts can
no more touch or annoy them, but will be entirely at their mercy and merely
objects of ridicule. Then, even in this life, they will enjoy a far greater
happiness than they are able even to desire.

18. As I said at the beginning of this work, I have explained elsewhere [78]
how you should behave when the devil thus disturbs you. I also told you
that the habit of recollection is not to be gained by force of arms, but
with calmness, which will enable you to practise it for a longer space of
time. [79] I will say no more now, except that I think it very helpful for
those of you who are beginners to consult persons experienced in such
matters, lest you imagine that you are injuring yourselves by leaving your
prayer to perform any necessary duties. This is not the case; our Lord will
direct such things to our profit, although we may have no one to counsel us.
[80] The only remedy for having given up a habit of recollection is to
recommence it, otherwise the soul will continue to lose it more and more
every day, and God grant it may realize its danger.

19. You may think, that if it is so very injurious to desist, it would have
been better never to have begun, and to have remained outside the castle.
But, as I began by saying, and as God Himself declares:˜He that loves
danger shall perish by it, [81] and the door by which we must enter this
castle is prayer. Remember, we must get to heaven, and it would be madness
to think we could do so without sometimes retiring into our souls so as to
know ourselves, or thinking of our failings and of what we owe to God, or
frequently imploring His mercy. Our Lord also says,˜No man cometh to the
Father but by Me [82] (I am not sure whether this quotation is correct,
but I think so), and,˜He that seeth Me seeth the Father also. [83]

20. If we never look up at Him and reflect on what we owe Him for having
died for us, I do not understand how we can know Him, or perform good deeds
in His service. What value is there in faith without works? and what are
they worth if they are not united to the merits of Jesus Christ, our only
good? What would incite us to love our Lord unless we thought of Him? May He
give us grace to understand how much we cost Him; that˜the servant is not
above his lord [84] ; that we must toil for Him if we would enjoy His
glory; and prayer is a necessity to prevent us from constantly falling into
temptation. [85]
_________________________________________________________________

[64] Life, ch. xi-xiii. Way of Perf. ch. xx.-xxix.

[65]How many, thinking to live long, have been deceived and unexpectedly
have been snatched away! How often hast thou heard that such a one was slain
by the sword; another drowned; another, falling from on high, broke his
neck; this man died at the table; that other came to his death while he was
at play. . . . Thus death is the end of all; and mans life passeth suddenly
like a shadow (Imitation, bk. 1. ch. xxiii. 7). The edition of the
Imitation known to St. Teresa under the title of Contemptus Mundi was
translated by Luis de Granada, printed at Seville in 1536, at Lisbon in
1542, and at Alcal¡ in 1548. See Life, ch. xxxix. 21, note.

[66] St. Luke xv. 16:˜Et cupiebat implere ventrem suum de siliquis quas
porci manducabant.

[67] Life, ch. vii. 33-37; xvi. 1 2; XXX. 6. Way of Perfection, ch. vi. 1;
Vii. 4.

[68] With Gedeon. Jud. vii. 5:˜Qui lingua lambuerint aquas, sicut solent
canes lambere, separabis eos seorsum.

[69] Life, ch. xi 16.

[70] St. Matt. vii. 26, 27:˜Qui¦dificavit domum suam super arenam . . . et
fuit ruina illius magna.

[71] Ps. lxxvii. 24:˜Pluit illis manna ad manducandum. Way of Perf. ch. x.
4.

[72] Life, ch. xii. 5.

[73] Way of Perf. ch. xvii. 6; xxiii. 1.

[74] St. Matt. xx. 22:˜Nescitis quid petatis.

[75] Way of Perf. ch. xvi. 2. Found. ch. v. 2, 3. Life, ch. iv. II; xi. 20.

[76] A drug greatly in vogue until recent times. It was composed of all the
essences supposed to contain life-giving and life-preserving qualities of
animals and plants.

[77] St. Luke xxiv. 36. St. John xx. 19.

[78] Life, ch. xi. and xix. 8. Way of Perfection, ch. xxiii. 3.

[79] Way of Perf. ch. xix. 3.

[80] Way of Perf. ch. xxiii. 3.

[81] Ecclus. iii. 27:˜Qui amat periculum, in illo peribit.

[82] St. John xiv. 6:˜Nemo venit ad Patrem, nisi per Me.

[83] St. John xiv. 9.˜Qui videt me, videt et Patrem.

[84] St. Matt. x. 24:˜Nec servus super dominum suum.

[85] St. Matt. xxvi. 41:˜Orate ut non intretis in tentationem.
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_________________________________________________________________

THE THIRD MANSIONS
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CHAPTER I.

TREATS OF THE INSECURITY OF LIFE IN THIS EXILE, HOWEVER HIGH WE MAY BE
RAISED, AND OF HOW WE MUST ALWAYS WALK IN FEAR. CONTAINS SOME GOOD POINTS.

1. Souls in the Third Mansions. 2. Insecurity of this life. 3. Our danger of
falling from grace. 4. The Saint bewails her past life. 5. Our Ladys
patronage. 6. Fear necessary even for religious. 7. St. Teresas contrition.
8. Characteristics of those in the Third Mansions. 9. The rich young man in
the Gospel. 10. Reason of aridities in prayer. 11. Humility. 12. Tepidity.
13. We must give all to God. 14. Our debt. 15. Consolations and aridities.

1. As for those who, by the mercy of God, have vanquished in these combats
and persevered until they reached the third mansions, what can we say to
them but˜Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord? [86] It is no small
favour from God that I should be able to translate this verse into Spanish
so as to explain its meaning, considering how dense I usually am in such
matters. We may well call these souls blessed, for, as far as we can tell,
unless they turn back in their course they are on the safe road to
salvation. Now, my sisters, you see how important it is for them to conquer
in their former struggles, for I am convinced that our Lord will henceforth
never cease to keep them in security of conscience, which is no small boon.

2. I am wrong in saying˜security, for there is no security in this life;
understand that in such cases I always imply:˜If they do not cease to
continue as they have begun. What misery to live in this world! We are like
men whose enemies are at the door, who must not lay aside their arms, even
while sleeping or eating, and are always in dread lest the foe should enter
the fortress by some breach in the walls. O my Lord and my all! How canst
Thou wish us to prize such a wretched existence? We could not desist from
longing and begging Thee to take us from it, were it not for the hope of
losing it for Thy sake or devoting it entirely to Thy service”and above all.
because we know it is Thy will that we should live. Since it is so,˜Let us
die with Thee! [87] as St. Thomas said, for to be away from Thee is but
to die again and again, haunted as we are by the dread of losing Thee for
ever!

3. This is why I say, daughters, that we ought to ask our Lord as our boon
to grant us one day to dwell in safety with the Saints, for with such fears,
what pleasure can she enjoy whose only pleasure is to please God? Remember,
many Saints have felt this as we do, and were even far more fervent, yet
fell into grave sin, and we cannot be sure that God would stretch forth His
hand to raise us from sin again to do such penance as they performed. This
applies to extraordinary grace. [88] Truly, my daughters, I feel such
terror as I tell you this, that I know not how to write it, nor even how to
go on living, when I reflect upon it as I very often do. Beg of His Majesty,
my daughters, to abide within me, for otherwise, what security could I feel,
after a life so badly spent as mine has been?

4. Do not grieve at knowing this. I have often seen you troubled when I
spoke about it, for you wish that my past had been a very holy one, in which
you are right”indeed, I wish the same myself. But what can be done, now that
I have wasted it entirely through my own fault? I have no right to complain
that God withheld the aid I needed to fulfil your wishes. It is impossible
for me to write this without tears and great shame, when I see that I am
explaining these matters to those capable of teaching me. What a hard task
has obedience laid, upon me! God grant that, as I do it for Him, it may be
of some service to you; therefore beg Him to pardon me for my miserable
presumption.

5. His Majesty knows that I have nothing to rely upon but His mercy; as I
cannot cancel the past, I have no other remedy but to flee to Him, and to
confide in the merits of His Son and of His Virgin Mother, whose habit,
unworthy as I am, I wear as you do also. Praise Him, then, my daughters, for
making you truly daughters of our Lady, so that you need not blush for my
wickedness as you have such a good Mother. Imitate her; think how great she
must be and what a blessing it is for you to have her for a patroness, since
my sins and evil character have brought no tarnish on the lustre of our holy
Order.

6. Still I must give you one warning: be not too confident because you are
nuns and the daughters of such a Mother. David was very holy, yet you know
what Solomon became. [89] Therefore do not rely on your enclosure, on your
penitential life, nor on your continual exercise of prayer and constant
communion with God, nor trust in having left the world or in the idea that
you hold its ways in horror. All this is good, but is not enough, as I have
already said, to remove all fear; therefore meditate on this text and often
recall it:Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. [90]

7. I do not recollect what I was saying, and have digressed very much: for
when I think of myself my mind cannot soar to higher things but is like a
bird with broken wings; so I will leave this subject for the present.

8. To return to what I began to explain about the souls which have entered
the third mansions. God has shown them no small favour, but a very great
one, in enabling them to pass through the first difficulties. Thanks to His
mercy I believe there are many such people in the world: they are very
desirous not to offend His Majesty even by venial sins, they love penance
and spend hours in meditation, they employ their time well, exercise
themselves in works of charity to their neighbours, are well-ordered in
their conversation and dress, and those who own a household govern it well.
This is certainly to be desired, and there appears no reason to forbid their
entrance to the last mansions; nor will our Lord deny it them if they desire
it, for this is the right disposition for receiving all His favours.

9. O Jesus! can any one declare that he does not desire this great blessing,
especially after he has passed through the chief difficulties? No; no one
can! We all say we desire it, but there is need of more than that for the
Lord to possess entire dominion over the soul. It is not enough to say so,
any more than it was enough for the young man when our Lord told him what he
must do if he desired to be perfect. [91] Since I began to speak of these
dwelling-rooms I have him constantly before my mind, for we are exactly like
him; this very frequently produces the great dryness we feel in prayer,
though sometimes it proceeds from other causes as well. I am not speaking of
certain interior sufferings which give intolerable pain to many devout souls
through no fault of their own; from these trials, however, our Lord always
delivers them with much profit to themselves. I also except people who
suffer from melancholy and other infirmities. But in these cases, as in all
others, we must leave aside the judgments of God.

10. I hold that these effects usually result from the first cause I
mentioned; such souls know that nothing would induce them to commit a sin
(many of them would not even commit a venial sin advertently), and that they
employ their life and riches well. They cannot, therefore, patiently endure
to be excluded from the presence of our King, Whose vassals they consider
themselves, as indeed they are. An earthly king may have many subjects yet
all do not enter his court. Enter then, enter, my daughters, into your
interior; pass beyond the thought of your own petty works, which are no
more, nor even as much, as Christians are bound to perform: let it suffice
that you are Gods servants, do not pursue so much as to catch nothing. [92]
Think of the saints, who have entered the Divine Presence, and you will
see the difference between them and ourselves.

11. Do not ask for what you do not deserve, nor should we ever think,
however much we may have done for God, that we merit the reward of the
saints, for we have offended Him. Oh, humility, humility! I know not why,
but I am always tempted to think that persons who complain so much of
aridities must be a little wanting in this virtue. However, I am not
speaking of severe interior sufferings, which are far worse than a want of
devotion.

12. Let us try ourselves, my sisters, or let our Lord try us; He knows well
how to do so (although we often pretend to misunderstand Him). We will now
speak of these well-ordered souls. Let us consider what they do for God and
we shall see at once what little right we have to murmur against His
Majesty. If we turn our backs on Him and go away sorrowfully like the youth
in the Gospel [93] when He tells us what to do to be perfect, what can God
do? for He must proportion the reward to our love for Him. This love, my
daughters, must not be the fabric of our imagination; we must prove it by
our works. Yet do not suppose that our Lord has need of any works of ours;
He only expels us to manifest our goodwill. [94]

13. It seems to us we have done everything by taking the religious habit of
our own will, and renouncing worldly things and all our possessions for God
(although they may have been but the nets of St. Peter, [95] yet they
seemed much to us, for they were our all). This is an excellent disposition:
if we continue in it and do not return, even in desire, to the company of
the reptiles of the first rooms, doubtless, by persevering in this poverty
and detachment of soul, we shall obtain all for which we strive. But, mark
this”it must be on one condition”that we˜hold ourselves for unprofitable
servants, [96] as we are told either by St. Paul or by Christ, and that
we do not consider that our Lord is bound to grant us any favours, but that,
as we have received more from Him, we are the deeper in His debt.

14.. How little is all we can do for so generous a God, Who died for us, Who
created us, Who gives us being, that we should not think ourselves happy to
be able to acquit ourselves of part of the debt we owe Him for having served
us, without asking Him for fresh mercies and favours? I am loth to use this
expression, yet so it is, for He did nothing else during the whole time He
lived in this world but serve us.

15. Think well my daughters, over some of the points I have treated,
although confusedly, for I do not know how to explain them better. Our Lord
will make you understand them, that you may reap humility from your dryness,
instead of the disquietude the devil strives to cause by it. I believe that
where true humility exists, although God should never bestow consolations,
yet He gives a peace and resignation which make the soul happier than are
others with sensible devotion. These consolations, as you have read, are
often given by the Divine Majesty to the weakest souls who, I suppose would
not exchange them for the fortitude of Christians serving God in aridities:
we love consolations better than the cross! Do Thou, O Lord, Who knowest all
truth, so prove us that we may know ourselves.
_________________________________________________________________

[86] Ps. cxi: 1.˜Beatus vir qui timet Dominum.

[87] St. John xi. 16:˜Eamus et nos ut moriamur cum eo.

[88] These last words, in the margin, but in the handwriting of the Saint,
were scored through by one of the censors, but Fr. Luis de Leon wrote
underneath, (as he did in other cases)˜Nothing to be crossed out.

[89] St. Teresa wrote˜Solomon; Father Gracian corrected˜Absalom, and Fr.
Luis de Leon restored the original text.

[90] Ps. cxi. 1.

[91] Matt. xix. 21.

[92] Proverbially, like˜having too many irons in the fire.

[93] St. Mark. x. 22. Way of Perf. ch. xvii. 5.

[94] Rel. ix. 15.

[95] St. Matt. iv. 20:˜Relictis retibus secuti sunt eum.

[96] St. Luke xvii. 10:˜Servi inutiles sumus: quod debuimus facere
fecimus.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER II.

CONTINUES THE SAME SUBJECT AND SPEAKS OF ARIDITIES IN PRAYER AND THEIR
RESULTS: OF THE NECESSITY OF TRYING OURSELVES AND HOW OUR LORD PROVES THOSE
WHO ARE IN THESE MANSIONS.

1. Imperfections of dwellers in the first three mansions. 2. Our trials show
us our weakness. 3. Humility learnt by our faults. 4. Love of money. 5.
Liberty of spirit. 6. On bearing contempt. 7. Detachment proved by trials.
8. Virtue and humility are the essentials. 9. Perfection requires
detachment. 10. We should try to make rapid progress. 11. Leave our cares in
Gods hands. 12. Humility more necessary than corporal penances. 13.
Consolations rarely received until the fourth mansions. 14. Advantages of
hearing of them. 15. Perfection consists in love, not in reward. 16. St.
Teresas joy at seeing other souls favoured. 17. These graces should be
striven for. 18. Obedience and direction, 19. Misguided zeal for others.

1. I HAVE known some, in fact, I may say numerous souls, who have reached
this state, and for many years lived, apparently, a regular and well-ordered
life, both of body and mind. It would seem that they must have gained the
mastery over this world, or at least be extremely detached from it, yet if
His Majesty sends very moderate trials they become so disturbed and
disheartened as not only to astonish but to make me anxious about them.
Advice is useless; having practised virtue for so long they think themselves
capable of teaching it, and believe that they have abundant reason to feel
miserable.

2. The only way to help them is to compassionate their troubles; [97]
indeed, one cannot but feel sorry at seeing people in such an unhappy state.
They must not be argued with, for they are convinced they suffer only for
Gods sake, and cannot be made to understand they are acting imperfectly,
which is a further error in persons so far advanced. No wonder that they
should feel these trials for a time, but I think they ought speedily to
overcome their concern about such matters. God, wishing His elect to realize
their own misery, often temporarily withdraws His favours: no more is needed
to prove to us in a very short time what we really are. [98]

3. Souls soon learn in this way; they perceive their faults very clearly,
and sometimes the discovery of how quickly they are overcome by but slight
earthly trials is more painful than the subtraction of Gods sensible
favours. I consider that God thus shows them great mercy, for though their
behaviour may be faulty, yet they gain greatly in humility. Not so with the
people of whom I first spoke; they believe their conduct is saintly, and
wish others to agree with them. I will give you some examples which will
help us to understand and to try ourselves, without waiting for God to try
us, since it would be far better to have prepared and examined ourselves
beforehand.

4. A rich man, without son or heir, loses part of his property, [99] but
still has more than enough to keep himself and his household. If this
misfortune grieves and disquiets him as though he were left to beg his
bread, how can our Lord ask him to give up all things for His sake? This man
will tell you he regrets losing his money because he wished to bestow it on
the poor.

5. I believe His Majesty would prefer me to conform to His will, and keep
peace of soul while attending to my interests, to such charity as this. If
this person cannot resign himself because God has not raised him so high in
virtue, well and good: let him know that he is wanting in liberty of spirit;
let him beg our Lord to grant it him, and be rightly disposed to receive it.
Another person has more than sufficient means to live on, when an
opportunity occurs for acquiring more property: if it is offered him, by all
means let him accept it; but if he must go out of his way to obtain it and
then continues working to gain more and more”however good his intention may
be (and it must be good, for I am speaking of people who lead prayerful and
good lives), he cannot possibly enter the mansions near the King.

6. Something of the same sort happens if such people meet with contempt or
want of due respect. God often gives them grace to bear it well, as He loves
to see virtue upheld in public, and will not have it condemned in those who
practise it, or else because these persons have served Him faithfully, and
He, our supreme Good, is exceedingly good to us all; nevertheless, these
persons are disturbed, and cannot overcome or get rid of the feeling for
some time. [100] Alas! have they not long meditated on the pains our Lord
endured and how well it is for us to suffer, and have even longed to do so?
They wish every one were as virtuous as they are; and God grant they do not
consider other people to blame for their troubles and attribute merit to
themselves!

7. You may think, my daughters, that I have wandered from the subject, for
all this does not concern you: nothing of the sort occurs to us here, where
we neither own nor wish for any property, nor endeavour to gain it, and no
one does us any wrong. The instances I have mentioned do not coincide
exactly, yet conclusions applicable to us may be drawn from them, which it
would be neither well nor necessary to state. These will teach you whether
you are really detached from all you have left; trifling occasions often
occur, although perhaps not quite of the same kind, by which you can prove
to yourselves whether you have obtained the mastery over your passions.

8. Believe me, the question is not whether we wear the religious habit or
not, but whether we practise the virtues and submit our will in all things
to the will of God. The object of our life must be to do what He requires of
us: let us not ask that our will may be done, but His. If we have not yet
attained to this, let us be humble, as I said above. Humility is the
ointment for our wounds; if we have it, although perhaps He may defer His
coming for a time, God, Who is our Physician, will come and heal us. 9. The
penances performed by the persons I spoke of are as well regulated as their
life, which they value very highly because they wish to serve our Lord with
it”in which there is nothing to blame”so they are very discreet in their
mortifications lest they should injure their health. Never fear they will
kill themselves: they are far too sensible! Their love is not strong enough
to overcome their reason; I wish it were”that they might not be content to
creep on their way to God: a pace that will never bring them to their
journeys end!

10. We seem to ourselves to be making progress, yet we become weary, for,
believe me, we are walking through a mist; it will be fortunate if we do not
lose ourselves. Do you think, my daughters, if we could travel from one
country to another in eight days, that it would be well to spend a year on
the journey, through wind, snow, and inundations and over bad roads? [101]
Would it not be better to get it over at once, for it is full of dangers and
serpents? Oh, how many striking instances could I give you of this! God
grant that I have passed beyond this state myself: often I think that I have
not.

11. All things obstruct us while prudence rules our actions; we are afraid
of everything and therefore fear to make progress”as if we could reach the
inner chambers while others make the journey for us! As this is impossible,
sisters, for the love of God let us exert ourselves, and leave our reason
and our fears in His hands, paying no attention to the weaknesses of nature
which might retard us. Let our Superiors, to whom the charge belongs, look
after our bodies; let our only care be to hasten to our Lords presence”for
though there are few or no indulgences to be obtained here, yet, regard for
health might mislead us and it would be none the better for our care, as I
know well.

12. I know, too, that our bodies are not the chief factors in the work we
have before us; they are accessory: extreme humility is the principal point.
It is the want of this, I believe, that stops peoples progress. It may seem
that we have made but little way: we should believe that is the case, and
that our sisters are advancing much more rapidly than we are. Not only
should we wish others to consider us the worst of all; we should endeavour
to make them think so. If we act in this manner, our soul will do well;
otherwise we shall make no progress and shall always remain the prey to a
thousand troubles and miseries. The way will be difficult and wearisome
without self-renunciation, weighed down as we are by the burden and
frailties of human nature, which are no longer felt in the more interior
mansions.

13. In these third mansions the Lord never fails to repay our services, both
as a just and even as a merciful God, Who always bestows on us far more than
we deserve, giving us greater happiness than could be obtained from any
earthly pleasures and amusements. I think He grants few consolations here,
except, perhaps, occasionally to entice us to prepare ourselves to enter the
last mansions by showing us their contents. There may appear to you to be no
difference except in name between sensible devotion, and consolations and
you may ask why I distinguish them. I think there is a very great
difference, but I may be mistaken.

14. This will be best explained while writing of the fourth mansion, which
comes next, when I must speak of the consolations received there from our
Lord. The subject may appear futile, yet may prove useful by urging souls
who know what each mansion contains to strive to enter the best. It will
solace those whom God has advanced so far; others, who thought they had
reached the summit, will be abashed, yet if they are humble they will be led
to thank God.

15. Those who do not receive these consolations may feel a despondency that
is uncalled for, since perfection does not consist in consolation but in
greater love; our reward will be in proportion to this, and to the justice
and sincerity of our actions. Perhaps you wonder, then, why I treat of these
interior favours and their nature. I do not know; ask him who bade me write
this. I must obey Superiors, not argue with them, which I have no right to
do.

16. I assure you that when I had neither received these favours, [102] nor
understood them by experience, or ever expected to (and rightly so, for I
should have felt reassured if I had known or even conjectured that I was
pleasing to God in any way), yet when I read of the mercies and consolations
that our Lord grants to His servants, I was delighted and praised Him
fervently. If such as myself acted thus, how much more would the humble and
good glorify Him! I think it is worth while to explain these subjects and
show what consolations and delights we lose through our own fault, if only
for the sake of moving a single soul to praise God once.

17. When these joys are from God they come laden with love and strength,
which aid the soul on its way and increase its good works and virtues. Do
not imagine that it is unimportant whether you try to obtain these graces or
no; if you are not to blame, the Lord is just: what He refuses in one way,
His Majesty will give you in another, as He knows how; His secret ways are
very mysterious, and doubtless He will do what is best for you.

18. Souls who by Gods mercy are brought so far (which, as I said, is no
small mercy, for they are likely to ascend still higher) will be greatly
benefited by practising prompt obedience. Even if they are not in the
religious state, it would be well if they, like certain other people, were
to take a director, [103] so as never to follow their own will, which is
the cause of most of our ills. They should not choose one of their own turn
of mind [104] (as the saying goes), who is over prudent in his actions,
but should select one thoroughly detached from worldly things; it is very
helpful to consult a person who has learnt and can teach this. It is
encouraging to see that trials which seemed to us impossible to submit to
are possible to others, and that they bear them sweetly. Their flight makes
us try to soar, like nestlings taught by the elder birds, who, though they
cannot fly far at first, little by little imitate their parents: I know the
great benefit of this. However determined such persons may be not to offend
our Lord, they must not expose themselves to temptation: they are still near
the first mansions to which they might easily return. Their strength is not
yet established on a solid foundation like that of souls exercised in
sufferings, who know how little cause there is to fear the tempests of this
world and care nothing for its pleasures: beginners might succumb before any
severe trial. Some great persecution, such as the devil knows how to raise
to injure us, might make beginners turn back; while zealously trying to
withdraw others from sin they might succumb to the attacks made upon them.

19. Let us look at our own faults, and not at other persons. People who are
extremely correct themselves are often shocked at everything they see [105]
; however, we might often learn a great deal that is essential from the very
persons whom we censure. Our exterior comportment and manners may be
better”this is well enough, but not of the first importance. We ought not to
insist on every one following in our footsteps, nor to take upon ourselves
to give instructions in spirituality when, perhaps, we do not even know what
it is. Zeal for the good of souls, though given us by God, may often lead us
astray, sisters; it is best to keep our rule, which bids us ever to live in
silence and in hope. [106] Our Lord will care for the souls belonging to
Him; and if we beg His Majesty to do so, by His grace we shall be able to
aid them greatly. May He be for ever blessed!
_________________________________________________________________

[97] See letter concerning Francisco de Salcedo. Nov. 1576. Vol. II.

[98] Way of Perf. ch, xxxviii. 7.

[99] Way of Perf. ch, xxxviii, 10. Concep. ch. ii. 11, 12. Life, xi. 3.

[100] Way of Perf.. ch. xxxviii. 12.

[101] St. Teresa very probably had in her mind her journey, to make a
foundation at Seville, when the boat, which was crossing the Guadalquivir,
narrowly escaped being carried down the river by the current. Found. ch.
xxiv, 6

[102] Life, ch. xii. 2. Rel. vii. 3.

[103] Life. ch. xiii. 29.

[104] Rel. vii. 18.

[105] Way of Perf. ch. vii. 6. Castle, M. I. ch. ii. 20, 21.

[106] Isa. xxx. 15:˜In silentio et in spe erit fortitudo vestra. Rule §
13.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

THE FOURTH MANSIONS
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER I.

HOW SWEETNESS AND TENDERNESS IN PRAYER DIFFER FROM CONSOLATIONS. EXPLAINS
HOW ADVANTAGEOUS IT WAS FOR ST. TERESA TO COMPREHEND THAT THE IMAGINATION
AND THE UNDERSTANDING ARE NOT THE SAME THING. THIS CHAPTER IS USEFUL FOR
THOSE WHOSE THOUGHTS WANDER MUCH DURING PRAYER.

1. Graces received in this mansion. 2. Mystic favours. 3. Temptations bring
humility and merit. 4. Sensible devotion and natural joys. 5. Sweetness in
devotion. 6. St. Teresas experience of it. 7. Love of God, and how to
foster it. 8. Distractions. 9. They do not destroy divine union. 10. St.
Teresas physical distractions. 11. How to treat distractions. 12. They
should be disregarded. 13. Self-knowledge necessary.

1. Now that I commence writing about the fourth mansions, it is requisite,
as I said, [107] to commend myself to the Holy Ghost and to beg Him
henceforth to speak for me, that I may be enabled to treat these matters
intelligibly. Henceforth they begin to be supernatural and it will be most
difficult to speak clearly about them, [108] unless His Majesty undertakes
it for me, as He did when I explained the subject (as far as I understood
it) somewhat about fourteen years ago. [109] I believe I now possess more
light about the favours God grants some souls, but that is different from
being able to elucidate them. [110] May His Majesty enable me to do so if
it would be useful, but not otherwise.

2. As these mansions are nearer the Kings dwelling they are very beautiful,
and so subtle are the things seen and heard in them, that, as those tell us
who have tried to do so, the mind cannot give a lucid idea of them to those
inexperienced in the matter. People who have enjoyed these favours,
especially if it was to any great extent, will easily comprehend me.

3. Apparently a person must have dwelt for a long time in the former
mansions before entering these; although in ordinary cases the soul must
have been in the last one spoken of, yet, as you must often have heard,
there is no fixed rule, for God gives when, how, and to whom He wills [111]
”the goods are His own, and His choice wrongs no one. [112] The poisonous
reptiles rarely come into these rooms, and, if they enter, do more good than
harm. I think it is far better for them to get in and make war on the soul
in this state of prayer; were it not tempted, the devil might sometimes
deceive it about divine consolations, thus injuring it far more. Besides,
the soul would benefit less, because all occasions of gaining merit would be
withdrawn, were it left continually absorbed in God. I am not confident that
this absorption is genuine when it always remains in the same state, nor
does it appear to me possible for the Holy Ghost to dwell constantly within
us, to the same extent, during our earthly exile.

4. I will now describe, as I promised, the difference between sweetness in
prayer and spiritual consolations. It appears to me that what we acquire for
ourselves in meditation and petitions to our Lord may be termed˜sweetness
in devotion. [113] It is natural, although ultimately aided by the grace
of God. I must be understood to imply this in all I say, for we can do
nothing without Him. This sweetness arises principally from the good work we
perform, and appears to result from our labours: well may we feel happy at
having thus spent our time. We shall find, on consideration, that many
temporal matters give us the same pleasure”such as unexpectedly coming into
a large fortune, suddenly meeting with a dearly-loved friend, or succeeding
in any important or influential affair which makes a sensation in the world.
Again, it would be felt by one who had been told her husband, brother, or
son was dead, and who saw him return to her alive. I have seen people weep
from such happiness, as I have done myself. I consider both these joys and
those we feel in religious matters to be natural ones. Although there is
nothing wrong about the former, yet those produced by devotion spring from a
more noble source”in short, they begin in ourselves and end in God.
Spiritual consolations, on the contrary, arise from God, and our nature
feels them and rejoices as keenly in them, and indeed far more keenly, than
in the others I described.

5. O Jesus! how I wish I could elucidate this point! It seems to me that I
can perfectly distinguish the difference between the two joys, yet I have
not the skill to make myself understood; may God give it me! I remember a
verse we say at Prime at the end of the final Psalm; the last words are:
˜Cum dilatasti cor meum”˜When Thou didst dilate my heart: [114] To those
with much experience, this suffices to show the difference between sweetness
in prayer and spiritual consolations; other people will require more
explanation. The sensible devotion I mentioned does not dilate the heart,
but generally appears to narrow it slightly; although joyful at seeing
herself work for God, yet such a person sheds tears of sorrow which seem
partly produced by the passions. I know little about the passions of the
soul, or I could write of them more clearly and could better define what
comes from the sensitive disposition and what is natural, having passed
through this state myself, but I am very stupid. Knowledge and learning are
a great advantage to every one.

6. My own experience of this delight and sweetness in meditation was that
when I began to weep over the Passion I could not stop until I had a severe
headache; [115] the same thing occurred when I grieved over my sins: this
was a great grace from our Lord. I do not intend to inquire now which of
these states of prayer is the better, but I wish I knew how to explain the
difference between the two. In that of which I speak, the tears and good
desires are often partly caused by the natural disposition, but although
this may be the case, yet, as I said, these feelings terminate in God.
Sensible devotion is very desirable if the soul is humble enough to
understand that it is not more holy on account of these sentiments, which
cannot always with certainty be ascribed to charity, and even then are still
the gift of God.

7. These feelings of devotion are most common with souls in the first three
mansions, who are nearly always using their understanding and reason in
making meditations. This is good for them, for they have not been given
grace for more; they should, however, try occasionally to elicit some acts
such as praising God, rejoicing in His goodness and that He is what He is:
let them desire that He may be honoured and glorified. They must do this as
best they can, for it greatly inflames the will. Let them be very careful,
when God gives these sentiments, not to set them aside in order to finish
their accustomed meditation. But, having spoken fully on this subject
elsewhere, [116] I will say no more now. I only wish to warn you that to
make rapid progress and to reach the mansions we wish to enter, it is not so
essential to think much as to love much: therefore you must practise
whatever most excites you to this. Perhaps we do not know what love is, nor
does this greatly surprise me. Love does not consist in great sweetness of
devotion, but in a fervent determination to strive to please God in all
things, in avoiding, as far as possible, all that would offend Him, and in
praying for the increase of the glory and honour of His Son and for the
growth of the Catholic Church. These are the signs of love; do not imagine
that it consists in never thinking of anything but God, and that if your
thoughts wander a little all is lost. [117]

8. I, myself, have sometimes been troubled by this turmoil of thoughts. I
learnt by experience, but little more than four years ago, that our
thoughts, or it is clearer to call it our imagination, are not the same
thing as the understanding. I questioned a theologian on the subject; he
told me it was the fact, which consoled me not a little. As the
understanding is one of the powers of the soul, it puzzled me to see it so
sluggish at times, while, as a rule, the imagination takes flight at once,
so that God alone can control it by so uniting us to Himself [118] that we
seem, in a manner, detached from our bodies. It puzzled me to see that while
to all appearance the powers of the soul were occupied with God and
recollected in Him, the imagination was wandering elsewhere.

9. Do Thou, O Lord, take into account all that we suffer in this way through
our ignorance. We err in thinking that we need only know that we must keep
our thoughts fixed on Thee. We do not understand that we should consult
those better instructed than ourselves, nor are we aware that there is
anything for us to learn. We pass through terrible trials, on account of not
understanding our own nature and take what is not merely harmless, but good,
for a grave fault. This causes the sufferings felt by many people,
particularly by the unlearned, who practise prayer. They complain of
interior trials, become melancholy, lose their health, and even give up
prayer altogether for want of recognizing that we have within ourselves as
it were, an interior world. We cannot stop the revolution of the heavens as
they rush with velocity upon their course, neither can we control our
imagination. When this wanders we at once imagine that all the powers of the
soul follow it; we think everything is lost, and that the time spent in
Gods presence is wasted. Meanwhile, the soul is perhaps entirely united to
Him in the innermost mansions, while the imagination is in the precincts of
the castle, struggling with a thousand wild and venomous creatures and
gaining merit by its warfare. Therefore we need not let ourselves be
disturbed, nor give up prayer, as the devil is striving to persuade us. As a
rule, all our anxieties and troubles come from misunderstanding our own
nature.

10. Whilst writing this I am thinking of the loud noise in my head which I
mentioned in the Introduction, and which has made it almost impossible to
obey the command given me to write this. It sounds as if there were a number
of rushing waterfalls within my brain, while in other parts, drowned by the
sound of the waters, are the voices of birds singing and whistling. This
tumult is not in my ears, but in the upper part of my head, where, they say,
is placed the superior part of the soul. I have long thought that this must
be so because the flight of the spirit seems to take place from this part
with great velocity. [119] Please God I may recollect to explain the cause
when writing of the latter mansions, this not being the proper place for it.
It may be that God has sent this suffering in my head to help me to
understand the matter, for all this tumult in my brain does not interfere
with my prayer, nor with my speaking to you, but the great calm and love and
desires in my soul remain undisturbed and my mind is clear.

11. How, then, can the superior part of the soul remain undisturbed if it
resides in the upper part of the brain? I cannot account for it, but am sure
that I am speaking the truth. This noise disturbs my prayer when
unaccompanied with ecstasy, but when it is ecstatic I do not feel any pain,
however great. I should suffer keenly were I forced to cease praying on
account of these infirmities. We should not be distressed by reason of our
thoughts, nor allow ourselves to be worried by them: if they come from the
devil, he will let us alone if we take no notice of them; and if they are,
as often happens, one of the many frailties entailed by Adams sin, let us
be patient and suffer them for the love of God. Likewise, since we must eat
and sleep without being able to avoid it, much to our grief, let us
acknowledge that we are human, and long to be where no one may despise us.
[120] Sometimes I recall these words, spoken by the Spouse in the
Canticle; [121] truly never in our lives have we better reason to say
them, for I think no earthly scorn or suffering can try us so severely as
these struggles within our souls. All uneasiness or conflict can be borne
while we have peace in ourselves, as I said; but if, while seeking for rest
amidst the thousand trials of the world”knowing that God has prepared this
rest for us”the obstacle is found in ourselves, the trial must needs prove
painful and almost insufferable.

12. Take us therefore, O Lord, to where these miseries can no longer cause
us to be despised, for sometimes it seems as if they mocked our souls. Even
in this life God delivers us from them when we reach the last mansion, as by
His grace I will show you. Everybody is not so violently distressed and
assaulted by these weaknesses as I have been for many years, [122] on
account of my wickedness, so that it seems as if I strove to take vengeance
on myself. [123] Since I suffer so much in this way, perhaps you may do
the same, so I shall continue to explain the subject to you in different
ways, in order to find some means of making it clear. The thing is
inevitable, therefore do not let it disturb or grieve you, but let the mill
clack on while we grind our wheat; that is, let us continue to work with our
will and intellect.

13. These troubles annoy us more or less according to the state of our
health or in different circumstances. The poor soul suffers; although not
now to blame, it has sinned at other times, and must be patient. We are so
ignorant that what we have read and been told has not sufficed to teach us
to disregard wandering thoughts, therefore I shall not be wasting time in
instructing and consoling you about these trials. However, this will help
you but little until God chooses to enlighten you, and additional measures
are needed: His Majesty wishes us to learn by ordinary means to understand
ourselves and to recognize the share taken in these troubles by our
wandering imagination, our nature, and the devils temptations, instead of
laying all the blame on our souls.
_________________________________________________________________

[107] First Mansions, ch. i. 1.

[108] There are two kinds of contemplation: acquired or natural, and infused
or supernatural. In their widest sense, including many remarkable phenomena
of Natural religion, and, of course, the most wonderful manifestations
recorded in the Old Testament, they form the system called Mysticism and are
the proper object of Mystical theology. Natural or acquired contemplation is
based upon an idealistic turn of mind which enables the soul to gaze upon
the Godhead (simple gaze, as St. Teresa calls it) without approaching Him by
the laborious process of reasoning, and in so doing embraces Him with its
affective powers; like a person who, devoid of technical skill, takes in and
is enamoured by, the beauty of a painting. Infused contemplation is the
highest act of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost of Knowledge and Wisdom. It is
often impossible, nor is it always essential, to determine where acquired
contemplation ends and infused contemplation begins. But it should be borne
in mind that both the one and the other are operations and not merely a
passive state or mere fruition. Even the highest form of contemplation, the
Beatific Vision, is a supernatural act of the soul, an operation of unending
duration. A ship moved by a gentle breeze is rightly said to be actually
sailing though the rowers are at rest.

[109] Life, ch. xii. 11.

[110] Life, ch. xvii. 7.

[111] Philippus a SS. Trinitate, Summa Tleologi¦ Mystic¦, pars iii. tract.
i. disc. iii. art. 2. Life, ch. xv. 11, xxii. 22, 23. Way of Perf. ch. xvi.
4, xli. 2. Concep. ch. v. 3.

[112] S. Matt. xx. 15:˜Aut non licet mihi quod volo facere?

[113] Way of Perf., ch. xix. 8. Castle, M. iv. ch. ii. 4. The first three
mansions of the Interior Castle correspond with the˜first water, or the
prayer of Meditation, explained in ch. xi-xiii. of the Life; the fourth
mansion, or the prayer of Quiet, with the˜second water, Life, ch. xiv. and
xv.; the fifth mansion, or the prayer of Union, with the˜third water,
Life, ch. xvi. and xvii.; and the sixth mansion, ecstasy, etc., with the
˜fourth water, Life, ch. xviii.-xxi.

[114] Ps. cxviii. 32. Way of Perf. ch. xxviii. 11.

[115] Life, ch. iii. 1.

[116] Life, ch. xii. 2-4..

[117] Found. ch. v. 2. Way of Perf. ch. xxxi. 6, 12. Life, ch. xv, 16, ch.
XXX. 19.

[118] Life, ch. xv. 9, 10.

[119] Second Relation addressed to Fr. Rodrigo Alvarez.

[120] Way of Perf. ch. xxxiii. 8. Life, ch. xxi. S. Rel. ii. 12.

[121] According to Fr. Gracian the Saint here refers to Cant. viii. 1:˜Et
jam me nemo despiciat.

[122] Way of Perf. ch. xvii. 2.

[123] Way of Perf. ch, xxxi. 9.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER II.

CONTINUES THE SAME SUBJECT, EXPLAINING BY A COMPARISON IN WHAT DIVINE
CONSOLATIONS CONSIST: AND HOW WE OUGHT TO TRY TO PREPARE OURSELVES TO
RECEIVE THEM, WITHOUT ENDEAVOURING TO OBTAIN THEM.

1. Physical results of sensible devotion. 2. Effects of divine consolations.
3. The two fountains. 4. They symbolize two kinds of prayer. 5. Divine
consolations shared by body and soul. 6. The incense within the soul. 7.
Graces received in this prayer. 8. Such favours not to be sought after.

1. GOD help me! how I have wandered from my subject! I forget what I was
speaking about, for my occupations and ill-health often force me to cease
writing until some more suitable time. The sense will be very disconnected;
as my memory is extremely bad and I have no time to read over what is
written, even what I really understand is expressed very vaguely, at least
so I fear. I think I said that spiritual consolations are occasionally
connected with the passions. These feelings of devotion produce fits of
sobbing; I have even heard that sometimes they cause a compression of the
chest, and uncontrollable exterior motions violent enough to cause bleeding
at the nose and other painful effects. [124]

2. I can say nothing about this, never having experienced anything of the
kind myself; but there appears some cause for comfort in it, because, as I
said, all ends in the desire to please God and to enjoy His presence. What I
call divine consolations, or have termed elsewhere theprayer of quiet, is
a very different thing, as those will understand who, by the mercy of God,
have experienced them.

3. To make the matter clearer, let us imagine we see two fountains with
basins which fill with water. I can find no simile more appropriate than
water by which to explain spiritual things, as I am very ignorant and have
poor wits to help me. [125] Besides, I love this element so much that I
have studied it more attentively than other things. God, Who is so great, so
wise, has doubtless hidden secrets in all things He created, which we should
greatly benefit by knowing, as those say who understand such matters.
Indeed, I believe that in each smallest creature He has made, though it be
but a tiny ant, there are more wonders than can be comprehended. These two
basins are filled in different ways; the one with water from a distance
flowing into it through many pipes and waterworks, while the other basin is
built near the source of the spring itself and fills quite noiselessly. If
the fountain is plentiful, like the one we speak of, after the basin is full
the water overflows in a great stream which flows continually. No machinery
is needed here, nor does the water run through aqueducts.

4. Such is the difference between the two kinds of prayer. The water running
through the aqueducts resembles sensible devotion, which is obtained by
meditation. We gain it by our thoughts, by meditating on created things, and
by the labour of our minds; in short, it is the result of our endeavours,
and so makes the commotion I spoke of, while profiting the soul. [126] The
other fountain, like divine consolations, receives the water from the source
itself, which signifies God: as usual, when His Majesty wills to bestow on
us any supernatural favours, we experience the greatest peace, calm, and
sweetness in the inmost depths of our being; I know neither where nor how.

5. This joy is not, like earthly happiness, at once felt by the heart; after
gradually filling it to the brim, the delight overflows throughout all the
mansions and faculties, until at last it reaches the body. Therefore, I say
it arises from God and ends in ourselves, for whoever experiences it will
find that the whole physical part of our nature shares in this delight and
sweetness. While writing this I have been thinking that the verse˜Dilatasti
cor meum,˜Thou hast dilated my heart, [127] declares that the heart is
dilated. This joy does not appear to me to originate in the heart, but in
some more interior part and, as it were, in the depths of our being. I think
this must be the centre of the soul, as I have since learnt and will explain
later on. I discover secrets within us which often fill me with
astonishment: how many more must there be unknown to me! O my Lord and my
God! how stupendous is Thy grandeur! We are like so many foolish peasant
lads: we think we know something of Thee, yet it must be comparatively
nothing, for there are profound secrets even in ourselves of which we know
naught. I say˜comparatively nothing in proportion with all the secrets
hidden within Thee, yet how great are Thy mysteries that we are acquainted
with and can learn even by the study of such of Thy works as we see! [128]

6. To return to the verse I quoted, which may help to explain the dilation
begun by the celestial waters in the depths of our being. They appear to
dilate and enlarge us internally, and benefit us in an inexplicable manner,
nor does even the soul itself understand what it receives. It is conscious
of what may be described as a certain fragrance, as if within its inmost
depths were a brazier sprinkled with sweet perfumes. Although the spirit
neither sees the flame nor knows where it is, yet it is penetrated by the
warmth, and scented fumes, which are even sometimes perceived by the body.
Understand me, the soul does not feel any real heat or scent, but something
far more subtle, which I use this metaphor to explain. Let those who have
never experienced it believe that it really occurs to others: the soul is
conscious of it and feels it more distinctly than can be expressed. It is
not a thing we can fancy or gain by anything we can do; clearly it does not
arise from the base coin of human nature, but from the most pure gold of
Divine Wisdom. I believe that in this case the powers of the soul are not
united to God, but are absorbed and astounded at the marvel before them. I
may possibly be contradicting what I wrote elsewhere; [129] nor would this
be surprising, for it was done about fifteen years ago, and perhaps God has
given me since then a clearer insight into the matter. I may be entirely
mistaken on the subject, both then and now, but never do I wilfully say what
is untrue. No; by the mercy of God, I would rather die a thousand times than
tell a falsehood: I speak of the matter as I understand it. I believe that
in this case the will must in some way be united with that of God. The after
effects on the soul, and the subsequent behaviour of the person, show
whether this prayer was genuine or no: this is the best crucible by which to
test it.

7. Our Lord bestows a signal grace on the soul if it realizes how great is
this favour, and another greater still if it does not turn back on the right
road. You are longing, my daughters, to enter into this state of prayer at
once, and you are right, for, as I said, the soul cannot understand the
value of the graces there bestowed by God upon it, nor the love which draws
Him ever closer to it: we should certainly desire to learn how to obtain
this favour. I will tell you what I know about it, setting aside certain
cases in which God bestows these graces for no other reason than His own
choice, into which we have no right to enquire.

8. Practise what I advised in the preceding mansions, then”humility,
humility! for God lets Himself be vanquished by this and grants us all we
ask. [130] The first proof [131] that you possess humility is that you
neither think you now deserve these graces and consolations from God, nor
that you ever will as long as you live. You ask me:˜How shall we receive
them, if we do not try to gain them? I answer, that there is no surer way
to obtain them than the one I have told you, therefore make no efforts to
acquire them, for the following reasons. The first is, that the chief means
of obtaining them is to love God without self-interest. The second, that it
is a slight lack of humility to think that our wretched services can win so
great a reward The third, that the real preparation for them is to desire to
suffer and imitate our Lord, rather than to receive consolations, for indeed
we have all offended Him. The fourth reason is, that His Majesty has not
promised to give us these favours in the same way as He has bound Himself to
bestow eternal glory on us if we keep His commandments. We can be saved
without these special graces; He sees better than we do what is best for us
and which of us love Him sincerely. I know for a certain truth, being
acquainted with some who walk by the way of love (and therefore only seek to
serve Jesus Christ crucified), that not only they neither ask for nor desire
consolation, but they even beg Him not to give it them during this life:
this is a fact. Fifthly, we should but labour in vain: this water does not
flow through aqueducts, like that we first spoke of, and if the spring does
not afford it, in vain shall we toil to obtain it. I mean, that though we
may meditate and try our hardest, and though we shed tears to gain it, we
cannot make this water flow. God alone gives it to whom He chooses, and
often when the soul is least thinking of it. We are His, sisters, let Him do
what He will with us, and lead us where He will. If we are really humble and
annihilate ourselves, not only in our imagination (which often deceives us),
but if we truly detach ourselves from all things, our Lord will not only
grant us these favours but many others that we do not know even how to
desire. May He be for ever praised and blessed! Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[124]A clear description of an attack of hysteria with the significant
remark that she herself had never experienced anything of the kind. (Dr.
Goix, quoted by P. Gr©goire, La pr©tendue hyst©rie de Sainte Th©r¨se, Lyon,
Vitte, 1895, p. 53.)

[125] Way of Perf. ch. xix. 5; also St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount
Carmel, bk. ii, ch. xiv, 2, and xxi. 3.

[126] Life, ch. x. 2.

[127] Ps. cxviii. 32. Life, ch. xvii. 14,

[128] Life, ch. xiv. 9. Way of Perf. ch. xxviii. 11.

[129] Life, ch. xiv. 3:˜The faculties are not lost, neither are they
asleep; the will alone is occupied in such a way that without knowing how it
has become a captive it gives a simple consent to become the prisoner of
God. Ibid. § 4:˜The other two faculties help the will that it may render
itself capable of the fruition of so great a good; nevertheless, it
occasionally happens even when the will is in union that they hinder it very
much. See also Way of Perf. ch. xxxi. 8.

[130] Way of Perf. ch. xvi. i. Life, ch. xxii. 16.

[131] Philippus a SS. Trinitate, l.c. art. 3.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER III.

OF THE PRAYER OF RECOLLECTION WHICH GOD GENERALLY GIVES THE SOUL BEFORE
GRANTING IT THAT LAST DESCRIBED. ITS EFFECTS: ALSO THOSE OF THE PRAYER OF
DIVINE CONSOLATIONS DESCRIBED IN THE LAST CHAPTER.

1. The Prayer of recollection compared to the inhabitants of the castle. 2.
The Shepherd recalls His flock into the castle. 3. This recollection
supernatural. 4. It prepares us for higher favours. 5. The mind must act
until God calls it to recollection by love. 6. The soul should here abandon
itself into Gods hands. 7. The prayer of recollection, and distractions in
Prayer. 8. Liberty of spirit gained by consolations. 9. The soul must be
watchful. 10. The devil specially tempts such souls. 11. False trances and
raptures. 12. How to treat those deluded in this way. 13. Risks of delusion
in this mansion.

1. THE effects of divine consolations are very numerous: before describing
them, I will speak of another kind of prayer which usually precedes them. I
need not say much on this subject, having written about it elsewhere. [132]
This is a kind of recollection which, I believe, is supernatural. There is
no occasion to retire nor to shut the eyes, nor does it depend on anything
exterior; involuntarily the eyes suddenly close and solitude is found.
Without any labour of ones own, the temple of which I spoke is reared for
the soul in which to pray: the senses and exterior surroundings appear to
lose their hold, while the spirit gradually regains its lost sovereignty.
Some say the soul enters into itself; others, that it rises above itself.
[133] I can say nothing about these terms, but had better speak of the
subject as I understand it. You will probably grasp my meaning, although,
perhaps, I may be the only person who understands it. Let us imagine that
the senses and powers of the soul (which I compared in my allegory to the
inhabitants of the castle) have fled and joined the enemy outside. After
long days and years of absence, perceiving how great has been their loss,
they return to the neighbourhood of the castle, but cannot manage to
re-enter it, for their evil habits are hard to break off; still, they are no
longer traitors, and they wander about outside.

2. The King, Who holds His court within it, sees their good will, and out of
His great mercy desires them to return to Him. Like a good Shepherd, He
plays so sweetly on His pipe, that although scarcely hearing it they
recognize His call and no longer wander, but return, like lost sheep, to the
mansions. So strong is this Pastors power over His flock, that they abandon
the worldly cares which misled them and re-enter the castle.

3. I think I never put this matter so clearly before. To seek God within
ourselves avails us far more than to look for Him amongst creatures; Saint
Augustine tells us how he found the Almighty within his own soul, after
having long sought for Him elsewhere. [134] This recollection helps us
greatly when God bestows it upon us. But do not fancy you can gain it by
thinking of God dwelling within you, or by imagining Him as present in your
soul: this is a good practice and an excellent kind of meditation, for it is
founded on the fact that God resides within us; [135] it is not, however,
the prayer of recollection, for by the divine assistance every one can
practise it, but what I mean is quite a different thing. Sometimes, before
they have begun to think of God, the powers of the soul find themselves
within the castle. I know not by what means they entered, nor how they heard
the Shepherds pipe; the ears perceived no sound but the soul is keenly
conscious of a delicious sense of recollection experienced by those who
enjoy this favour, which I cannot describe more clearly.

4. I think I read somewhere [136] that the soul is then like a tortoise or
sea-urchin, which retreats into itself. Those who said this no doubt
understood what they were talking about; but these creatures can withdraw
into themselves at will, while here it is not in our power to retire into
ourselves, unless God gives us the grace. In my opinion, His Majesty only
bestows this favour on those who have renounced the world, in desire at
least, if their state of life does not permit their doing so in fact. He
thus specially calls them to devote themselves to spiritual things; if they
allow Him power to at freely He will bestow still greater graces on those
whom He thus begins calling to a higher life. Those who enjoy this
recollection should thank God fervently: it is of the highest importance for
them to realize the value of this favour, gratitude for which would prepare
them to receive still more signal graces. Some books advise that as a
preparation for hearing what our Lord may say to us we should keep our minds
at rest, waiting to see what He will work in our souls. [137] But unless
His Majesty has begun to suspend our faculties, I cannot understand how we
are to stop thinking, without doing ourselves more harm than good. This
point has been much debated by those learned in spiritual matters; I confess
my want of humility in having been unable to yield to their opinion. [138]

5. Some one told me of a certain book written on the subject by the saintly
Friar Peter of Alcantara (as I think I may justly call him); I should have
submitted to his decision, knowing that he was competent to judge, but on
reading it I found he agreed with me that the mind must act until called to
recollection by love, although he stated it in other words. [139] Possibly
I may be mistaken, but I rely on these reasons. Firstly, he who reasons less
and tries to do least, does most in spiritual matters. We should make our
petitions like beggars before a powerful and rich Emperor; then, with
downcast eyes, humbly wait. When He secretly shows us He hears our prayers,
it is well to be silent, as He has drawn us into His presence; there would
then be no harm in trying to keep our minds at rest (that is to say, if we
can). If, however, the King makes no sign of listening or of seeing us,
there is no need to stand inert, like a dolt, which the soul would resemble
if it continued inactive. In this case its dryness would greatly increase,
and the imagination would be made more restless than before by its very
effort to think of nothing. Our Lord wishes us at such a time to offer Him
our petitions and to place ourselves in His presence; He knows what is best
for us.

6. I believe that human efforts avail nothing in these matters, which His
Majesty appears to reserve to Himself, setting this limit to our powers. In
many other things, such as penances, good works, and prayers, with His aid
we can help ourselves as far as human weakness will allow. The second reason
is, that these interior operations being sweet and peaceful, [140] any
painful effort does us more harm than good. By˜painful effort I mean any
forcible restraint we place on ourselves, such as holding our breath. [141]
We should rather abandon our souls into the hands of God, leaving Him to
do as He chooses with us, as far as possible forgetting all self-interest
and resigning ourselves entirely to His will. The third reason is, that the
very effort to think of nothing excites our imagination the more. The fourth
is, because we render God the most true and acceptable service by caring
only for His honour and glory and forgetting ourselves, our advantages,
comfort and happiness. How can we be self-oblivious, while keeping ourselves
under such strict control that we are afraid to move, or even to think, or
to leave our minds enough liberty to desire Gods greater glory and to
rejoice in the glory which He possesses? When His Majesty wishes the mind to
rest from working He employs it in another manner, giving it a light and
knowledge far above any obtainable by its own efforts and absorbing it
entirely into Himself. Then, though it knows not how, it is filled with
wisdom such as it could never gain for itself by striving to suspend the
thoughts. God gave us faculties for our use; each of them will receive its
proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit
them to do their work until divinely called to something higher. [142]

7. In my opinion, when God chooses to place the soul in this mansion it is
best for it to do as I advised, and then endeavour, without force or
disturbance, to keep free from wandering thoughts. No effort, however,
should be made to suspend the imagination entirely from arming, for it is
well to remember Gods presence and to consider Who He is. If transported
out of itself by its feelings, well and good; but let it not try to
understand what is passing within it, for this favour is bestowed on the
will which should be left to enjoy it in peace, only making loving
aspirations occasionally. Although, in this kind of prayer, the soul makes
no effort towards it, yet often, for a very short time, the mind ceases to
think at all. I explained elsewhere why this occurs during this spiritual
state. [143] On first speaking of the fourth mansions, I told you I had
mentioned divine consolations before the prayer of recollection. The latter
should have come first, as it is far inferior to consolations, of which it
is the commencement. Recollection does not require us to give up meditation,
nor to cease using our intellect. In the prayer of quiet, when the water
flows from the spring itself and not through conduits, the mind ceases to
act; it is forced to do so, although it does not understand what is
happening, and so wanders hither and thither in bewilderment, finding no
place for rest. Meanwhile the will, entirely united to. God, is much
disturbed by the tumult of the thoughts: no notice, however, should be taken
of them, or they would cause the loss of a great part of the favour the soul
is enjoying. Let the spirit ignore these distractions and abandon itself in
the arms of divine love: His Majesty will teach it how best to act, which
chiefly consists in its recognizing its unworthiness of so great a good and
occupying itself in thanking Him for it.

8. In order to treat of the prayer of recollection, I passed over in silence
the effects and symptoms to be found in souls thus favoured by God. Divine
consolations evidently cause a dilation or enlargement of the soul that may
be compared to water flowing from a spring into a basin which has no outlet,
but is so constructed as to increase in size and proportion to the quantity
poured into it. God seems to work the same effect by this prayer, besides
giving many other marvellous graces, so preparing and disposing the soul to
contain all He intends to give it. After interior sweetness and dilation the
soul is not so restrained as formerly in Gods service, but possesses much
more liberty of spirit. It is no longer distressed by the terror of hell,
for though more anxious than ever not to offend God, it has lost servile
fear and feels sure that one day it will possess its Lord. It does not dread
the loss of health by austerities; [144] believing that there is nothing
it could not do by His grace, it is more desirous than before of doing
penance. Greater indifference is felt for sufferings because faith being
stronger, it trusts that if borne for God He will give the grace to endure
them patiently. Indeed, such a one at times even longs for trials, having a
most ardent desire to do something for His sake. As the soul better
understands the Divine Majesty, it realizes more vividly its own baseness.
Divine consolation shows it how vile are earthly pleasures; by gradually
withdrawing from them, it gains greater self-mastery. In short, its virtues
are increased and it will not cease to advance in perfection, unless it
turns back and offends God. Should it act thus, it would lose everything,
however high the state it may have reached.

9. It is not to be supposed that all these effects are produced merely by
Gods having shown these favours once or twice. They must be received
continually, for it is on their frequent reception that the whole welfare of
the soul depends. I strongly urge those who have reached this state to avoid
most carefully all occasions of offending God. [145] The soul is not yet
fully established in virtue, but is like a new-born babe first feeding at
its mothers breast: [146] if it leaves her, what can it do but die? I
greatly fear that when a soul to whom God has granted this favour
discontinues prayer, except under urgent necessity, it will, unless it
returns to the practice at once, go from bad to worse.

10. I realize the danger of such a case, having had the grief of witnessing
the fall of persons I knew through their withdrawal from Him Who sought,
with so much love, to make Himself their friend, as He proved by His
treatment of them. I urgently warn such persons not to run the risk of
sinning, for the devil would rather gain one of these souls than many to
whom our Lord does not grant such graces, [147] as the former may cause
him severe loss by leading others to follow their example, and may even
render great service to the Church of God. Were there no other reason except
that he saw the special love His Majesty bears these people, it would
suffice to make Satan frantic to destroy Gods work in them, so that they
might be lost eternally. Therefore they suffer grievous temptations, and if
they fall, they fall lower than others.

11. You, my sisters, are free from such dangers, as far as we can tell: God
keep you from pride and vainglory! The devil sometimes offers counterfeits
of the graces I have mentioned: this can easily be detected”the effects
being exactly contrary to those of the genuine ones. [148] Although I have
spoken of it elsewhere, [149] I wish to warn you here of a special danger
to which those who practise prayer are subject, particularly women, whose
weakness of constitution makes them more liable to such mistakes. On account
of their penances, prayers, and vigils, or even merely because of debility
of health, some persons cannot receive spiritual consolation without being
overcome by it. On feeling any interior joy, their bodies being languid and
weak, they fall into a slumber”they call it spiritual sleep”which is a more
advanced stage of what I have described; they think the soul shares in it as
well as the body, and abandon themselves to a sort of intoxication. The more
they lose self-control, the more do their feelings get possession of them,
because the frame becomes more feeble. They fancy this is a trance and call
it one, but I call it nonsense; it does nothing but waste their time and
injure their health.

12. This state lasted with a certain person for eight hours, during which
time she was neither insensible, nor had she any thought of God. [150] She
was cured by being made to eat and sleep well and to leave off some of her
penances. Her recovery was owing to some one who understood her case;
hitherto she had unintentionally deceived both her confessor and other
people, as well as herself. I feel quite sure the devil had been at work
here to serve his own ends and he was beginning to gain a great deal from
it. It should be known that when God bestows such favours on the soul,
although there may be languor both of mind and body, it is not shared by the
soul, which feels great delight at seeing itself so near God, nor does this
state ever continue for more than a very short time. [151] Although the
soul may become absorbed again, yet, as I said, unless already feeble, the
body suffers neither exhaustion nor pain. I advise any of you who experience
the latter to tell the Prioress, and to divert your thoughts as much as
possible from such matters. The Superior should prevent such a nun from
spending more than a very few hours in prayer, and should make her eat and
sleep well until her usual strength is restored, if she has lost it in this
way. [152] If the nuns constitution is so delicate that this does not
suffice, let her believe me when I tell her that God only calls her to the
active life. There must be such people in monasteries: employ her in the
various offices and be careful that she is never left very long alone,
otherwise she will entirely lose her health. This treatment will be a great
mortification to her: our Lord tests her love for Him by the way in which
she bears His absence. He may be pleased, after a time, to restore her
strength; if not, she will make as much progress, and earn as great a reward
by vocal prayer and obedience as she would have done by contemplation, and
perhaps more.

13. There are people, some of whom I have known, whose minds and
imaginations are so active as to fancy they see whatever they think about,
which is very dangerous. [153] Perhaps I may treat of this later on, but
cannot do so now. I have dwelt at length on this mansion, as I believe it to
be the one most souls enter. As the natural is combined with the
supernatural, the devil can do more harm here than later on, when God does
not leave him so many opportunities. May God be for ever praised! Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[132] Life, ch. xiv. 2. The Saint says in the second chapter of this
mansion, § 5, and also in letters dated Dec. 7, 1577 (Vol. II) and Jan. 14,
1580, that when writing the Interior Castle she had more experience in
spiritual things than when she composed her former works. This is fully
borne out by the present chapter. In the corresponding part of her Life she
practically confounded the prayer of recollection with the prayer of quiet
(the second state of the soul). Likewise, in the Way of Perfection, ch.
xxviii., she speaks of but one kind of prayer of recollection and then
passes on to the prayer of quiet. Here, however, she mentions a second form
of the prayer of recollection. See Philippus a SS. Trinitate, pars iii.
tract. i, disc. iii. art. 1,˜De oratione recollectionis (page 81 of the
third vol. of the edition of 1874);˜de secundo modo recollectionis (ibid.
p. 82.); and art. 2:˜De oratione quietis (ibid. p. 84.) Antonius a Spiritu
Sancto, Direct. Mystic. tract. iv. n. 78:˜Duo sunt hujus recollectionis
modi, primus quidem activus [reference to the Way of Perfection, l.c.],
secundus autem passivus, [reference to this chapter of the Fourth
Mansion]. The former is not supernatural, in the sense that with special
grace from above it can be acquired; the second is altogether supernatural
and more like gratuitous grace (ibid. no. 80 and 81). On the meaning of
˜Solitude,˜Silence, etc., see Anton. a Sp. S. l.c., tract. i, n. 78-82.

[133] The edition of Burgos (vol. iv, P. 59) refers appropriately to the
following passage in the Tercer Abecedario (See Life, ch. iv, 8) by the
Franciscan friar Francisco de Osuna, a work which exercised a profound
influence on St. Teresa:Entering within oneself; and rising above oneself,
are the two principal points in this exercise, those which, above all
others, one ought to strive after, and which give the highest satisfaction
to the soul. There is less labour in entering within oneself than in rising
above oneself and therefore it appears to me that when the soul is ready and
fit for either, you ought to do the former, because the other will follow
without any effort, and will be all the more pure and spiritual; however,
follow what course your soul prefers as this will bring you more grace and
benefit, (Tr. ix, ch, viii).

[134] Some editors of the Interior Castle think that St. Teresa refers to
the following passage taken from the Confessions of St. Augustine:˜Too late
have I loved Thee, O Beauty, ever ancient yet ever new! too late have I
loved Thee! And behold, Thou wert within me and I abroad, and there I
searched for Thee, and, deformed as I was, I pursued the beauties that Thou
hast made. Thou wert with me, but I was not with Thee. Those things kept me
far from Thee, which, unless they were in Thee, could have had no being
(St. Augustines Confessions, bk. x, ch. xxvii.). The Confessions of St.
Augustine were first translated into Spanish by Sebastian Toscano, a
Portuguese Augustinian. This edition, which was published at Salamanca in
1554, was the one used by St. Teresa. However, it is more probable that here
and elsewhere (Life, ch. xli. 10; Way of Perf. ch. xxviii. 2) St. Teresa
quotes a passage which occurs in a pious book entitled Soliloquia, and
erroneously attributed to St. Augustine:˜I have gone about the streets and
the broad ways of the city of this world seeking Thee, but have not found
Thee for I was wrong in seeking without for what was within. (ch. xxxi.)
This treatise which is also quoted by St. John of the Cross, Spiritual
Canticle, stanza i. 7, Ascent of Mount Carmel, bk. i. ch. v. 1, appeared in
a Spanish translation at Valladolid in 1515, at Medina del Campo in 1553,
and at Toledo in 1565.

[135] Life, ch. xiv. 7, 8; 20.

[136] St. Teresa read this in the Tercer Abecedario of Francisco de Osuna
(tr. vi, ch, iv):˜This exercise concentrates the senses of man in the
interior of the heart where dwells˜the daughter of the king; that is, the
Catholic soul; thus recollected, man may well be compared to the tortoise or
sea-urchin which rolls itself up and withdraws within itself, disregarding
everything outside.

[137] Life. ch, xii. 8.

[138] Life, ch. xiv, 10.

[139] A Golden Treatise of Mental Prayer by St. Peter of Alcantara,
translated by Rev. G. F. Bullock M.A. and edited by Rev. George Seymour
Hollings S.S.J.E. London, Mowbray, 1905, p. 117. Eighth Counsel. Let the
last and chiefest counsel be that in this holy exercise we should endeavour
to unite Meditation with Contemplation making of the one a ladder for
attaining to the other. For this we must know that (p. 118) the very office
of Meditation is to consider Divine things with studiousness and attention
passing from one to another, to move our hearts to some affection and deep
feeling for them, which is as though one should strike a flint to draw from
it the spark. For Contemplation is to have drawn forth this spark: I mean to
have now found this affection and feeling which were sought for, and to be
in peace and silence enjoying them; not with many discursive and
intellectual speculations but with simple gaze upon the truth. Wherefore,
says a holy teacher, Meditation goes its way and brings forth fruit, with
labour, but Contemplation bears fruit without labour. The one seeketh, the
other findeth; the one consumeth the food, the other enjoys it; the one
discourseth, and maketh reflections, the other is contented with a simple
gaze upon the things, for it hath in possession their love and joy. Lastly,
the one is as the means, the other as the end; the one as the road and
journeying along it, the other as the end of the road and of the journeying.
From this is to be inferred a very common thing, which all masters of the
spiritual life teach, although it is little (p. 119) understood of those who
learn it; which is this, that, as the means cease when the end has been
attained, as the voyaging is over when the port has been touched, so when,
through the working out of our Meditation, we have come to the repose and
sweet savour of Contemplation, we ought then to cease from that pious and
laborious searching; and being satisfied with the simple gaze upon, and
thought of, God”as though we had Him there present before us”we should rest
in the enjoyment of that affection then given, whether it be of love, or of
admiration, or joy, or other like sentiment. The reason why this counsel is
given is this, that as the aim of this devotion is love and the affections
of the will rather than the speculations of the understanding, when the will
has been caught and taken by this affection, we should put away all those
discursive and intellectual speculations, so far as we can, in order that
our soul with all its forces may be fastened upon this affection without
being diverted by the action of other influences. A learned teacher,
therefore, counsels us that as soon as anyone feels himself fired by the
love of God, he should first put aside (p. 120.) all these considerations
and thoughts”however exalted they may seem”not because they are really not
good in themselves, but because they are then hindrances to what is better.
and more important. For this is nothing else than that, having come to the
end and purpose of our work, we should stay therein, and leave Meditation
for the love of Contemplation. This may especially be done at the end of any
exercise, that is, after the petition for the Divine love of which we have
spoken, for one reason, because then it is supposed that the labour of the
exercise we have just gone through has produced some divine devotion and
feeling, since, saith the wise man,˜Better is the end of prayer than the
beginning: and for another reason, that, after the work of Prayer and
Meditation, it is well that one should give his mind a little rest, and
allow it to repose in the arms of Contemplation. At this point, then, we
should put away all other thoughts that may present themselves, and,
quieting the mind and stilling the memory, fix all upon our Lord; and
remembering that we are then in His presence, no longer dwell upon the
details of divine things. Ibidem p. 121. And not only at the end of the
exercise but in the midst of it, and at whatever part of it, this spiritual
swoon should come upon us, when the intellect is laid to sleep, we should
make this pause, and enjoy the blessing bestowed; and then, when we have
finished the digestion of it, turn to the matter we have in hand, as the
gardener does, when he waters his garden-bed; who, after giving it (p. 122)
a sufficiency of water, holds back the stream, and lets it soak and spread
itself through the depths of the earth; and then when this hath somewhat
dried up, he turns down upon it again the flow of water that it may receive
still more, and be well irrigated.

[140] Sap. viii. i:˜Disponit omnia suaviter.

[141] Life, ch. xv. i.

[142]The whole of the time in which our Lord communicates the simple,
loving general attention of which I made mention before, or when the soul,
assisted by grace, is established in that state, we must contrive to keep
the understanding in repose, undisturbed by the intrusion of forms, figures,
or particular knowledge, unless it were slightly and for an instant, and
that with sweetness of love, to enkindle our souls the more. At other times,
however, in all our acts of devotion and good works, we must make use of
good recollections and meditations, so that we may feel an increase of
profit and devotion; most especially applying ourselves to the life,
passion, and death of Jesus Christ, our Lord, that our life and conduct may
be an imitation of His. (St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, bk.
ii. ch. xxxii. 7.)

[143] Life, ch. xv. 2.

[144] Life, ch. xxiv. 2.

[145] Way of Perf. ch. xvi. 5. Castle, M. v. ch. i, 2, 3; ii. 4, 5; iii. 2,
6, 12.

[146] Way of Perf. ch. xxxi. 7. Concept. ch. iv. 6.

[147] Way of Perf. ch. xl. 3.

[148] Life, ch. xx. 31.

[149] Found. ch. vi.

[150] Found. ch. vi. 15.

[151] Life ch. xviii. 16, 17.

[152] Letter of Oct. 23, 1 376. Vol. II.

[153] Found. ch. viii. 7-8.
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_________________________________________________________________

THE FIFTH MANSIONS
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER I.

BEGINS TO TREAT OF THE UNION OF THE SOUL WITH GOD IN PRAYER. HOW TO BE SURE
THAT WE ARE NOT DECEIVED IN THIS MATTER.

1. Graces of the fifth mansions. 2. Contemplation to be striven for. 3.
Physical effects of the Prayer of union. 4. Amazement of the intellect. 5.
The Prayer of union and of quiet contrasted. 6. Divine and earthly union. 7.
Competent directors in these matters. 8. Proof of union. 9. Assurance left
in the soul. 10. Divine union beyond our Power to obtain.

1. OH, my sisters, how shall I describe the riches, treasures, and joys
contained in the fifth mansions! Would it not be better to say nothing about
them? They are impossible to depict, nor can the mind conceive, nor any
comparisons portray them, all earthly things being too vile to serve the
purpose. Send me, O my Lord, light from heaven that I may give some to these
Thy servants, some of whom by Thy good will often enjoy these delights, lest
the devil in the guise of an angel of light should deceive those whose only
desire is to please Thee.

2. I said˜some, but in reality there are very few [154] who never enter
this mansion: some more and some less, but most of them may be said at least
to gain admittance into these rooms. I think that certain graces I am about
to describe are bestowed on only a few of the nuns, but if the rest only
arrive at the portal they receive a great boon from God, for˜many are
called, but few are chosen. [155] All we who wear the holy habit of the
Carmelites are called to prayer and contemplation. This was the object of
our Order, [156] to this lineage we belong. Our holy Fathers of Mount
Carmel sought in perfect solitude and utter contempt of the world for this
treasure, this precious pearl, [157] of which we speak, and we are their
descendants. How little do most of us care to prepare our souls, that our
Lord may reveal this jewel to us! Outwardly we may appear to practise the
requisite virtues, but we have far more to do than this before it is
possible to attain to contemplation, to gain which we should neglect no
means, either small or great. Rouse yourselves, my sisters, and since some
foretaste of heaven may be had on earth, beg our Lord to give us grace not
to miss it through our own fault. Ask Him to show us where to find it”ask
Him to give us strength of soul to dig until we find this hidden treasure,
which lies buried within our hearts, as I wish to show you if it please God
to enable me. I said˜strength of soul, that you might understand that
strength of body is not indispensable when our Lord God chooses to withhold
it. He makes it impossible for no one to gain these riches, but is content
that each should do his best. Blessed be so just a God!

3. But, daughters, if you would purchase this treasure of which we are
speaking, God would have you keep back nothing from Him, little or great. He
will have it all; [158] in proportion to what you know you have given will
your reward be great or small. There is no more certain sign whether or not
we have reached the prayer of union. Do not imagine that this state of
prayer is, like the one preceding it, a sort of drowsiness (I call it
drowsiness because the soul seems to slumber, being neither quite asleep
nor wholly awake). In the prayer of union the soul is asleep, fast asleep,
as regards the world and itself: in fact, during the short time this state
lasts it is deprived of all feeling whatever, being unable to think on any
subject, even if it wished. No effort is needed here to suspend the
thoughts: if the soul can love it knows not how, nor whom it loves, nor what
it desires. In fact, it has died entirely to this world, to live more truly
than ever in God. This is a delicious death, for the soul is deprived of the
faculties it exercised while in the body: [159] delicious because,
(although not really the case), it seems to have left its mortal covering to
abide more entirely in God. So completely does this take place, that I know
not whether the body retains sufficient life to continue breathing; on
consideration, I believe it does not; at any rate, if it still breathes, it
does so unconsciously.

4. The mind entirely concentrates itself on trying to understand what is
happening, which is beyond its power; it is so astounded that, if
consciousness is not completely lost, at least no movement is possible: the
person may be compared to one who falls into a dead faint with dismay. [160]

5. Oh, mighty secrets of God! Never should I weary of trying to explain them
if I thought it possible to succeed! I would write a thousand foolish things
that one might be to the point, if only it might make us praise God more. I
said this prayer produced no drowsiness in the mind; on the other hand, in
the prayer (of quiet) described in the last mansion, until the soul has
gained much experience it doubts what really happened to it.˜Was it nothing
but fancy, or was it a sleep? Did it come from God or from the devil,
disguised as an angel of light? The mind feels a thousand misgivings, and
well for it that it should, because, at I said, nature may sometimes deceive
us in this case. Although there is little chance of the poisonous reptiles
entering here, yet agile little lizards will try to slip in, though they can
do no harm, especially if they remain unnoticed. These, as I said, are
trivial fancies of the imagination, which are often very troublesome.
However active these small lizards may be, they cannot enter the fifth
mansion, for neither the imagination, the understanding, nor the memory has
power to hinder the graces bestowed on it. 6. I dare venture to assert that,
if this is genuine union with God, the devil cannot interfere nor do any
harm, for His Majesty is so joined and united with the essence of the soul,
that the evil one dare not approach, nor can he even understand this
mystery. This is certain, for it is said that the devil does not know our
thoughts, much less can he penetrate a secret so profound that God does not
reveal it even to us. [161] Oh, blessed state, in which this cursed one
cannot injure us! What riches we receive while God so works in us that
neither we ourselves nor any one else can impede Him! What will He not
bestow, Who is so eager to give, and Who can give us all He desires! You may
perhaps have been puzzled at my saying˜if this is genuine union with
God, as if there might be other unions. There are indeed”not with God, but
with vanities”when the devil transports the soul passionately addicted to
them, but the union differs from that which is divine and the mind misses
the delight and satisfaction, peace and happiness of divine union. These
heavenly consolations are above all earthly joys, pleasure, and
satisfaction. As great a difference exists between their origin and that of
worldly pleasures as between their opposite effects, as you know by
experience.

7. I said somewhere [162] that the one seems only to touch the surface of
the body, while the other penetrates to the very marrow: I believe this is
correct, and I cannot express myself better. I fancy that you are not yet
satisfied on this question, but are afraid of deception, for spiritual
matters are very hard to explain. Enough, however, has been said for those
who have received this grace, as the difference between divine union and any
other is very striking. However, I will give you a clear proof which cannot
mislead you, nor leave any doubt whether the favour comes from God or no.
His Majesty brought it back to my memory this very day; it appears to me to
be an unmistakable sign. In difficult questions, although I think I
understand them and am speaking the truth, I always say˜it appears to me;
for, in case my opinion is wrong, I am most willing to submit to the
judgment of theologians. Although they may not have had personal experience
in such matters, yet in some way I do not understand, God Who sets them to
give light to His Church enables them to recognize the truth when it is put
before them. If they are not thoughtless and indevout, but servants of God,
they are never dismayed at His mighty works, knowing perfectly well that it
is in His power to perform far greater wonders. If some of the marvels told
are new to them, yet they have read of others of the same kind, showing the
former to be possible. I have had great experience as to this and have also
met with timid, half-instructed people whose ignorance has cost me very
dear. [163] I am convinced that those who refuse to believe that God can
do far more than this, and that He is pleased now, as in the past, to
communicate Himself to His creatures, shut fast their hearts against
receiving such favours themselves. Do not imitate them, sisters: be
convinced that it is possible for God to perform still greater wonders. Do
not concern yourselves as to whether those who receive these graces are good
or wicked; as I said, He knows best and it is no business of yours: you
should serve Him with a single heart and with humility, and should praise
Him for His works and wonders. [164]

8. Let us now speak of the sign which proves the prayer of union to have
been genuine. As you have seen, God then deprives the soul of all its senses
that He may the better imprint in it true wisdom: it neither sees, hears,
nor understands anything while this state lasts, which is never more than a
very brief time; [165] it appears to the soul to be much shorter than it
really is. God visits the soul in a manner which prevents its doubting, on
returning to itself, that it dwelt in Him and that He was within it, and so
firmly is it convinced of this truth that, although years may pass before
this favour recurs, the soul can never forget it nor doubt the fact, [166]
setting aside the effects left by this prayer, to which I will refer later
on. The conviction felt by the soul is the main point.

9. But, you may ask, how can a person who is incapable of sight and hearing
see [167] or know these things? I do not say that she saw it at the time,
but that she perceives it clearly afterwards, not by any vision but by a
certitude which remains in the heart which God alone could give. I know of
some one who was unaware of Gods being in all things by presence, power and
essence, yet was firmly convinced of it by a divine favour of this sort.
[168] She asked an ill-instructed priest of the kind I mentioned to tell her
in what way God dwelt within us: he was as ignorant on the subject as she
had been before our Lord revealed to her the truth, and answered that the
Almighty was only present in us by grace. [169] Yet so strong was her
conviction of the truth learnt during her prayer that she did not believe
him and questioned other spiritual persons on the subject, who confirmed her
in the true doctrine, much to her joy. Do not mistake and imagine that this
certainty of Gods having visited the soul concerns any corporal presence
such as that of our Lord Jesus Christ Who dwells in the Blessed Sacrament,
although we do not see Him: it relates solely to the Divinity. If we did not
see it, how can we feel so sure of it? That I do not know: it is the work of
the Almighty and I am certain that what I say is the fact. I maintain that a
soul which does not feel this assurance has not been united to God entirely,
but only by one of its powers, or has received one of the many other favours
God is accustomed to bestow on men. In all such matters we must not seek to
know how things happened: our understanding could not grasp them, therefore
why trouble ourselves on the subject? It is enough to know that it is He,
the all-powerful God, Who has performed the work. We can do nothing on our
own part to gain this favour; it comes from God alone; therefore let us not
strive to understand it.

10. Concerning my words:˜We can do nothing on our own part, I was struck
by the words of the Bride in the Canticles, which you will remember to have
heard:The King brought me into the cellar of wine, [170] (or˜placed
me I think she says): she does not say she went of her own accord, although
telling us how she wandered up and down seeking her Beloved. [171] I think
the prayer of union is the˜cellar in which our Lord places us when and how
He chooses, but we cannot enter it through any effort of our own. His
Majesty alone can bring us there and come into the centre of our souls. In
order to declare His wondrous works more clearly, He will leave us no share
in them except complete conformity of our wills to His and abandonment of
all things: He does not require the faculties or senses to open the door to
Him; they are all asleep. He enters the innermost depths of our souls
without a door, as He entered the room where the disciples sat, saying˜Pax
vobis, [172] and as He emerged from the sepulchre without removing the
stone that closed the entrance. You will see farther on, in the seventh
mansion, far better than here, how God makes the soul enjoy His presence in
its very centre. O daughters, what wonders shall we see, if we keep ever
before our eyes our own baseness and frailty and recognize how unworthy we
are to be the handmaids of so great a Lord, Whose marvels are beyond our
comprehension! May He be for ever praised! Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[154] Found. ch. iv. 8.

[155] St. Matt. xx. 16:˜Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi.

[156] Maneant singuli in cellulis suis, vel juxta eas, die ac nocte in lege
Domini meditantes et in orationibus vigilantes. (Carmelite Rule).

[157] St. Matt, xiii. 46.

[158]The reason why there are so few contemplatives is that there are so
few persons who wholly withdraw themselves from transitory and created
things (Imitation, bk. iii. ch. xxxi. 1). See also Way of Perf. ch. xvi. 5.
Life, ch. xi. 2-4; xxii. 18, 19.

[159] Way of Perf. ch. xxv. 1. Life, ch. xvi. Rel. I. i; viii. 7.

[160] Life, ch. xvii. 2.

[161] According to St. Thomas, angels”whether good or bad”do not know the
thoughts of man unless they become manifest by some exterior sign. S. Theol.
I. q. lvii. art. 4. See also St. John of the Cross, Dark Night, bk. II, ch.
xxiii. 2, 5.

[162] Mansion iv. ch. i, 5.

[163] Life, ch. viii. 15.

[164] Life, ch. xviii. 16.

[165] Life, ch. xx. 13, 24.

[166] Philippus a SS. Trinitate, l.c., pars iii. tr. i. disc. iv. art, 2,
where he adds some further signs. Anton. a Sp. S., l.c., tract. i. no. 116
and 117.

[167]The soul does not see the good Master who teaches it, although
clearly conscious of His presence. (Concept. ch. iv. 3.)

[168]There are three ways in which God is present in the soul. The first
is His presence in essence, not in holy souls only, but in wretched and
sinful souls as well, and also in all created things; for it is by this
presence that He gives life and being, and were it withdrawn at once all
things would return to nothing. This presence never fails in the soul. The
second is His presence by grace, whereby He dwells in the soul, pleased and
satisfied with it. This presence is not in all souls; for those who fall
into mortal sin lose it, and no soul can know in a natural way whether it
has it or not. The third is His presence by spiritual affection. God is wont
to show His presence in many devout souls in divers ways, in refreshment,
joy and gladness. (St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle, stanza xi.
2.)In every soul, even that of the greatest sinner in the world, God
dwells and is substantially present. This way of union or presence of God,
in the order of nature, subsists between Him and all His creatures; by this
He preserves them in being, and if He withdraws it they immediately perish
and cease to be. And so, when I speak of the union of the soul with God, I
do not mean this substantial presence which is in every creature, but that
union and transformation of the soul in God by love which is only then
accomplished when there subsists the likeness which love begets. (St. John
of the Cross, Ascent, bk. ii. ch. v. 3.) Fr. Gracian, Peregrinacion de
Anastasio (Burgos, 1905), p. 171.

[169] Life, ch. xviii. 20. Rel. ix. 17; xi. 8. St. Teresa was so deeply
impressed by the ignorance of this priest that she very frequently referred
to it.

[170] Cant. i. 3:˜Introduxit me rex in cellaria sua. Castle, M. v. ch. i.
Way of Perf. ch. xviii. I. Concep. ch. iv. 4-8; v. 5; vi. 7; vii. 2-5. Life,
ch. xviii. 17.

[171] Cant. iii. 2:˜Per vicos et plateas qu¦ram quem diligit anima mea.

[172] St. John, xx. 19.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER II.

CONTINUES THE SAME SUBJECT: EXPLAINS THE PRAYER OF UNION BY A DELICATE
COMPARISON AND SPEAKS OF THE EFFECTS IT LEAVES UPON THE SOUL. THIS CHAPTER
SHOULD RECEIVE GREAT ATTENTION.

1. The soul compared to a butterfly. 2. The grandeurs of creation. 3. Symbol
of the soul and the silkworm. 4. Preparation of the soul for Gods
indwelling. 5. Mystic death of the silkworm. 6. Effects of divine union. 7.
Increase of fervour and detachment. 8. Trials succeeding the prayer of
union. 9. Longing for death and zeal for Gods honour. 10. This zeal
supernatural. 11. God alone works this grace. 12. The same zeal as that felt
by our Lord on earth. 13. Christs keenest suffering.

1. You may imagine that there is no more left to be described of the
contents of this mansion, but a great deal remains to be told, for as I
said, it contains favours of various degrees. I think there is nothing to
add about the prayer of union, but when the soul on which God bestows this
grace disposes itself for their reception, I could tell you much about the
marvels our Lord works in it. I will describe some of them in my own way,
also the state in which they leave the soul, and will use a suitable
comparison to elucidate the matter, explaining that though we can take no
active part in this work of God within us, [173] yet we may do much to
prepare ourselves to receive this grace. You have heard how wonderfully silk
is made”in a way such as God alone could plan”how it all comes from an egg
resembling a tiny pepper-corn. Not having seen it myself, I only know of it
by hearsay, so if the facts are inaccurate the fault will not be mine. When,
in the warm weather, the mulberry trees come into leaf, the little egg which
was lifeless before its food was ready, begins to live. The caterpillar
nourishes itself upon the mulberry leaves until, when it has grown large,
people place near it small twigs upon which, of its own accord, it spins
silk from its tiny mouth until it has made a narrow little cocoon in which
it buries itself. Then this large and ugly worm leaves the cocoon as a
lovely little white butterfly.

2. If we had not seen this but had only heard of it as an old legend, who
could believe it? Could we persuade ourselves that insects so utterly
without the use of reason as a silkworm or a bee would work with such
industry and skill in our service that the poor little silkworm loses its
life over the task? This would suffice for a short meditation, sisters,
without my adding more, for you may learn from it the wonders and the wisdom
of God. How if we knew the properties of all things? It is most profitable
to ponder over the grandeurs of creation and to exult in being the brides of
such a wise and mighty King.

3. Let us return to our subject. The silkworm symbolizes the soul which
begins to live when, kindled by the Holy Spirit, it commences using the
ordinary aids given by God to all, and applies the remedies left by Him in
His Church, such as regular confession, religious hooks, and sermons; these
are the cure for a soul dead in its negligence and sins and liable to fall
into temptation. Then it comes to life and continues nourishing itself on
this food and on devout meditation until it has attained full vigour, which
is the essential point, for I attach no importance to the rest. When the
silkworm is full-grown as I told you in the first part of this chapter, it
begins to spin silk and to build the house wherein it must die. By this
house, when speaking of the soul, I mean Christ. I think I read or heard
somewhere, either that our life is hid in Christ, or in God (which means the
same thing) or that Christ is our life. [174] It makes little difference
to my meaning which of these quotations is correct.

4. This shows, my daughters, how much, by Gods grace, we can do, by
preparing this home for ourselves, towards making Him our dwelling-place as
He is in the prayer of union. You will suppose that I mean we can take away
from or add something to God when I say that He is our home, and that we can
make this home and dwell in it by our own power. Indeed we can: though we
can neither deprive God of anything nor add aught to Him, yet we can take
away from and add to ourselves, like the silkworms. The little we can do
will hardly have been accomplished when this insignificant work of ours,
which amounts to nothing at all, will be united by God to His greatness and
thus enhanced with such immense value that our Lord Himself will be the
reward of our toil. Although He has had the greatest share in it, He will
join our trifling pains to the bitter sufferings He endured for us and make
them one.

5. Forward then, my daughters! hasten over your work and build the little
cocoon. Let us renounce self-love and self-will, [175] care for nothing
earthly, do penance, pray, mortify ourselves, be obedient, and perform all
the other good works of which you know. Act up to your light; you have been
taught your duties. Die! die as the silkworm does when it has fulfilled the
office of its creation, and you will see God and be immersed in His
greatness, as the little silkworm is enveloped in its cocoon. Understand
that when I say˜you will see God, I mean in the manner described, in which
He manifests Himself in this kind of union.

6. Now let us see what becomes of the˜silkworm, for all I have been saying
leads to this. As soon as, by means of this prayer, the soul has become
entirely dead to the world, it comes forth like a lovely little white
butterfly! [176] Oh, how great God is! How beautiful is the soul after
having been immersed in Gods grandeur and united closely to Him for but a
short time! Indeed, I do not think it is ever as long as half an hour. [177]
Truly, the spirit does not recognize itself, being as different from what
it was as is the white butterfly from the repulsive caterpillar. It does not
know how it can have merited so great a good, or rather, whence this grace
came [178] which it well knows it merits not. The soul desires to praise
our Lord God and longs to sacrifice itself and die a thousand deaths for
Him. It feels an unconquerable desire for great crosses and would like to
perform the most severe penances; it sighs for solitude and would have all
men know God, while it is bitterly grieved at seeing them offend Him. These
matters will be described more fully in the next mansion; there they are of
the same nature, yet in a more advanced state the effects are far stronger,
because, as I told you, if; after the soul has received these favours, it
strives to make still farther progress, it will experience great things. Oh,
to see the restlessness of this charming little butterfly, although never in
its life has it been more tranquil and at peace! May God be praised! It
knows not where to stay nor take its rest; everything on earth disgusts it
after what it has experienced, particularly when God has often given it this
wine which leaves fresh graces behind it at every draught.

7. It despises the work it did while yet a caterpillar”the slow weaving of
its cocoon thread by thread”its wings have grown and it can fly; could it be
content to crawl? All that it can do for God seems nothing to the soul
compared with its desire. It no longer wonders at what the saints bore for
Him, knowing by experience how our Lord aids and transforms the soul until
it no longer seems the same in character and appearance. Formerly it feared
penance, now it is strong: it wanted courage to forsake relations, friends,
or possessions: neither its actions, its resolutions, nor separation from
those it loved could detach the soul, but rather seemed to increase its
fondness. Now it finds even their rightful claims a burden, [179] fearing
contact with them lest it should offend God. It wearies of everything,
realizing that no true rest can be found in creatures.

8. I seem to have enlarged on this subject, yet far more might be said about
it; those who have received this favour will think I have treated it too
briefly. No wonder this pretty butterfly, estranged from earthly things,
seeks repose elsewhere. Where can the poor little creature go? It cannot
return to whence it came, for as I told you, that is not in the souls
power, do what it will, but depends upon Gods pleasure. Alas, what fresh
trials begin to afflict the mind! Who would expect this after such a sublime
grace? [180] In fact in one way or another we must carry the cross all our
lives. If people told me that ever since attaining to the prayer of union
they had enjoyed constant peace and consolation, I should reply that they
could never have reached that state, but that, at the most, if they had
arrived as far as the last mansion, their emotion must have been some
spiritual satisfaction joined to physical debility. It might even have been
a false sweetness caused by the devil, who gives peace for a time only to
wage far fiercer war later on. I do not mean that those who reach this stage
possess no peace; they do so in a very high degree, for their sorrows,
though extremely severe, are so beneficial and proceed from so good a source
as to procure both peace and happiness.

9. Discontent with this world gives such a painful longing to quit it that,
if the heart finds comfort, it is solely from the thought that God wishes it
to remain here in banishment. Even this is not enough to reconcile it to
fate, for after all the gifts received, it is not yet so entirely
surrendered to the will of God as it afterwards becomes. Here, although
conformed to His will, the soul feels an unconquerable reluctance to submit,
for our Lord has not given it higher grace. During prayer this grief breaks
forth in floods of tears, probably from the great pain felt at seeing God
offended and at thinking how many souls, both heretics and heathens, are
lost eternally, and keenest grief of all, Christians also! The soul realizes
the greatness of Gods mercy and knows that however wicked men are, they may
still repent and be saved; yet it fears that many precipitate themselves
into hell.

10. Oh, infinite greatness of God! A few years ago”indeed, perhaps but a few
days”this soul thought of nothing but itself. Who has made it feel such
tormenting cares? If we tried for many years to obtain such sorrow by means
of meditation, we could not succeed.

11. God help me! If for long days and years I considered how great a wrong
it is that God should be offended, and that lost souls are His children and
my brethren; if I pondered over the dangers of this world and how blessed it
would be to leave this wretched life, would not that suffice? No, daughters,
the pain would not be the same. for this, by the help of God, we can obtain
by such meditation; but it does not seem to penetrate the very depths of our
being like the other which appears to cut the soul to pieces and grind it to
powder through no action”even sometimes with no wish”of its own. What is
this sorrow, then? Whence does it come? I will tell you. Have you not heard
(I quoted the words to you just now, but did not apply to them this meaning)
[181] how the Bride says that God˜brought her into the cellar of wine and
set in order charity in her? [182] This is what happens here. The soul
has so entirely yielded itself into His hands and is so subdued by love for
Him that it knows or cares for nothing but that God should dispose of it
according to His will. I believe that He only bestows this grace on those He
takes entirely for His own. He desires that, without knowing how, the spirit
should come forth stamped with His seal for indeed it does no more than does
the wax when impressed with the signet. It does not mould itself but need
only be in a fit condition”soft and pliable; even then it does not soften
itself but must merely remain still and submit to the impression.

12. How good Thou art, O God! All is done for us by Thee, Who dost but ask
us to give our wills to Thee that we may be plastic as wax in Thy hands. You
see, sisters, what God does to this soul so that it may know that it is His.
He gives it something of His own”that which His Son possessed when living on
earth”He could bestow on greater gift on us. Who could ever have longed more
eagerly to leave this life than did Christ? As He said at the Last Supper:
˜With desire have I desired [183] this. O Lord! does not that bitter
death Thou art to undergo present itself before Thine eyes in all its pain
and horror?No, for My ardent love and My desire to save souls are
immeasurably stronger than the torments. This deeper sorrow I have suffered
and still suffer while living here on earth, makes other pain seem as
nothing in comparison.

13. I have often meditated on this and I know that the torture a friend of
mine [184] has felt, and still feels, at seeing our Lord sinned against is
so unbearable that she would far rather die than continue in such anguish.
Then I thought that if a soul whose charity is so weak compared to that of
Christ”indeed, in comparison with His this charity might be said not to
exist”experiences this insufferable grief, what must have been the feelings
of our Lord Jesus Christ and what must His life have been? for all things
were present before His eyes and He was the constant witness of the great
offences committed against His Father. I believe without doubt that this
pained Him far more than His most sacred Passion. There, at least, He found
the end of all His trials, while His agony was allayed by the consolation of
gaining our salvation through His death and of proving how He loved His
Father by suffering for Him. Thus, people who, urged by fervent love,
perform great penances hardly feel them but want to do still more and count
even that as little. What, then, must His Majesty have felt at thus publicly
manifesting His perfect obedience to His Father and His love for His
brethren? What joy to suffer in doing Gods will! Yet I think the constant
sight of the many sins committed against God and of the numberless souls on
their way to hell must have caused Him such anguish that, had He not been
more than man, one day of such torment would have destroyed not only His
life but many more lives, had they been His.
_________________________________________________________________

[173] Way of Perf. ch. xxv. 3.

[174] Col. iii. 3:Vita vestra est abscondita cum Christo in Deo. Gal. ii.
w:˜Vivo autem, jam on ego; vivit vero in me Christus.

[175] Way of Perf. ch. xxxi. i 1.

[176] St. Teresa must have been thinking of this simile when she chose
˜butterflies as the pseudonym for her nuns in her letters at the time when
she was obliged to be cautious on account of the troubles of the Reform.

[177] Life, ch. xviii. 16.

[178] Life, ch. xviii. 5-7.

[179] Rel. ix, 11.

[180] Way of Perf. ch. xviii. 1-4. Castle, M. vi ch. i. 3, sqq. M. vii. ch.
iv. 7.

[181] Fifth Mansions, ch. i. 10.

[182] Cant. ii. 4.˜Introduxit me in cellam vinariam, ordinavit in me
caritatem.

[183] St. Luke xxii. 15:˜Desiderio desideravi hoc pascha manducare
vobiscum, antequam patiar.

[184] This friend is, of course, St. Teresa herself. See Life, ch. xiii. 14;
xxxii. 9. Way of Perf. ch. i. 3. Castle, M. vii. ch. i. 5, 6. Excl. x. 9.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER III.

THIS CHAPTER CONTINUES THE SAME SUBJECT AND SPEAKS OF ANOTHER KIND OF UNION
WHICH THE SOUL CAN OBTAIN WITH THE HELP OF GOD. THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE OF
OUR NEIGHBOUR IN THIS MATTER. THIS IS VERY USEFUL TO READ.

1. Zeal for souls left by divine union. 2. The soul may fall from such a
state. 3. How divine union may always be obtained. 4. Union with the will of
God the basis of all supernatural union. 5. Advantage of union gained by
self-mortification. 6. Defects which hinder this union. 7. Divine union
obtained by perfect love of God and our neighbour. 8. Love for God and our
neighbour are proportionate. 9. Real and imaginary virtues. 10. Illusionary
good resolutions. 11. Works, not feelings, procure union. 12. Fraternal
charity will certainly gain this union.

1. LET us now return to our little dove and see what graces God gives it in
this state. This implies that the soul endeavours to advance in the service
of our Lord and in self-knowledge. If it receives the grace of union and
then does no more, thinking itself safe, and so leads a careless life,
wandering off the road to heaven (that is, the keeping of the commandments)
it will share the fate of the butterfly that comes from the silkworm, which
lays some eggs that produce more of its kind and then dies for ever. I say
it leaves some eggs, for I believe God will not allow so great a favour to
be lost but that if the recipient does not profit by it, others will. For
while it keeps to the right path, this soul, with its ardent desires and
great virtues, helps others and kindles their fervour with its own. Yet even
after having lost this it may still long to benefit others and delight to
make known the mercies shown by God to those who love and serve Him. [185]

2. I knew a person to whom this happened. Although greatly erring, she
longed that others should profit by the favours God had bestowed on her and
taught the way of prayer to people ignorant of it, thus helping them
immensely. God afterwards bestowed fresh light upon her; indeed the prayer
of union had not hitherto produced the above effects in her. How many people
there must be to whom our Lord communicates Himself, who, like Judas, are
called to the Apostleship and made kings by Him, as was Saul, yet who
afterwards lose everything by their own fault! We should learn from this,
sisters, that if we would merit fresh favours and avoid losing those we
already possess, our only safety lies in obedience and in following the law
of God. This I say, both to those who have received these graces and to
those who have not. [186]

3. In spite of all I have written, there still seems some difficulty in
understanding this mansion. The advantage of entering is so great, that it
is well that none should despair of doing so because God does not give them
the supernatural gifts described above. With the help of divine grace true
union can always be attained by forcing ourselves to renounce our own will
and by following the will of God in all things. [187]

4. Oh, how many of us affirm that we do this, and believe we seek nothing
else”indeed we would die for the truth of what we say! If this be the case I
can only declare, as I fancy I did before, and I shall again and again, that
we have already obtained this grace from God. Therefore we need not wish for
that other delightful union described above, for its chief value lies in the
resignation of our will to that of God without which it could not be
reached. [188] Oh, how desirable is this union! The happy soul which has
attained it will live in this world and in the next without care of any
sort. No earthly events can trouble it, unless it should see itself in
danger of losing God or should witness any offence offered Him. Neither
sickness, poverty, nor the loss of any one by death affect it, except that
of persons useful to the Church of God, for the soul realizes thoroughly
that Gods disposal is wiser than its own desires.

5. You must know that there are different kinds of sorrow: there are both
griefs and joys rising from an impulse of nature or from a charity which
makes us pity our neighbour, like that felt by our Saviour when He raised
Lazarus from the dead. [189] These feelings do not destroy union with the
will of God nor do they disturb the soul by a restless, turbulent, and
lasting passion. They soon pass away, for as I said of sweetness in prayer,
[190] they do not affect the depths of the soul but only its senses and
faculties. They are found in the former mansions, but do not enter the last
of all. Is it necessary, in order to attain to this kind of divine union,
for the powers of the soul to be suspended? No; God has many ways of
enriching the soul and bringing it to these mansions besides what might be
called a˜short cut. But, be sure of this, my daughters: in any case the
silkworm must die and it will cost you more in this way. In the former
manner this death is facilitated by finding ourselves introduced into a new
life; here, on the contrary, we must give ourselves the death-blow. I own
that the work will be much harder, but then it will be of higher value so
that your reward will be greater if you come forth victorious; [191] yet
there is no doubt it is possible for you to attain this true union with the
will of God.

6. This is the union I have longed for all my life and that I beg our Lord
to grant me; it is the most certain and the safest. But alas, how few of us
ever obtain it! Those who are careful not to offend God, and who enter the
religious state, think there is nothing more to do. How many maggots remain
in hiding until, like the worm which gnawed at Jonass ivy, [192] they
have destroyed our virtues. These pests are such evils as self-love,
self-esteem, rash judgment of others even in small matters, and a want of
charity in not loving our neighbour quite as much as ourselves. Although
perforce we satisfy our obligations sufficiently to avoid sin, yet we fall
far short of what must be done in order to obtain perfect union with the
will of God.

7. What do you think, daughters, is His will? That we may become quite
perfect and so be made one with Him and with His Father as He prayed we
might be. [193] Observe, then, what is wanting in us to obtain this. I
assure you it is most painful for me to write on this subject, for I see how
far I am, through my own fault, from having attained perfection. There is no
need for us to receive special consolations from God in order to arrive at
conformity with His will; He has done enough in giving us His Son to teach
the way. This does not mean that we must so submit to the will of God as not
to sorrow at such troubles as the death of a father or brother, or that we
must bear crosses and sickness with joy. [194] This is well, but it
sometimes comes from common sense which, as we cannot help ourselves, makes
a virtue of necessity. How often the great wisdom of the heathen
philosophers led them to act thus in trials of this kind! Our Lord asks but
two things of us: love, for Him and for our neighbour: these are what we
must strive to obtain. If we practise both these virtues perfectly we shall
be doing His will and so shall be united to Him. But, as I said, we are very
far from obeying and serving our great Master perfectly in these two
matters: may His Majesty give us the grace to merit union with Him; it is in
our power to gain it if we will.

8. I think the most certain sign that we keep these two commandments is that
we have a genuine love for others. We cannot know whether we love God
although there may be strong reasons for thinking so, but there can be no
doubt about whether we love our neighbour or no. [195] Be sure that in
proportion as you advance in fraternal charity, you are increasing in your
love of God, [196] for His Majesty bears so tender an affection for us
that I cannot doubt He will repay our love for others by augmenting, in a
thousand different ways, that which we bear for Him. We should watch most
carefully over ourselves in this matter, for if we are faultless on this
point we have done all. I believe human nature is so evil that we could not
feel a perfect charity for our neighbour unless it were rooted in the love
of God.

9. In this most important matter, sisters, we should be most vigilant in
little things, taking no notice of the great works we plan during prayer
which we imagine that we would perform for other people, even perhaps for
the sake of saving a single soul. If our actions afterwards belie these
grand schemes, there is no reason to imagine that we should do anything of
the sort. I say the same of humility and the other virtues. The devils
wiles are many; he would turn hell upside down a thousand times to make us
think ourselves better than we are. He has good reason for it, for such
fancies are most injurious; sham virtues springing from this root are always
accompanied by a vainglory never found in those of divine origin, which are
free from pride.

10. It is amusing to see souls who, while they are at prayer, fancy they are
willing to be despised and publicly insulted for the love of God, yet
afterwards do all they can to hide their small defects; if any one unjustly
accuses them of a fault, God deliver us from their outcries! Let those who
cannot bear such things take no notice of the splendid plans they made when
alone, which could have been no genuine determination of the will but only
some trick of the imagination, or the results would have been very
different. The devil assaults and deceives people in this way, often doing
great harm to women and others too ignorant to understand the difference
between the powers of the soul and the imagination, and a thousand other
matters of the sort. O sisters! how easy it is to know which of you have
attained to a sincere love of your neighbour, and which of you are far from
it. If you knew the importance of this virtue, your only care would be to
gain it.

11. When I see people very anxious to know what sort of prayer they
practise, covering their faces and afraid to move or think lest they should
lose any slight tenderness and devotion they feel, I know how little they
understand how to attain union with God since they think it consists in such
things as these. No, sisters, no; our Lord expects works from us. If you see
a sick sister whom you can relieve, [197] never fear losing your devotion;
compassionate her; if she is in pain, feel for it as if it were your own
and, when there is need, fast so that she may eat, not so much for her sake
as because you know your Lord asks it of you. This is the true union of our
will with the will of God. If some one else is well spoken of, be more
pleased than if it were yourself; this is easy enough, for if you were
really humble it would vex you to be praised. It is a great good to rejoice
at your sisters virtues being known and to feel as sorry for the fault you
see in her as if it were yours, hiding it from the sight of others.

12. I have often spoken on this subject elsewhere, [198] because, my
sisters, if we fail in this I know that all is lost: please God this may
never be our case. If you possess fraternal charity, I assure you that you
will certainly obtain the union I have described. If you are conscious that
you are wanting in this charity, although you may feel devotion and
sweetness and a short absorption in the prayer of quiet (which makes you
think you have attained to union with God), believe me you have not yet
reached it. Beg our Lord to grant you perfect love for your neighbour, and
leave the rest to Him. He will give you more than you know how to desire if
you constrain yourselves and strive with all your power to gain it, forcing
your will as far as possible to comply in all things with your sisters
wishes although you may sometimes forfeit your own rights by so doing.
Forget your self-interests for theirs, how ever much nature may rebel; when
opportunity occurs take some burden upon yourself to ease your neighbour of
it. Do not fancy it will cost you nothing and that you will find it all done
for you: think what the love He bore for us cost our Spouse, Who to free us
from death, Himself suffered the most painful death of all”the death of the
Cross.
_________________________________________________________________

[185] Life, ch. vii. 18. Way of Perf. xli. 8.

[186] Life. ch, vii. 21.

[187] Found. ch. v. 10.˜These shall not attain to the true liberty of a
pure heart, nor to the grace of a delightful familiarity with Me, unless
they first resign themselves and offer themselves a daily sacrifice to Me:
for without this, divine union neither is nor will be obtained. (Imitation,
book iii. ch. xxxvii. 4.)

[188] Philippus a SS. Trinitate, l.c., p. iii. tr. i, disc. ii. art. 4.

[189] St. John xi. 35, 36:˜Et lacrymatus est Jesus. Dixerunt ergo Jud¦i:
Ecce quomodo amabat cum.

[190] Fourth Mansions, ch. i. 5. Fifth Mansions, ch. i. 7.

[191] Way of Perf. ch. xvii. 2.

[192] Jonas iv. 6, 7:˜And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it came up over
the head of Jonas, to be a shadow over his head, and to cover him, for he
was fatigued; and Jonas was exceeding glad of the ivy. But God prepared a
worm, when the morning arose on the following day: and it struck the ivy and
it withered.

[193] St. John xvii. 22, 23:˜Ut sint unum, sicut et nos unum sumus. Ego in
eis, et tu in me: ut sint consummati in unum. Way of Perf. ch. xxxii. 6.

[194] Way of Perf. ch. ix. i, 2.

[195] 1 St. John iv. 20:˜Qui enim non diligit fratrem suum quem videt, Deum
quem non videt quomodo potest diligere?

[196] Way of Perf. ch. xviii. 5.

[197] Way of Perf. ch. vii. 4.

[198] Way of Perf. ch. iv. 3; vii. 4.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER IV.

FURTHER EXPLANATION OF THE SAME SUBJECT; EXPLAINS THIS PRAYER. THE
IMPORTANCE OF BEING ON ONES GUARD, AS THE DEVIL EAGERLY DESIRES TO TURN
SOULS BACK FROM THE RIGHT PATH.

1. The spiritual espousals. 2. The prayer of union resembles a betrothal. 3.
Before the spiritual nuptials temptations are dangerous. 4. The great good
done by souls faithful to these graces. 5. Religious subject to the devils
deceptions. 6. Satans strata-gems. 7. Why they are permitted. 8. Prayer and
watchfulness our safeguards. 9. Gods watchfulness over such souls. 10.
Progress in virtue. 11. Insignificance of our actions compared with their
reward. 12. St. Teresas motives for writing on prayer.

1. You appear anxious to know what has become of the little dove and where
she obtains rest, since obviously she can find it neither in spiritual
consolations nor in earthly pleasures but takes a higher flight. I cannot
tell you until we come to the last mansion: God grant I may remember or have
leisure to write it. It is nearly five months since I began this work, and
as my head is too weak to read it again, no doubt it will be very
disconnected and full of repetitions: however, as it is only for my sisters,
that will matter little. Yet I should like to express myself more fully
about the prayer of union and will make use, to the best of my scanty wits,
of a comparison. Later on we will speak of the little butterfly, which is
never still, for it can find no true repose, yet always fertile, doing good
both to itself and others. [199] You have often heard that God spiritually
espouses souls: may He be praised for His mercy in thus humbling Himself so
utterly. Though but a homely comparison, yet I can find nothing better to
express my meaning than the Sacrament of Matrimony although the two things
are very different. In divine union everything is spiritual and far removed
from anything corporal, all the joys our Lord gives and the mutual delight
felt in it being celestial and very unlike human marriage, which it excels a
thousand times. Here all is love united to love; its operations are more
pure, refined, and sweet than can be described, though our Lord knows how to
make the soul sensible of them.

2. I think this union does not attain as far as the spiritual espousals but
resembles the preliminaries that take place when two people are
contemplating a betrothal. Their suitability and willingness for the
alliance are first discussed; then they may be allowed to see one another
sometimes so as to come to a decision. Thus it is in the spiritual
espousals: when the preliminary agreement has been made and the soul
thoroughly understands what great advantages she will gain, having resolved
to fulfil the will of her Spouse in all things and to do all she can to
please Him, His Majesty Who knows well whether this is so in reality, wishes
in return to gratify His bride. He therefore bestows this favour upon her,
visits her and draws her into His presence, as He wishes her to know Him
better. We might compare the prayer of union to a visit, for it lasts but a
very little while. [200] There is no longer any question of deliberation,
but the soul in a secret manner sees to what a Bridegroom it is betrothed;
the senses and faculties could not, in a thousand years, gain the knowledge
thus imparted in a very short time. The Spouse, being Who He is, leaves the
soul far more deserving of completing the espousals, as we may call them;
the enamoured soul in its love for Him makes every effort to prevent their
being frustrated. Should it grow neglectful and set its affections on
anything except our Lord, it will forfeit everything: this loss is as great
as are the favours the soul has continually received, which are precious
beyond description. [201]

3. O Christian souls! you whom God has brought thus far! I implore you for
His dear sake not to grow careless, but to avoid all occasions of sin; you
are not strong enough yet to undergo temptation, as you will be after the
espousals which take place in the next mansion. Here the betrothed are, as
they say, only acquainted by sight, [202] and the devil will spare no
pains to oppose and prevent their nuptials. Afterwards, when he sees the
Bride is wholly given to her Bridegroom, he is afraid to interfere, having
learnt by experience that if he molests her, while he loses much, she will
gain greatly in merit.

4. I can assure you, my daughters, [203] that I have known people far
advanced in the spiritual life who had reached this state of prayer yet whom
the devil reclaimed by his subtlety and wiles: as I have often said, all
hell leagues together against such souls because the loss of one of them
entails the perdition of many more, as Satan is well aware. If we considered
how many men God draws to Himself by means of one, we should praise Him
fervently. Think of the multitudes converted by the martyrs or by one young
maiden like St. Ursula! Again, of how many victims the evil one was deprived
by St. Dominic, St. Francis, and other founders of religious orders. How
many more he loses, even now, through Father Ignatius [Loyola], who founded
the Company [of Jesus]! As we read their lives, we learn that they received
such graces from God. How was this great good done except by their efforts
not to forfeit, through any fault of theirs, these divine espousals? Oh, my
daughters, how willing our Lord is to grant us the same graces! In fact,
there is even more urgent need now for persons to prepare for such favours,
since there are fewer who care for His honour. We love ourselves too much
and are too prudent to give up any of our rights. What a deception! May God
in His mercy give us light, lest we sink into such darkness.

5. You may question or be in doubt on two points. Firstly: if the soul is
entirely united with the will of God, as I have stated, how can it be
deceived, since it ever seeks to follow His pleasure? Secondly, how can the
devil enter and work such havoc as to destroy your soul while you are so
utterly withdrawn from the world and constantly frequent the Sacraments?
[204] At the same time you enjoy the society of angels (as we might call
them) and by the mercy of God you desire nothing but to serve and please Him
in all things? [205] It is not surprising that people in the world should
run such risks. I admit you have the right to say this, for God has shown us
signal mercy; but, as I said above, knowing as I do that Judas was amongst
the Apostles and that he held constant intercourse with God Himself, to
Whose words he listened, I learn that the state of religion does not make us
safe.

6. To your first question I reply that doubtless if such a soul is always
faithful to the will of God, it cannot be lost; the evil one, however, comes
with his keen subtlety and, under the pretext of good, leads it astray in
some trivial matter and causes it to commit small defects which he makes it
believe are harmless. Thus, little by little, the reason is obscured and the
will is weakened while the devil fosters his victims self-love, until, by
degrees, he succeeds in withdrawing it from union with the will of God and
makes it follow its own will.

7. The answer to your first inquiry will serve for the second. No enclosure
can be too strict for Satan to enter nor any desert too remote for him to
visit. Besides, God may permit him to tempt the soul to prove its virtue;
for as He intends it to enlighten others, it is better for it to fail in the
beginning than when it might do them great harm.

8. We must beg God constantly in our prayers to uphold us by His hand; we
should keep ever in our minds the truth that if He leaves us, most certainly
we shall fall at once into the abyss, for we must never be so foolish as to
trust in ourselves. After this I think the greatest safeguard is to be very
careful and to watch how we advance in virtue; we must notice whether we are
making progress or falling back in it, especially as regards the love of our
neighbour, the desire to be thought the least of all and how we perform our
ordinary, everyday duties. If we attend to this and beg Our Lord to
enlighten us, we shall at once perceive our gain or loss.

9. Do not suppose that after advancing the soul to such a state God abandons
it so easily that it is light work for the devil to regain it. When His
Majesty sees it leaving Him, He feels the loss so keenly that He gives it in
many a way a thousand secret warnings which reveal to it the hidden danger.
[206]

10. In conclusion, let us strive to make constant progress: we ought to feel
great alarm if we do not find ourselves advancing, for without doubt the
evil one must be planning to injure us in some way; it is impossible for a
soul that has come to this state not to go still farther, for love is never
idle. Therefore it is a very bad sign when one comes to a stand-still in
virtue. She who aspires to become the spouse of God Himself, and has treated
with His Majesty and come to such an understanding with Him, must not leave
off and go to sleep. [207]

11. To show you, my daughters, how Christ treats the souls He takes for His
brides, I will now speak of the sixth mansions. You will then see how little
in comparison is all that we can do or suffer in His service to prepare
ourselves for the reception of such immense favours. Perhaps our Lord
decreed that I should write this in order that the knowledge of the great
reward to come, and of His infinite mercy in seeking to give and to manifest
Himself to such worms as we are, might make us forget our wretched, petty,
earthly pleasures and run on our way with eyes fixed on His grandeur,
inflamed with love for Him.

12. May He enable me to explain some of these difficult matters; if our Lord
and the Holy Ghost do not guide my pen, I know the task will prove
impossible. 1 beg Him to prevent my saying anything unless it will profit
you. His Majesty knows that, as far as I can judge, I have no other wish but
that His Name may be glorified and that we may strive to serve a Lord Who
thus recompenses our efforts even in this world. What, then, will be our joy
in heaven where it will be continuous, without the interruptions, labours,
and dangers of this tempestuous sea of life? Were it not for the fear of
losing or offending Him, we should wish to live until the end of the world
[208] in order to work for so great a God”our Lord and our Spouse. May His
Majesty enable us to render Him some service free from the many faults we
always commit, even in good works! Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[199] Compare:˜habebit fructum in respectione animarum sanctarum (Breviar.
Rom. Ant. ad Laudes de Com. Virg.);˜quasi apis argumentosa Domino
deservisti (Ibid. Feast of St. C¦cilia.)

[200] Life, ch. xviii.

[201] Way of Perf. ch. xxxi. 10.

[202] Phil. a SS. Trinit. l.c. p. iii. tract. i. disc. ii. art. 2.

[203] Contrast with this paragraph what the Saint says in her Life, ch. xix.
§ 8.

[204] Life, ch, xxxvi. 26; xxxix. 14. Found. ch. i. 1-4.

[205] Way of Perf. ch. i, 2; xiii. 3. Found. ch. i. 3.

[206] Life, ch. xix. 9.

[207] Life, ch. xix. 7.

[208] Rel. ix. 19.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

THE SIXTH MANSIONS
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER I.

THIS CHAPTER SHOWS HOW, WHEN GOD BESTOWS GREATER FAVOURS ON THE SOUL, IT
SUFFERS MORE SEVERE AFFLICTIONS. SOME OF THE LATTER ARE DESCRIBED AND
DIRECTIONS HOW TO BEAR THEM GIVEN TO THE DWELLERS IN THIS MANSION. THIS
CHAPTER IS USEFUL FOR THOSE SUFFERING INTERIOR TRIALS.

1. Love kindled by divine favours. 2. Our Lord excites the souls longings.
3. Courage needed to reach the last mansions. 4. Trials accompanying divine
favours. 5. Outcry raised against souls striving for perfection. 6. St.
Teresas personal experience of this. 7. Praise distasteful to an
enlightened soul. 8. This changes to indifference. 9. Humility of such
souls. 10. Their zeal for Gods glory. 11. Perfect and final indifference to
praise or blame. 12. Love of enemies. 13. Bodily sufferings. 14. St.
Teresas physical ills. 15. A timorous confessor. 16. Anxiety on account of
past sins. 17. Fears and aridity. 18. Scruples and fears raised by the
devil. 19. Bewilderment of the soul. 20. God alone relieves these troubles.
21. Human weakness. 22. Earthly consolations are of no avail. 23. Prayer
gives no comfort at such a time. 24. Remedies for these interior trials. 25.
Trials caused by the devil. 26. Other afflictions. 27. Preparatory to
entering the seventh mansions.

1. BY the aid of the Holy Ghost I am now about to treat of the sixth
mansions, where the soul, wounded with love for its Spouse, sighs more than
ever for solitude, withdrawing as far as the duties of its state permit from
all that can interrupt it, The sight it has enjoyed of Him is so deeply
imprinted on the spirit that its only desire is to behold Him again. I have
already said that, [209] even by the imagination, nothing is seen in this
prayer that can be called sight. I speak of it as˜sight because of the
comparison I used.

2. The soul is now determined to take no other Bridegroom than our Lord, but
He disregards its desires for its speedy espousals, wishing that these
longings should become still more vehement and that this good, which far
excels all other benefits, should be purchased at some cost to itself. And
although for so great a gain all that we must endure is but a poor price to
pay, I assure you, daughters, that this pledge of what is in store for us is
needed to inspire us with courage to bear our crosses.

3. O My God, how many troubles both interior and exterior must one suffer
before entering the seventh mansions! Sometimes, while pondering over this I
fear that, were they known beforehand, human infirmity could scarcely bear
the thought nor resolve to encounter them, however great might appear the
gain. If, however, the soul has already reached the seventh mansions, it
fears nothing: boldly undertaking to suffer all things for God, [210] it
gathers strength from its almost uninterrupted union with Him.

4. I think it would be well to tell you of some of the trials certain to
occur in this state. Possibly all souls may not be led in this way, but I
think that those who sometimes enjoy such truly heavenly favours cannot be
altogether free from some sort of earthly troubles. Therefore, although at
first I did not intend to speak on this subject, yet afterwards I thought
that it might greatly comfort a soul in this condition if it knew what
usually happens to those on whom God bestows graces of this kind, for at the
time they really seem to have lost everything.

5. I shall not enumerate these trials in their proper order, but will
describe them as they come to my memory, beginning with the least severe.
This is an outcry raised against such a person by those amongst whom she
lives, and even from others she has nothing to do with but who fancy that at
some time in her life they recollect having seen her. They say she wants to
pass for a saint, that she goes to extremes in piety to deceive the world
and to depreciate people who are better Christians than herself without
making such a parade of it. But notice that she does nothing except
endeavour to carry out the duties of her state more perfectly. Persons she
thought were her friends desert her, making the most bitter remarks of all.
They take it much to heart that her soul is ruined”she is manifestly
deluded”it is all the devils work”she will share the fate of so-and-so who
was lost through him, and she is leading virtue astray. They cry out that
she is deceiving her confessors, and tell them so, citing examples of others
who came to ruin in the same way and make a thousand scoffing remarks of the
same sort. [211] 6. I know some one who feared she would be unable to find
any priest who would hear her confession, to such a pass did things come;
but as it is a long story, I will not stop to tell it now. The worst of it
is, these troubles do not blow over but last all her life, for one person
warns the other to have nothing to do with people of her kind. You will say
that, on the other hand, some speak in her favour. O my daughters, how few
think well of her in comparison with the many who hate her!

7. Besides this, praise pains such a soul more than blame because it
recognizes clearly that any good it possesses is the gift of God and in no
wise its own, seeing that but a short time ago it was weak in virtue and
involved in grave sins. [212] Therefore commendation causes it intolerable
suffering, at least at first, although later on, for many reasons, the soul
is comparatively indifferent to either.

8. The first is that experience has shown the mind that men are as ready to
speak well as ill of others, so it attaches no more importance to the one
than to the other. Secondly, our Lord having granted it greater light, it
perceives that no good thing in it is its own but is His gift, and becomes
oblivious of self, praising God for His graces as if they were found in a
third person.

9. The third reason is that, realizing the benefit reaped by others from
witnessing graces given it by God, such a one thinks that it is for their
profit He causes them to discover in her virtues that do not exist. 10.
Fourthly, souls seeking Gods honour and glory more than their own are cured
of the temptation (which usually besets beginners) of thinking that human
praise will cause them the injury they have seen it do to others. Nor do
these souls care much for mens contempt if only, by their means, any one
should praise God at least once”come what may afterwards.

11. These and other reasons to a certain extent allay the great distress
formerly given by human praise which, however, still causes some discomfort
unless the soul has become utterly regardless of mens tongues. It is
infinitely more grieved at being undeservedly esteemed by the world than by
any calumny; and when at last it becomes almost indifferent to praise, it
cares still less for censure, which even pleases it and sounds like
harmonious music to the ears.

12. This is perfectly true; the soul is rather strengthened than depressed
by its trials, experience having taught it the great advantages derived from
them. It does not think men offend God by persecuting it, but that He
permits them to do so for its greater gain. [213] So strong is this belief
that such a person bears a special affection for these people, holding them
as truer friends and greater benefactors than those who speak well of her.
[214]

13. Our Lord now usually sends severe bodily infirmity. This is a far
heavier cross, especially if acute pain is felt: if this is violent, I think
it is the hardest of earthly trials. I speak of exterior trials; but
corporal pains if of the worst kind enter the interior of our being also,
affecting both spirit and body, so that the soul in its anguish knows not
what to do with itself and would far rather meet death at once by some quick
martyrdom than suffer thus. However, these paroxysms do not last long, for
God never sends us more than we can bear and always gives us patience first.

14. Now to speak of other trials and illnesses of many kinds which generally
occur to people in this state. I knew some one who, from the time when,
forty years ago, [215] our Lord began to bestow on her the favour
described, could not affirm with any truth that she had been a single day
without pain and other kinds of suffering: I am speaking of physical
infirmities besides heavy crosses sent her. [216] True, she had led a
wicked life and therefore held these troubles very light in comparison with
the hell she had deserved. [217] Our Lord leads those who have offended
Him less by some other way, but I should always choose the way of suffering,
if only for the sake of imitating our Lord Jesus Christ; though, in fact, it
profits us in many other manners. Yet, oh! the rest would seem trifling in
comparison could I relate the interior torments met with here, but they are
impossible to describe.

15. Let us first speak of the trial of meeting with so timorous and
inexperienced a confessor that nothing seems safe to him; he dreads and
suspects everything but the commonplace, especially in a soul in which he
deters any imperfection, for he thinks people on whom God bestows such
favours must be angels, which is impossible while we live in our bodies.
[218] He at once ascribes everything to the devil or melancholy. As to the
latter, I am not surprised; there is so much of it in the world and the evil
one works such harm in this way that confessors have the strongest reasons
for anxiety and watchfulness about it.

16. The poor soul, beset by the same fears, seeks its confessor as judge,
and feels a torture and dismay at his condemnation that can only be realized
by those who have experienced it themselves. [219] For one of the severe
trials of these souls, especially if they have lived wicked lives, is their
belief that God permits them to be deceived in punishment for their sins.
While actually receiving these graces they feel secure and cannot but
suppose that these favours proceed from the Spirit of God; but this state
lasts a very short time, while the remembrance of their misdeeds is ever
before them, so that when, as is sure to happen, they discover any faults in
themselves, these torturing thoughts return. [220]

17. The soul is quieted for a time when the confessor reassures it although
it returns later on to its former apprehensions, but when he augments its
fears they become almost unbearable. Especially is this the case when such
spiritual dryness ensues that the mind feels as if it never had thought of
God nor ever will be able to do so. When men speak of Him, they seem to be
talking of some person heard of long ago.

18. All this is nothing without the further pain of thinking we cannot make
our confessors understand the case and are deceiving them. [221] Although
such a person may examine her conscience with the greatest care, and may
know that she reveals even the first movement of her mind to her director,
it does not help her. Her understanding being too obscure to discern the
truth, she believes all that the imagination, which now has the upper hand,
puts before her mind, besides crediting the falsehoods suggested to her by
the devil, whom doubtless our Lord gives leave to tempt her. The evil spirit
even tries to make her think God has rejected her. Many are the trials which
assault this soul, causing an internal anguish so painful and so intolerable
that I can compare it to nothing save that suffered by the lost in hell, for
no comfort can be found in this tempest of trouble. [222]

19. If the soul seeks for consolation from its confessor, all the demons
appear to help him to torment it more. A confessor who dealt with a person
suffering in this manner thought that her state must be very dangerous as so
many things were troubling her; therefore, after she had recovered from her
trials, he bade her tell him whenever they recurred: however, he found this
made matters worse than ever. She lost all control over herself: although
she had learnt to read, yet she could no more understand a book in the
vulgar tongue than if she had not known the alphabet, for her mind was
incapable of acting. [223]

20. In short, there is no other remedy in such a tempest except to wait for
the mercy of God Who, unexpectedly, by some casual word or unforeseen
circumstance, suddenly dispels all these sorrows; then every cloud of
trouble disappears and the mind is left full of light and far happier than
before. [224] It praises our Lord God like one who has come out victorious
from a dangerous battle, for it was He Who won the victory. The soul is
fully conscious that the conquest was not its own as all weapons of
self-defence appeared to be in the enemies hands. Thus it realizes its
weakness and how little man can help himself if God forsake him.

21. This truth now needs no demonstration, for past experience has taught
the soul its utter incapacity; it realizes the nothingness of human nature
and what miserable creatures we are. Although in a state of grace from which
it has not fallen”for, in spite of these torments, it has not offended God,
nor would it do so for any earthly thing [225]”yet so hidden is this grace,
that the sufferer believes that neither now, nor in the past, has she ever
possessed the faintest spark of love for God. [226] If at any time she has
done good, or if His Majesty ever bestowed any favours on her, they seem to
have been but a dream or a fancy, while her sins stand clearly before her.

22. O Jesus! how sad it is to see a soul thus forsaken, and how little, as I
said, can any earthly comfort avail! Do not imagine, sisters, if you are
ever brought to such a state, that rich and independent people have more
resources than yourselves in these troubles. No, no! to offer such
consolations would be like setting all the joys of the world before people
condemned to death: far from mitigating, it would increase their torture. So
with the souls I spoke of: their comfort must come from above”nothing
earthly can help them. This great God wishes us to acknowledge His
sovereignty and our own misery”an important point for those who are to
advance still farther.

23. What can the poor soul do if such a trial lasts for many days? Prayer
makes no difference as far as comforting the heart, which no consolation can
enter, nor can the mind even grasp the meaning of the words of vocal prayer:
mental prayer is out of the question at such a time, since the faculties are
unequal to it. Solitude harms the soul, yet society or conversation is a
fresh torment. Strive as the sufferer may to hide it, she is so wearied and
out of sorts with all around that she cannot but manifest her condition.

24. How can the soul possibly tell what ails it? Its pains are
indescribable; it is wrung with nameless anguish and spiritual suffering.
The best remedy for these crosses (I do not mean for gaining deliverance
from them, for I know of nothing that will do that, but for enabling one to
bear them) is to perform external works of charity and to trust in the mercy
of God, which never fails those who hope in Him. [227] May He be for ever
blessed! Amen

25. The devils also bring about exterior trials which being more unusual
need not be mentioned. They are far less painful, for whatever the demons
may do, I believe they never succeed in paralysing the faculties or
disturbing the soul in the former manner. In fact, the reason is able to
discern that the evil spirits can do no more harm than God permits; and
while the mind has not lost its powers, all sufferings are comparatively
insignificant.

26. I shall treat of other internal afflictions met with in this mansion
when describing the different kinds of prayer and favours bestowed here by
our Lord. Although some of these latter pains are harder to endure, as
appears by their bodily effects, yet they do not deserve the name of
crosses, nor have we the right to call them so. Indeed, they are great
graces from God as the soul recognizes amidst its pangs, realizing how far
it is from meriting such graces.

27. This severe torture felt by souls just at the entrance of the seventh
mansion is accompanied by many other sufferings, some of which I will
mention: to speak of them all would be impossible, nor could I portray them
because they come from another and far higher source than the rest. If I
have succeeded so ill in writing of trials of a lower kind, much less could
I treat of the others. May God assist me in all things, through the merits
of His Son! Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[209] Castle, M. v. ch. i. 9. Life, ch. xxviii. 5.

[210] Life, ch. xl. 28. sqq.

[211] The Saint went through all this herself; every detail is taken from
her own experience. See Life, ch. xxv. 20; xxviii. 20-24; xxx. 6; xxiii. 2.
Anton. a Sp. S. l.c. tract, ii. n. 268.

[212] Life, ch. xxviii. 19.

[213] Rel. ii. 4.

[214] Anton. a Sp. S. l.c. ii. n. 272. Way of Perf. ch. xv. i; xvii. 4.
Found. ch. xxvii. 19, 20. Life, ch. xix. 12; xxxi. 13-17, 25.

[215]Forty years ago. The Saint seems to refer to her first experience in
the mystical life, which took place during her illness in the winter of
1537-38. See Life, ch. iv. 9.

[216] Life, ch. iv. 6; v; vi; vii. 18; xi. 23; XXX. 9.

[217] Ibid. ch. iii. 6, 7.

[218] Life, ch. xiii. 21-27. Way of Perf. ch. v. 1, 2.

[219] Ibid, ch. xxx. 15.

[220] Ibid, ch. xxxviii. 21. Rel. ii. 15.

[221] Life, ch. xxviii. 20 sqq.

[222] Anton. a Sp. S. l.c. tr. ii. n. 313. On this subject which is commonly
called the passive purgation of the intellect, it would be advisable to
consult some good author such as Philippus a SS. Trinitate, l.c. part. i.
tr. iii. disc. iii.-v., especially disc. iv. art. 5, 6.

[223] Life, ch. xxv. 21.

[224] Ibid. ch. xxv. 23.

[225] Ibid. ch. xxiv. 3. Way of Perf. ch. xli. 5. Castle, M. vii. ch. iv. 1.

[226] Excl. xvi. 4.

[227] Life, ch. xxxi. 27.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER II.

TREATS OF SEVERAL WAYS WHEREBY OUR LORD QUICKENS THE SOUL; THERE APPEARS NO
CAUSE FOR ALARM IN THEM ALTHOUGH THEY ARE SIGNAL FAVOURS OF A VERY EXALTED
NATURE.

1. Our Lord excites the love of His spouse. 2. The wound of love. 3. The
pain it causes. 4. The call of the Bridegroom. 5. Effect on the soul. 6. A
spark of the fire of love. 7. The spark dies out. 8. This grace evidently
divine. 9. One such wound repays many trials. 10. First reason of immunity
from deception. 11. Second and third reasons. 12. The imagination not
concerned in it. 13. St. Teresa never alarmed at this prayer. 14.˜The odour
of Thine ointment. 15. No reason to fear deception here.

1. IT seems as if we had deserted the little dove for a long time, but this
is not the case, for these past trials cause her to take a far higher
flight. I will now describe the way in which the Spouse treats her before
uniting her entirely to Himself. He increases her longing for Him by devices
so delicate that the soul itself cannot discern them; nor do I think I could
explain them except to people who have personally experienced them. These
desires are delicate and subtle impulses springing from the inmost depths of
the soul; I know of nothing to which they can be compared.

2. These graces differ entirely from anything we ourselves can gain, and
even from the spiritual consolation before described. [228] In the present
case, even when the mind is not recollected or even thinking of God,
although no sound is heard, His Majesty arouses it suddenly as if by a
swiftly flashing comet or by a clap of thunder. [229] Yet the soul thus
called by God hears Him well enough”so well, indeed, that sometimes,
especially at first, it trembles and even cries out, although it feels no
pain. It is conscious of having received a delicious wound but cannot
discover how, nor who gave it, yet recognizes it as a most precious grace
and hopes the hurt will never heal.

3. The soul makes amorous complaints to its Bridegroom, even uttering them
aloud; nor can it control itself, knowing that though He is present He will
not manifest Himself so that it may enjoy Him. This causes a pain, keen
although sweet and delicious from which the soul could not escape even if it
wished; but this it never desires. [230] This favour is more delightful
than the pleasing absorption of the faculties in the prayer of quiet which
is unaccompanied by suffering. [231]

4. I am at my wits end, sisters, as to how to make you understand this
operation of love: I know not how to do so. It seems contradictory to say
that the Beloved clearly shows He dwells in the soul and calls by so
unmistakable a sign and a summons so penetrating, that the spirit cannot
choose but hear it, while He appears to reside in the seventh mansion. He
speaks in this manner, which is not a set form of speech, and the
inhabitants of the other mansions, the senses, the imagination and the
faculties, dare not stir. [232]

5. O Almighty God! how profound are Thy secrets and how different are
spiritual matters from anything that can be seen or heard in this world! I
can find nothing to which to liken these graces, insignificant as they are
compared with many others Thou dost bestow on souls. This favour acts so
strongly upon the spirit that it is consumed by desires yet knows not what
to ask, for it realizes clearly that its God is with it. You may inquire, if
it realizes this so clearly, what more does it desire and why is it pained?
What greater good can it seek? I cannot tell: I know that this suffering
seems to pierce the very heart, and when He Who wounded it draws out the
dart He seems to draw the heart out too, so deep is the love it feels. [233]

6. I have been thinking that God might be likened to a burning furnace [234]
from which a small spark flies into the soul that feels the heat of this
great fire, which, however, is insufficient to consume it. The sensation is
so delightful that the spirit lingers in the pain produced by its contact.
This seems to me the best comparison I can find, for the pain is delicious
and is not really pain at all, nor does it always continue in the same
degree; sometimes it lasts for a long time; on other occasions it passes
quickly. This is as God chooses, for no human means can obtain it; and
though felt at times for a long while, yet it is intermittent.

7. In fact it is never permanent and therefore does not wholly inflame the
spirit; but when the soul is ready to take fire, the little spark suddenly
dies out, leaving the heart longing to suffer anew its loving pangs. No
grounds exist for thinking this comes from any natural cause or from
melancholy, or that it is an illusion of the devil or the imagination.
Undoubtedly this movement of the heart comes from God Who is unchangeable;
nor do its effects is resemble those of other devotions in which the strong
absorption of delight makes us doubt their reality.

8. There is no suspension here of the senses or other faculties: they wonder
at what is happening, without impeding it. Nor do I think that they can
either increase or dispel this delightful pain. Any one who has received
this favour from our Lord will understand my meaning on reading this: let
her thank Him fervently: there is no need to fear deception but far more
fear of not being sufficiently grateful for so signal a grace. Let her
endeavour to serve Him and to amend her life in every respect; then she will
see what will follow and how she will obtain still higher and higher gifts.

9. A person on whom this grace was bestowed passed several years without
receiving any other favour, yet was perfectly satisfied, for even had she
served God for very many years in the midst of severe trials, she would have
felt abundantly repaid. May He be for ever blessed! Amen.

10. Perhaps you wonder why we may feel more secure against deception
concerning this favour than in other cases. I think it is for these reasons.
Firstly, because the devil cannot give such delicious pain: he may cause
pleasure or delight which appears spiritual but is unable to add suffering,
especially suffering of so keen a sort, united to peace and joy of soul. His
power is limited to what is external; suffering produced by him is never
accompanied with peace, but with anxieties and struggles.

11. Secondly, because this welcome storm comes from no region over which
Satan has control. Thirdly, because of the great benefits left in the soul
which, as a rule, is resolute to suffer for God and longs to bear many
crosses. It is also far more determined than before to withdraw from worldly
pleasures and intercourse and other things of the same sort.

12. It is very clear that this is no fiction: the imagination may
counterfeit some favours but not this, which is too manifest to leave room
for doubt. Should any one still remain uncertain, let her know that hers
were not genuine impulses; [235] that is, if she is dubious as to whether
or no she experienced them, for they are as certainly perceived by the soul
as is a loud voice by the ears. It is impossible for these experiences to
proceed from melancholy whose whims arise and exist only in the imagination,
whereas this emotion comes from the interior of the soul.

13. I may be mistaken, but I shall not change my opinion until I hear
reasons to the contrary from those who understand these matters. I know some
one who has always greatly dreaded such deceptions, yet could never bring
herself to feel any alarm about this state of prayer. [236]

14. Our Lord also uses other means of rousing the soul; for instance”when
reciting vocal prayer without seeking to penetrate the sense, a person may
be seized with a delightful fervour [237] as if suddenly encompassed with
a fragrance powerful enough to diffuse itself through all the senses. I do
not assert that there really is any perfume but use this comparison because
it somewhat resembles the manner by which the Spouse makes His presence
understood, moving the soul to a delicious desire of enjoying Him and thus
disposing it to heroic acts, and causing it to render Him fervent praise.

15. This favour springs from the same source as the former, but causes no
suffering here, nor are the souls longings to enjoy God painful: this is
what is more usually experienced by the soul. For the reasons already given
there appears no cause here for fear, but rather for receiving it with
thanksgiving.
_________________________________________________________________

[228] Mansion iv. ch. i. Life, ch. xxix. 10-15. Rel. ch. viii. 15.

[229] The saint first wrote˜relampago, flash of lightning, but afterwards
altered it totrueno, clap of thunder.

[230] Rel. viii. 16. St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Cant. st. i. 22 sqq.
Poems 7, 8.

[231] Life, ch. xxix. 18.

[232] Life, ch. xv. 1.

[233] Ibid. ch. xxix. 17, 18.

[234] Ibid. ch. xv, 6; xviii. 4.; xxi. 9.

[235] Life, ch. xv. 15, 16.

[236] Life, ch. xxix. 6-10.

[237] Ibid. ch. xv. 12. On the matter treated by St. Teresa in this chapter,
compare St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle, stanza i. (circa finem),
stanza ix.; The Living Flame of Love, stanza ii.
_________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER III.

BY THE EDITOR

THE readers, especially those not well acquainted with Scholastic
philosophy, will, perhaps, be glad to find here a short explanation of the
various kinds. of Vision and Locution, Corporal, Imaginary, and
Intellectual. The senses of Taste, Touch, and Smell are not so often
affected by mystical phenomena, but what we are about to say in respect of
Sight and Hearing applies, mutatis mutandis, to these also.

1. A CORPORAL VISION is when one sees a bodily object. A Corporal Locution
is when one hears words uttered by a human tongue. In both cases the
respective senses are exercising their normal function, and the phenomenon
differs from ordinary seeing or hearing merely by the fact that in the
latter the object seen is a real body, the words perceived come from a real
tongue, whereas in the Vision or Locution the object is either only apparent
or at any rate is not such as it seems to be. Thus, when young Tobias set
out on a journey, his companion, Azarias, was not a real human being, but an
archangel in human form. Tobias did really see and hear him, and felt the
grip of his hand; Sara and her parents, as well as Tobiass parents, saw and
heard him too, but all the time the archangel made himself visible and
audible by means of an assumed body, or perhaps of an apparent body. It
would be more correct to describe such a phenomenon as an APPARITION than as
a Vision, and in fact the apparitions of our Risen Lord to the holy women
and the apostles belong to this category. For, though His was a real body,
it was glorified and therefore no longer subject to the same laws which
govern purely human things. (St. Thomas, Summa theol. III., qu. 54, art.
I-3).

St. Teresa tells us more than once that she never beheld a Corporal Vision,
nor heard a Corporal Locution.

II. AN IMAGINARY VISION OR LOCUTION is one where nothing is seen or heard by
the senses of seeing or hearing, but where the same impression is received
that would be produced upon the imagination by the senses if some real
object were perceived by them. For, according to the Scholastics, the
Imagination stands half-way between the senses and the intellect, receiving
impressions from the former and transmitting them to the latter. This is the
reason why imaginary Visions and Locutions are so dangerous that, according
to St. Teresa, St. John of the Cross, and other spiritual writers, they
should not only never be sought for, but as much as possible shunned and
under all circumstances discountenanced. For the Imagination is closely
connected with the Memory, so that it is frequently impossible to ascertain
whether a Vision, etc., is not perhaps a semi-conscious or unconscious
reproduction of scenes witnessed. It is here also that deception, wilful or
unwilful, self-deception or deception by a higher agency, is to be feared.
Hence the general rule that such Visions or Locutions should only be trusted
upon the strongest grounds. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, (Summa theol.
IIa II¦, gu. 175, art. 3 ad q.) the visions of Isaias, St. John in the
Apocalypse etc., were Imaginary.

As an example of Imaginary Visions we may mention St. Stephen, who saw˜the
heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God; or
St. Peter, who saw˜the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as
it were a great linen sheet, let down by the four corners from heaven to the
earth . . . and there came a voice to him: Arise, Peter, kill and eat.
(Acts, vii. 55; X. 11-13).

These Visions, Locutions, etc., are not hallucinations. The latter are due
to physical disorder which affects the memory and causes it to represent
impressions formerly received by it, in a disorderly and often grotesque
manner. The Imaginary Vision takes place independently of a morbid state, is
caused by an extraneous power, good or evil, and has for its object things
of which the memory neither has nor ever has had cognizance.

III. AN INTELLECTUAL VISION OR LOCUTION is one where nothing is seen or
heard by the eyes and ears, and where no sensation is received by the
imagination. But the impression which would be delivered by the imagination
to the intellect, had it come through the senses and been handed on to the
imagination, is directly imprinted upon the intellect. To understand this it
is necessary to bear in mind that the impressions we receive through the
senses must undergo a transformation”must be spiritualized”before they reach
the intellect. This is one of the most difficult problems of psychology;
none of the solutions offered by various schools of philosophy seem to
render it entirely free from obscurity. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the
impression received by the eye (Species sensibilis) is spiritualized by a
faculty called Intellectus agens by means of abstraction (Species impressa),
and is treasured up in the memory, like lantern slides, available at demand.
The mind, identifying itself with the Species impressa, produces the˜Word
of the mind (Verbum mentis), wherein consists the act of Understanding or
Mental Conception. In the Intellectual Vision or Locution, God, without
co-operation on the part of the senses, the imagination, or the memory,
produces directly on the mind the Species impressa. As this is supernatural
with regard to its origin, and often also with respect to its object, it
stands to reason that it is too exalted for the memory to receive it, so
that such Visions and Locutions are frequently only imperfectly remembered
and sometimes altogether forgotten, as St. Teresa tells us. On the other
hand they are far less dangerous than Corporal or Imaginary Visions and
Locutions, because the senses and imagination have nothing to do with them,
whilst evil spirits are unable to act directly upon the mind, and
self-deception is altogether excluded for the reasons stated by St. Teresa.
An instance of such a vision is mentioned by St. Paul:˜I know a man in
Christ above fourteen years ago (whether in the body I know not, or out of
the body I know not: God knoweth), such an one rapt even to the third
heaven. And I know such a man (whether in the body or out of the body, I
know not: God knoweth): that he was caught up into paradise, and heard
secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter (2 Cor. xii. 2-4).
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER III.

TREATS OF THE SAME SUBJECT AND OF THE WAY GOD IS SOMETIMES PLEASED TO SPEAK
TO THE SOUL. HOW WE SHOULD BEHAVE IN SUCH A CASE, IN WHICH WE MUST NOT
FOLLOW OUR OWN OPINION. GIVES SIGNS TO SHOW HOW TO DISCOVER WHETHER THIS
FAVOUR IS A DECEPTION OR NOT: THIS IS VERY NOTEWORTHY.

1. Locutions. 2. Sometimes caused by melancholia. 3. Caution needed at
first. 4. Locutions frequently occur during prayer. 5. Resist those
containing false doctrine. 6. First sign of genuine locutions. 7. Effect of
the words:˜Be not troubled. 8.˜It is I, be not afraid. 9.˜Be at
Peace. 10. Second sign. 11. Third sign. 12. The devil suggests doubts about
true locutions. 13. Confidence of the soul rewarded. 14. Its joy at seeing
Gods words verified. 15. Its zeal for Gods honour. 16. Locutions coining
from the fancy. 17. Imaginary answers given to prayer. 18. A confessor
should be consulted about locutions. 19. Interior locutions. 20. First sign
of genuine interior locutions. 21. Second sign. 22. Third sign. 23. Fourth
sign. 24. Fifth sign. 25. Results of true locutions. 26. They should remove
alarm. 27. Answer to an objection.

1. GOD arouses the soul in another manner which, though in some ways
apparently a greater favour than the above mentioned, yet may prove more
dangerous, therefore I will give some particulars about it. He does this by
means of words addressed to the soul in many different ways; sometimes they
appear to come from without; at other times from the inner depths of the
soul; or again, from its superior part; while other speeches are so exterior
as to be heard by the ears like a real voice.

2. At times, indeed very often, this may be only a fancy; especially with
persons of a lively imagination or who are afflicted with melancholy to any
marked extent. I think that no attention should be paid to either class of
people when they say they see, hear, or learn anything supernaturally. Do
not disturb them by saying that it comes from the devil, [238] but listen
to them as if they were sick persons. Let the prioress or confessor to whom
they tell their story bid them think no more of it as such matters are not
essential in the service of God: the devil has deceived many Christians
thus, although perhaps it is not so in their case; therefore they need not
trouble themselves about it. Thus we must accomodate ourselves to their
humour: if we tell them their fancies proceed from melancholia, there will
be no end to the matter, for they will persist in maintaining they have seen
and heard these things, for so it seems to them.

3. The truth is, care should be taken to keep such people from too much
prayer and to persuade them, as far as possible, to take no notice of their
fancies: the devil makes use of these weak souls to injure others, even if
they themselves escape unhurt. There is need for caution both with feeble
and strong souls at first, until it is certain from what spirit these things
proceed. I maintain that, in the beginning, it is always wiser to resist
these communications; if they come from God this is the best way to receive
more, for they increase when discouraged. At the same time the soul should
not be too strictly controlled or disquieted, for it cannot help itself in
the matter.

4. To return to discuss the words addressed to the soul: any kind I
mentioned may come either from God, the devil, or the imagination. By the
help of God I will endeavour to describe the signs distinguishing the one
from the other, and when these locutions are dangerous, for they occur to
many persons who praise prayer. I do not wish you to think, sisters, that
there is any harm either in believing or in disregarding them. When they
only console you, or warn you of your faults, it matters not whence they
come or whether they are only fancies.

5. I caution you on one point”although they may come from God, you must not
esteem yourself more highly, for He often spoke to the Pharisees [239]”all
the good consists in profiting by His words. Take no more notice of any
speeches you hear which disagree with the Holy Scriptures than if you heard
them from Satan himself. Though they may only rise from your vivid
imagination, look upon them as a temptation against the faith. Always resist
them; then they will leave you, and cease, for they have little strength of
their own. [240]

6. Now let us return to the first point”whether these communications come
from the inferior or the superior part of the soul, or from without, does
not affect their originating from God.

7. In my opinion these are the most certain signs of their being divine. The
first and truest is the power and authority they carry with them, for these
words are operative. [241] For example: a soul is suffering all the sorrow
and disquiet I have described: the mind is darkened and dry; but it is set
at peace, freed from all trouble and filled with light merely by hearing the
words:˜Be not troubled. These deliver it from all its pains, although it
felt as though, if the whole world and all its theologians had united in
trying to persuade it there was no cause for grief, it could not, in spite
of all their efforts, have been delivered from its affliction. [242]

8. Again, a person is troubled and greatly terrified at being told by her
confessor and other people that her soul is under the influence of the evil
one: she hears a single sentence which says,˜It is I, be not afraid, [243]
and is at once freed from all fears and filled with consolation; indeed,
she believes it would be impossible for any one to disturb her confidence.
[244]

9. Again, when exceedingly anxious about important business, not knowing
whether or not it will be successful, on hearing words bidding her˜Be at
peace; all will go well, she feels reassured and free from all care in the
matter. [245] Many other instances of the same sort could be mentioned.

10. The second sign is a great calm and a devout and peaceful recollection
which dwell in the soul together with a desire to praise God. They say that
communications, at any rate in this mansion, are not uttered direly by God
but are transmitted by an angel. [246] Then, O my God, if a word sent to
us by Thee through Thy messenger has such force, what effects wilt Thou not
leave in the soul united to Thee in a mutual bond of love? [247]

11. The third proof is that these words do not pass from the memory but
remain there for a very long time; sometimes they are never forgotten. This
is not the case with what men may utter, which, however grave and learned
they may be, is not thus impressed on our memory. Neither, if they prophesy
of things to come, do we believe them as we do these divine locutions which
leave us so convinced of their truth that, although their fulfilment
sometimes seems utterly impossible and we vacillate and doubt about them,
there still remains in the soul a certainty of their verity which cannot be
destroyed. Perhaps everything may seem to militate against what was heard
and years pass by, yet the spirit never loses its belief that God will make
use of means unknown to men for the purpose and that finally what was
foretold must surely happen; as indeed it does. [248]

12. Still, as I said, the soul is troubled at seeing many obstacles in the
way of the accomplishment of the prophecy. The words, their effects, and the
assurance they carry with them convinced the soul at the moment that they
came from God. Afterwards, however, doubts arise as to whether the locutions
came from the devil or from the imagination, although while hearing them the
person would have died to defend their truth. [249] But, as I said, these
misgivings must be suggested by the evil one to afflict and intimidate her,
especially if by carrying out a command thus given great good will result to
souls and some work be done conducing notably to the honour and service of
God, concerning which great difficulties have to be overcome. In such cases,
where will Satan stop short? At least, he weakens faith, and it is a
terrible evil to doubt that God has power to work in a way far beyond our
understanding.

13. Despite all these difficulties and although the confessors consulted on
these matters say the words were but fancies, while events take such an
unfavourable turn as to make the realization of these predictions seem
impossible, yet there remains so lively a spark of certainty in the mind (I
know not whence it comes) that, although all other hopes die out, it cannot,
if it would, quench this ardent spark of confidence. At last, as I said, our
Lords words are accomplished, at which the soul is so satisfied and joyful
that it can do nothing but praise His Majesty”more because it sees His words
prove true than on account of the thing itself, even though it may be of
consequence to the person concerned.

14. I know not why the soul attaches such importance to these communications
being verified. I think that if the person herself were detected in telling
falsehoods, she would not be so grieved as at these locutions proving
untrue”as if she could do anything in the matter beyond repeating what has
been said to her! A certain person was frequently reminded in such a case of
the Prophet Jonas, when he found Ninive was not to be destroyed. [250]

15. In fact, as these words come from the Spirit of God, it is right thus to
trust them and to desire that He Who is supreme truth should not be thought
a deceiver. Justly, therefore, does their hearer rejoice when, after a
thousand delays and enormous difficulties, they are accomplished. Although
this success may entail great suffering on herself, she prefers it to the
nonfulfilment of what she knows our Lord most certainly foretold. Possibly
every one is not so weak as this, if indeed it is a weakness, though I
cannot myself condemn it as an evil.

16. If these locutions proceed from the imagination [251] they show no
such signs, bringing neither conviction, peace, nor interior joy with them.
But in some cases I have come across, on account of a very weak constitution
or vivid imagination or of other causes I do not know, persons while
absorbed in the prayer of quiet and in spiritual slumber are so entirely
carried out of themselves by their deep state of recollection as to be
unconscious of anything external. All their senses being thus dormant, as if
asleep”as indeed, at times they really are”they thus, in a sort of dream,
fancy they are spoken to or see things they imagine come from God, but which
leave no more effect than dreams.

17. Again, one who very lovingly asks something of our Lord may fancy that
an answer comes from Him. [252] This often occurs, but I think that no one
accustomed to receive divine communications could be deceived on this point
by the imagination.

18. The devils deceptions are more dangerous; but if the foregoing signs
are present, we may feel fairly confident that these locutions are from God,
though not so certain but that, if they refer to some weighty matter in
which we are called upon to act or if they concern a third person, we should
consult some confessor who is both learned and a servant of God, before
attempting or thinking of acting on them, although we may have heard them
repeated several times and are convinced of their truth and divine origin.
[253] His Majesty wishes us to take this course; it is not disobedience to
His commands, for He has bidden us hold our confessor as His representative
even where there is no doubt that the communications come from Him: thus we
shall gain courage if the matter is a very difficult one. Our Lord will
reassure our confessor, whom, when He so chooses, He will inspire with faith
that these locutions are from the Holy Ghost. [254] If not, we are freed
from all further obligations in the matter. I think it would be very
dangerous to act against our confessors advice and to prefer our own
opinions in such a matter. Therefore, sisters, I admonish you in the name of
our Lord, never to do anything of the sort.

19. God speaks to the soul in another way by a certain intellectual vision
which I think undoubtedly proceeds from Him; it will be described later on.
[255] 8 It takes place far within the innermost depths of the soul which
appears to hear distinctly in a most mysterious manner, with its spiritual
hearing, the words spoken to it by our Lord Himself. The way in which the
spirit perceives these words and the results produced by them, convince us
that they cannot in any way come from the devil. Their powerful aftereffects
force us to admit this and plainly show they do not spring from the
imagination. [256] Careful consideration will assure us of this for the
following reasons;”

20. Firstly, the clearness of the language varies in the different kinds of
locutions. Those that are divine are so distinct that the hearer remembers
if there were a syllable missing, and what words were made use of even
though a whole sentence was spoken. But if the speech were only a freak of
fancy, it would not be so audible nor would the words be so distinct but
would be only half articulated. [257]

21. The second reason is that often the person was not thinking of what is
heard; sometimes the locution even comes unexpectedly during conversation,
though at times it refers to some thought that passed quickly through the
mind or to a subject it was before engaged upon. Frequently it concerns
things of whose existence the hearer knew nothing nor even imagined such
events could ever come to pass; therefore it is impossible for the
imagination to have framed such speeches and deceived the mind by fancies
about what it had never wished, nor sought for, nor even thought about.
[258]

22. The third reason is that in a genuine case the soul seems to listen to
the words, whereas when the imagination is at work, little by little it
composes what the person wishes to hear. [259]

23. The fourth reason is because divine locutions differ immensely from
others, a single word comprising a depth of meaning which our understanding
could not thus quickly condense into one phrase. [260]

24. Fifthly because, in a manner I cannot explain, these communications,
without any further explanations, frequently give us to understand far more
than is implied by the words themselves. I shall speak farther on of this
way of understanding hidden things which is very subtle and a favour for
which we should thank God. Some people are exceedingly suspicious about
these and other communications of the same kind. I speak particularly of
some one [261] who experienced them herself, though there may be others
who cannot understand them. I know that she has considered the subject very
carefully, God having often bestowed this grace on her. Her principal
difficulty was to discover whether the locutions were merely fancied. It is
easier to know when they come from the devil although being so wily, he can
with facility imitate the spirit of light. However, he would do this in a
form of words pronounced so distinctly that there would be no more doubt as
to their reality than if they came from the spirit of truth, while those
coming from the imagination leave us uncertain whether we heard the words or
not. But Satan could never counterfeit the effects I spoke of; [262] he
leaves neither peace nor light in the soul, only anxiety and confusion. In
any case, he can do little or no harm to one who is humble and who, as I
advised, does not act on what is heard.

25. If the soul receives favours and caresses from our Lord, let it examine
carefully whether it rates itself more highly in consequence; unless
self-abasement increases with Gods expressions of love, they do not come
from the Holy Spirit. Inevitably, when they are divine, the greater the
favours, the less the soul esteems itself and the more keenly it remembers
its sins. [263] It becomes more oblivious of self-interest: the will and
memory grow more fervent in seeking solely Gods honour with no thought of
self. It also becomes unceasingly careful not to deviate deliberately from
the will of God and feels a keener conviction that instead of meriting such
favours, it deserves hell.

26. When these results follow, no graces or gifts received during prayer
need alarm the soul which should rather trust in the mercy of God, Who is
faithful and will not allow the devil to deceive it; but it is always well
to be on ones guard.

27. Those our Lord does not lead by this path may suppose that the soul can
avoid listening to these locutions and that even if they are interior it is
at least possible to distract the attention from them so as not to hear them
and thus escape danger. This cannot be done: I am not speaking of freaks of
fancy which may be prevented by ceasing to desire certain things or by
paying no attention to its inventions. This is not feasible when these
communications come from the Holy Ghost Who, when He speaks, stops all other
thoughts and compels the mind to listen. [264] Mark this: that I believe
it would be easier for a person with very keen ears to avoid hearing a loud
voice, for he could occupy his thoughts and mind in other things. Not so
here; the soul can do nothing, nor has it ears to stop, nor power to think
of aught but what is said to it. For He Who could stay the sun on its course
(at the prayer of Josue, [265] I believe) can so quiet the faculties and
the interior of the spirit as to make it perceive that another and a
stronger Lord than itself governs this castle; it is thus affected with
profound devotion and humility, seeing that it cannot but listen. May the
divine Majesty vouchsafe that, forgetting ourselves, our only aim may be to
please Him, as I said. Amen. God grant I have succeeded in explaining what I
wished and that it may be some guide to those who may experience such
favours.
_________________________________________________________________

[238] Life, ch. xxiii. 114.

[239] Antonius a Sp. S. l.c. tr. iii. n. 323. St. John of the Cross, Ascent
of Mount Carmel, bk. ii. ch. xxvii.

[240] Life, ch. xxv. 13, 18.

[241] Ps. cxlviii. 5:˜Ipse dixit et facta sunt. Life, ch. xxv. 5. Anton. a
Sp. S. l.c. tr. iii. n. 353. St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel,
bk. ii. ch. xxxi. calls these˜substantial words.

[242] Life, ch. xxvi. 6; xxx. 17. Rel. i. 26.

[243] St. Luke xxiv. 36.

[244] Life, ch. xxv. 22; xxxiii. 10. Rel. vii. 22. St. John of the Cross,
Ascent of Mount Carmel, bk. ii. ch. xxxi. 1.

[245] Life, ch. xxxv. 7. Rel. ix. 6. St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount
Carmel, bk. iii. ch. ii. 7.

[246] Rel. v. 14.

[247] Life, ch. xxv. 23-25. See also Schram, Instit. theol. myst. 528
schol.; 529 schol. ii. and iii.; 5 3 I schol. ii.; 5 32 schol. ii. Exterior
locutions may proceed direct from God, but generally are due to the ministry
of angels; the same holds good with regard to the imaginary ones.
Intellectual locutions, in which the words are merely impressed upon the
substance of the soul without intervention of the imagination, can only
proceed from God, Who alone is able to act upon the substance of the soul.
See also Life, ch. xxvii. 7 (end), 8, 9, and 10, and the corresponding
chapters in St. Johns Ascent of Mount Carmel.

[248] Life, ch. xxv. 3, 10. Rel. ii. 17.

[249] Ibid, ch. xxv. 10.

[250] Jonas iv. 1:Et afflictus est Jonas afflictione magna et iratus est;
et oravit ad Dominum et dixit: Obsecro, Domine, numquid non hoc est verbum
meum cum adhuc essem in terra mea?

[251] Life, ch. xxv. 4 (end) and 5 (beginning).

[252] Ibid. ch. xxv. 4 (beginning).

[253] Way of Perf. ch. xxxix. 6. Life, ch. xxvi. 4, 5. St. John of the
Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, bk. ii. ch. xxii. 14-18.

[254] Rel. vii. 15.

[255] Infra, ch. viii.

[256] Life, ch. xxvii, 8.

[257] Life, ch. xxv. 6 and 10 (end).

[258] Ibid. ch. xxv. 9, 16.

[259] Ibid. ch. xxv. 4, 6.

[260] Ibid, ch. xxv. 12 (beginning).

[261] The whole of this chapter as well as chapter xxv. of the Life prove
clearly that the Saint speaks about herself and that she investigated the
subject with the greatest care.

[262] Life, ch. xxv. 15.

[263] Life, ch. xii. 5:˜The nearer we draw unto God the more this virtue
(humility) should grow; xv. 16; xix. 2; xx. 38. Rel. ii. 15; vii. 17; viii.
7, 9. Way of Perf. ch. xvii. 3.

[264] Life, ch. xxv. 21.

[265] Josue x. 12. 13:˜Tunc locutus est Josue: . . . sol contra Gabaon ne
movearis; steteruntque sol et luna.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER IV.

TREATS OF HOW GOD SUSPENDS THE SOUL IN PRAYER BY A TRANCE, ECSTASY OR
RAPTURE, WHICH I BELIEVE ARE ALL THE SAME THING. GREAT COURAGE REQUIRED TO
RECEIVE EXTRAORDINARY FAVOURS FROM HIS MAJESTY.

1. Courage required by the soul for the divine espousals. 2. Raptures. 3.
Rapture caused by the spark of love. 4. The powers and senses absorbed. 5.
Mysteries revealed during ecstasies. 6. These mysteries are unspeakable. 7.
Moses and the burning bush. 8. Simile of the museum. 9. St. Teresas visit
to the Duchess of Alva. 10. Joy of the soul during raptures. 11. No
imaginary vision. 12. True and false raptures. 13. Revelations of future
bliss. 14. The souls preparation. 15. The soul blinded by its faults. 16.
God ready to give these graces to all. 17. Faculties lost during ecstasy.
18. Spiritual inebriation. 19. Fervour and love of suffering left in the
soul. 20. Scandal caused to spectators by such favours. 21. Our Lords
predilection for such a soul. 22. Illusionary raptures.

1. WHAT rest can the poor little butterfly find, with all the trials I have
told you of and many more? They serve to make her desire the Bride-groom
more ardently. His Majesty, well aware of our weakness, fortifies her by
these and other means in order that she may obtain courage for union with a
Lord so great and may take Him for her Spouse. Perhaps you will laugh and
think I am talking foolishly: there can be no call for courage here; there
is no woman, however low her class, who would not dare to wed a king. So I
think, were he an earthly monarch, but there is need of more fortitude than
you suppose in order to espouse the King of heaven. [266] Our nature
appears too timid and base for anything so high; without doubt, unless God
gave us the grace it would be impossible for us, however much we might
appreciate its benefits. You will learn how His Majesty ratifies these
espousals; probably this is done when He ravishes the soul by ecstasies,
thus depriving it of its faculties; if the use of these were retained, I
think the sight of its close vicinity to so mighty a Sovereign would
probably deprive the body of life. I am speaking of genuine raptures, not
fancies that come from womens weakness”which so often occur nowadays”making
them imagine everything to be a rapture or an ecstasy. As I think I said,
some are so feebly constituted as to die of a single prayer of quiet. [267]

2. I should like to describe here several kinds of raptures of which I have
learnt from spiritual persons with whom I have discussed the subject, but I
am not sure whether I shall succeed in explaining them as I did elsewhere.
[268] It has been decided that it will not be amiss to repeat what was
said about these and other things that happen in this state, if only that I
may treat of all the mansions contain in proper order.

3. In one sort of rapture the soul, although perhaps not engaged in prayer
at the time, is struck by some word of God which it either remembers or
hears. [269] His Majesty, touched with pity by what He has seen it suffer
for so long past in its longing for Him, appears to increase the spark I
described in the interior of the spirit until it entirely inflames the soul
which rises with new life like a phoenix from the flames. Such a one may
piously believe her sins are now forgiven, [270] supposing that she is in
the disposition and has made use of the means required by the Church. The
soul being thus purified, God unites it to Himself in a way known only to
Him and the spirit, nor does even the latter so understand what happens as
to be able to explain it to others afterwards. Yet the mind had not lost the
use of its faculties, for this ecstasy does not resemble a swoon or a fit in
which nothing either interior or exterior is felt.

4. What I do understand is that the soul has never been more alive to
spiritual things nor so full of light and of knowledge of His Majesty as it
is now. This might seem impossible; if the powers and senses were so
absorbed that we might call them dead, how does the soul understand this
mystery? I cannot tell; perhaps no one but the Creator Himself can say what
passes in these places”I mean this and the following mansions which may be
treated as one, the door leading from one to the other being wide open.
However, as some things in the last rooms are only shown to those who get
thus far, I thought it better to treat the mansions separately.

5. While the soul is in this suspension, our Lord favours it by discovering
to it secrets such as heavenly mysteries and imaginary visions, which admit
of description afterwards because they remain so imprinted on the memory
that it never forgets them. But when the visions are intellectual they are
not thus easily related, some of those received at such a time being so
sublime that it is not fitting for man, while living in this world, to
understand them in a way that can be told, although when the use of the
faculties returns much can be described of what was seen in intellectual
vision. Possibly you do not know what a vision is, especially an
intellectual one. Since I have been bidden by one who has authority, I will
tell you at the proper time. Although seemingly superfluous, it may prove
useful to certain people.

6.But, you will ask me,˜if the very sublime favours our Lord bestows in
this mansion cannot afterwards be remembered, what profit do they bring?
[271] O daughters! their value cannot be overrated; for though the
recipient is incapable of describing them, they are deeply imprinted in the
centre of the soul and are never forgotten.˜How can they be remembered if
no image is seen and the powers of the soul do not comprehend them? I, too,
do not understand this, but I know that certain truths of the greatness of
God remain so impressed on the spirit by this favour that, did not faith
teach Who He is and that it is bound to believe He is God, the soul would
henceforth worship Him as such, as did Jacob when he saw the ladder. [272]
Doubtless the Patriarch learnt other secrets he was unable to reveal, for
unless he had received more interior light he could never have discovered
such sublime mysteries merely by watching angels ascending and descending
the steps. I am not certain whether this quotation is correct; although I
have heard the passage, I cannot feel sure of recalling it exactly.

7. Neither was Moses able to relate more than God willed of what he had seen
in the burning bush; [273] but unless the Almighty had clearly revealed
certain mysteries to his soul, causing it to see and know its God was
present, the lawgiver could never have undertaken so many and such great
labours. Such sublime revelations were shown him amidst the thorns of the
bush as to give him the needful courage for his great deeds on behalf of the
Children of Israel. We must not, sisters, search out reasons for
understanding the hidden things of God, but, believing Him to be Almighty,
we should be convinced that such worms as ourselves, with our limited power
of intelligence, are unable to comprehend His wonders. Let us praise Him
fervently for allowing us to understand something of them.

8. I wish I could find some simile for my subject: none seem to suit the
purpose, but I will make use of the following. Imagine that you are in an
apartment”I fancy it is termed camarin (or private museum)”belonging to a
king or a great nobleman, in which are placed numberless kinds of articles
of glass, porcelain, and other things, so arranged that most of them are at
once seen on entering the room.

9. While on a visit to the house of the Duchess of Alva (where at her
request I was bidden by obedience to stay during a journey) [274] I was
taken into such a room. I stood amazed on entering it and wondered what
could be the use of such a jumble of knick-knacks; then I thought that the
sight of so many different things should lead one to praise God. It is
fortunate I saw them, for they offer me a suitable comparison in this case.
Although I was in the room some time, there were so many objects in it that
I forgot what I had seen and could no more remember each object, nor of what
it was made, than if I had never seen it, though I recalled the sight of the
whole collection.

10. Something of this sort occurs when the spirit is very closely united to
God. It is introduced into this mansion of the empyrean heaven which must be
in the centre of our souls for since God resides in them, He must own one of
the mansions. While the soul is in ecstasy, our Lord does not appear to wish
it to apprehend these mysteries and its inebriation of joy in Him suffices
it. But sometimes He is pleased to withdraw it from this rapture when it at
once perceives what the mansion contains. On returning to itself, the mind
can recall what has been seen but is unable to describe it, nor can it, by
its natural abilities, attain to see more of the supernatural than God has
chosen to show it.

11. Do I seem to own that the soul really sees something and that this is an
imaginary vision? I mean nothing of the sort: I am speaking of an
intellectual vision, but being so ignorant and dull I can explain nothing
and am well aware that if anything is rightly stated, it does not come from
myself.

12. I think that if the soul learns no mysteries at any time during
raptures, they are no true raptures but some natural weakness that may occur
to people of delicate constitutions, such as women, when by its strenuous
efforts the spirit overpowers physical nature, and produces stupor, as I
think I said in connection with the prayer of quiet. [275]

13. This is not so in genuine raptures, for then I believe God ravishes the
soul wholly to Himself, as being His very own and His bride, and shows her
some small part of the kingdom she has thus won. However little this may be,
all is great that is in this great God. He will allow of no obstacle from
the powers or the senses but bids that the doors of all the mansions should
be closed at once, only leaving open the one He is in, so that we may enter
it. Blessed be such mercy”well may men be accursed who do not seek to profit
by it, but who forfeit it!

14. O, my sisters! what nothingness is all we have given up, or that we do,
or ever could do for a God who thus wills to communicate Himself to a worm!
If we hope to enjoy this favour even during our mortal life, what are we
doing? Why do we delay? What can repay the loss of the time of a˜Memento
[276] in searching for this Lord, like the bride through the streets and
squares. [277] Oh, what a mockery is everything in this world that does
not lead towards and help us to attain to this state! Even though all the
earthly pleasures, riches, and happiness that can be imagined could last for
eternity, they would be disappointing and base contrasted with the treasures
which are to be enjoyed for ever”and yet even these are nothing compared
with the possession for our own of the Lord of all treasures in heaven and
earth.

15. Oh, human blindness! When, oh, when shall this dust be taken from our
eyes? Although we think it insufficient to blind us, yet I see some little
motes or grains of dust which, if left to spread, will suffice to harm us
greatly. At least, for the love of God, my sisters, let these faults
convince us of our misery, serving to clear our sight as did the clay the
eyes of the blind man who was cured by the Spouse. [278] Then, realizing
our imperfections, we shall beg Him more fervently to let us benefit by our
defers so as to please Him in all things.

16. I have unconsciously wandered far from my subject: forgive me, sisters.
Believe me, when I come to these wonders of Gods greatness (I mean when I
come to speak of them) I cannot but feel keenly grieved at seeing what we
lose by our own fault. It is true that His Majesty grants such favours to
whom He chooses; yet if we sought Him as He seeks us, He would give them to
us all. He only longs for souls on whom He may bestow them, for His gifts do
not diminish His riches.

17. To return to what I was describing. By the commands of the Bridegroom,
the doors of the mansions and even those of the keep and of the whole castle
are closed; for when He intends ravishing the soul He takes away the power
of speech, and although occasionally the other faculties are retained rather
longer, no word can be uttered. [279] Sometimes the person is at once
deprived of all the senses, the hands and body becoming as cold as if the
soul had fled; occasionally no breathing can be detected. [280] This
condition lasts but a short while; I mean in the same degree, [281] for
when this profound suspension diminishes the body seems to come to itself
and gain strength to return again to this death which gives more vigorous
life to the soul.

18. This supreme state of ecstasy never lasts long, but although it ceases,
it leaves the will so inebriated, [282] and the mind so transported out of
itself that for a day, or sometimes for several days, such a person is
incapable of attending to anything but what excites the will to the love of
God; although wide awake enough to this, she seems asleep as regards all
earthly matters.

19. Oh, when the soul wholly returns to itself, how abashed does it feel at
having received this favour and how passionate are its desires of serving
God in any way He asks of it! If the former states of prayer caused the
powerful effects described, what will not such a signal grace as this do?
Such a person wishes she had a thousand lives [283] to spend for God; she
would have all earthly creatures changed into as many tongues to praise Him
on her account. She longs to perform most severe penances, [284] nor do
they cost her much, for the power of her love almost prevents their being
felt. She realizes how little the martyrs suffered during their tortures,
for pain is easy when our Lord thus aids us: therefore such a soul complains
to His Majesty when He gives her no suffering? [285]

20. She considers it a great favour when God sends her this rapture in
secret, for when others see it the shame and confusion she feels are so
great as somewhat to diminish her transport. Knowing the malice of the
world, she fears her ecstasy will not be attributed to its proper cause but
may give rise to rash judgment instead of the praise due for it to God.
Although this pain and distress are unavoidable, they seem to me to show a
certain want of humility, for if she wished to be despised, what would she
care? [286]

21. Our Lord once said to some one who was troubled by such thoughts:˜Do
not be disturbed; people will either praise Me or condemn thee; in either
case thou wilt be the gainer. [287] I learnt afterwards that she was
greatly encouraged and comforted by this speech; I speak of it in case
others may suffer in the same way. Apparently our Lord would have all men
know that this soul is His own and that none may molest it, for it is all
His. Men are welcome to attack, if they will, the body, the honour, and the
possessions of such a person, for glory will accrue to His Majesty from all
they do; but the soul they may not assail; unless by a most culpable
presumption it withdraws from the protection of its Spouse, He will defend
it against the whole world and against all hell besides.

22. I do not know whether I have succeeded in teaching you what a rapture
is; to explain it fully would, as I said, be impossible. Still I do not
think time has been lost in describing a genuine rapture. The effects in
false raptures are very different. I do not call them˜false because people
who experience them intentionally deceive others, but because they are
themselves unwittingly deceived. As the signs and effects do not correspond
with this great grace, the favour itself becomes so discredited that
naturally, when our Lord afterwards bestows it on any soul, nobody believes
in it. May He be for ever blessed and praised! Amen, Amen!
_________________________________________________________________

[266] Life, ch. xxxix. 30.

[267] Castle, M. iv. ch. iii. 11.

[268] Life, ch. xx. passim.

[269] Philippus a SS. Trinitate, l.c. tr. i. disc. iii. art. 3.

[270] Rel. ix. 4. Way of Perf. ch. xix. 8.

[271] Philippus a SS. Trinitate, l.c.

[272] Gen. xxviii. 2.

[273] Exod. 2.

[274] Do±a Maria Enriquez, wife of Ferdinand de Toledo, Duke of Alva. This
visit took place in February, 1574, and lasted two days the Saint being then
on her journey from Salamanca to Alva de Tormes. (Found. ch. xxi.)

[275] Castle, M. iv. ch. iii. 2.

[276] The Saint wrote here and elsewhere Memento, and not momenta as is
commonly printed. It refers, of course, to that short interruption at Mass
when the priest makes a Memento of those for whom he intends to pray.
Likewise St. Teresa often speaks of the˜space of a Credo or an Ave Maria
always implying a very short duration.

[277] Cant. iii. 2:˜Per vicos et plateas qu¦ram quem diligit anima mea.

[278] St. John ix. 6.

[279] Life, ch. xx. 18.˜Like a person who, having a rope around his neck
and being strangled, tries to breathe.

[280] Life, ch. xx 23, 29. Way of Perf. ch. xxxii. Rel. viii. 8, 11.˜The
first effect of ecstatic prayer concerns the body, which remains as if the
soul had departed; it grows cold from a deficiency of natural heat, the eyes
close gently, and the other senses are suspended; and yet a weak body
recovers health in this prayer. (Anton. a Spiritu Sancto, Direct. Mystic.
tr. iv. d. 2, § 4, n. 150).

[281]Digo para estar in un ser.

[282]

Christusque nobis sit cibus,

Potusque noster sit fides;

L¦ti bibamus sobriam

Ebrietatem Spiritus.
Hymn for Lauds, Feria secunda, old version. (Compare Anton. a Sp. S. l.c.
tr. iv. n. 30.)

[283] Life, ch. xx. 30.

[284] Castle, M. vii. ch. iii. 4. Way of Perf. ch. xxxviii. 1. Excl. xiv. 3.
Life, ch. xl. 27.

[285] Life, ch. xvi. 6. Rel. i. 4.

[286] Ibid. ch. xx. 5, 6.

[287] Life, ch. xxxi. 15. St. John of the Cross in stanza xiii. 8. of the
Spiritual Canticle, refers to this and the following chapters.˜This, he
says,˜is an appropriate opportunity for discussing the difference between
raptures, ecstasies, and other elevations and subtle flights of the spirit,
to which spiritual persons are liable; but as my object is to do nothing
more than explain this canticle, I leave the subject for those who are
better qualified than I am. I do this the more readily because our mother,
the blessed Teresa of Jesus, has written admirably on this matter, whose
writings I hope to see soon published,
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER V.

TREATS OF THE SAME SUBJECT AS THE LAST CHAPTER AND DESCRIBES THE FLIGHT OF
THE SPIRIT, WHICH IS ANOTHER WAY BY WHICH GOD ELEVATES THE SOUL: THIS
REQUIRES GREAT COURAGE IN ONE EXPERIENCING IT. THIS FAVOUR, BY WHICH GOD
GREATLY DELIGHTS THE SOUL IS EXPLAINED. THIS CHAPTER IS VERY PROFITABLE.

1. The flight of the spirit. 2. Self-control completely lost. 3. Symbol of
the two cisterns. 4. Obligations following these favours. 5. Humility
produced by them. 6. How our crucified Lord comforted such a soul. 7. A
humble soul fears these favours. 8. Mysteries learnt during the flight of
the spirit. 9. Imaginary visions sometimes accompany intellectual ones. 10.
How the flight of the spirit takes place. 11. The soul fortified by it. 12.
Three great graces left in the soul. 13. The third grace. 14. Fear caused by
this favour.

1. THERE is another form of rapture, which, though essentially the same as
the last, yet produces very different feelings in the soul. I call it the
˜flight of the spirit, [288] for the soul suddenly feels so rapid a sense
of motion that the spirit appears to hurry it away with a speed which is
very alarming, especially at first. Therefore I said that the soul on whom
God bestows this favour requires strong courage, besides great faith, trust,
and resignation, so that God may do what He chooses with it.

2. Do you suppose a person in perfect possession of her senses feels but
little dismay at her souls being drawn above her, while sometimes, as we
read, even the body rises with it? [289] She does not know where the
spirit is going, who is raising her, nor how it happens; for at the first
instant of this sudden movement one does not feel sure it is caused by God.
Can it possibly be resisted? No; resistance only accelerates the motion, as
some one told me. God now appears to be teaching the soul, which has so
often placed itself absolutely in His hands and offered itself entirely to
Him, that it no longer belongs to itself; thus it is snatched away more
vehemently in consequence of its opposition. Therefore this person resolved
to resist no more than does a straw when attracted by amber (a thing you may
have seen); she yielded herself into the hands of Him who is Almighty,
seeing it is best to make a virtue of necessity. Speaking of straw,
doubtless it is as easy for a stalwart, strapping fellow to lift a straw as
for our mighty and powerful Giant to elevate our spirit. [290]

3. It seems that the cistern of water of which I spoke (but I cannot quite
remember where) in the fourth mansion, [291] was formerly filled gently
and quietly, without any movement; but now this great God Who restrains the
springs and the waters and will not permit the ocean to transgress its
bounds, [292] lets loose the streams, which with a powerful rush flow into
the cistern and a mighty wave rises, strong enough to uplift on high the
little vessel of our soul. Neither the ship herself nor her pilot and
sailors can at their choice control the fury of the sea and stop its
carrying the boat where it will: far less can the interior of the soul now
stay where it chooses or force its senses or faculties to act more than He
Who holds them in His dominion decrees; as for the exterior powers, they are
here quite useless.

4. Indeed I am amazed, sisters, while merely writing of this manifestation
of the immense power of this great King and Monarch. Then what must be felt
by those who actually experience it? I am convinced that if His Majesty were
to reveal Himself thus to the greatest sinners on earth, they would never
dare to offend Him again”if not through love at least through fear of Him.
What obligations bind those taught in so sublime a manner to strive with all
their might not to displease such a Master! In His Name I beg of you,
sisters, who have received these or the like favours, not to rest content
with merely receiving them but to remember that she who owes much has much
to pay. [293]

5. This thought terrifies the soul exceedingly: unless the great courage
needed was given it by our Lord, it would suffer great and constant grief;
for looking first at what His Majesty has done for it and then upon itself,
it sees how little good it has performed compared with what it was bound to
do, and that the paltry service it has rendered was full of faults, failures
and tepidity. To efface the remembrance of the many imperfections of all its
good deeds (if indeed it has ever performed any) it thinks best to forget
them altogether and to be ever mindful of its sins, casting itself on the
mercy of God since it cannot repay its debt to Him and begging for the pity
and compassion He ever shows to sinners.

6. Perhaps He will answer as He did to some one who was kneeling before a
crucifix in great affliction on this account, for she felt she had never had
anything to offer God nor to sacrifice for His sake. The Crucified One
consoled her by saying that He gave her for herself all the pains and
labours He had borne in His passion, that she might offer them as her own to
His Father. [294] I learnt from her that she at once felt comforted and
enriched by these words which she never forgets but recalls whenever she
realizes her own wretchedness and feels encouraged and consoled. I could
relate several other incidents of the same kind learnt in conversation with
many holy people much given to prayer, but I will not recount them lest you
might imagine they relate to myself.

7. I think this example is very instructive; it shows that we please our
Lord by self-knowledge, by the constant recollection of our poverty and
miseries, and by realizing that we possess nothing but what we have received
from Him. [295] Therefore courage is needed, sisters, in order to receive
this and many other favours which come to a soul elevated to this state by
our Lord; I think that if the soul is humble it requires more valour than
ever for this last mercy. May God grant us humility for His Names sake.

8. To return to this sudden rapture of the spirit. The soul really appears
to have quitted the body, which however is not lifeless, and though, on the
other hand, the person is certainly not dead, yet she herself cannot, for a
few seconds, tell whether her spirit remains within her body or not. [296]
She feels that she has been wholly transported into another and a very
different region from that in which we live, where a light so unearthly is
shown [297] that, if during her whole lifetime she had been trying to
picture it and the wonders seen, she could not possibly have succeeded. In
an instant her mind learns so many things at once that if the imagination
and intellect spent years in striving to enumerate them, it could not recall
a thousandth part of them.

9. This vision is not intellectual but imaginary and is seen by the eyes of
the soul more clearly than earthly things are seen by our bodily eyes.
Although no words are pronounced, the spirit is taught many truths; for
instance, if it beholds any of the saints, it knows them at once as well as
if intimately acquainted with them for years. [298] Occasionally, besides
what the eyes of the soul perceive in intellectual vision, other things are
shown it. In an imaginary vision it usually sees our Lord accompanied by a
host of angels; yet neither the bodily eyes nor the eyes of the soul [299]
see anything, for these visions and many other things impossible to
describe, are revealed by some wonderful intuition that I cannot explain.
Perhaps those who have experienced this favour and possess more ability than
myself may be able to describe it, although it seems to me a most difficult
task.

10. I cannot tell whether the soul dwells in the body meanwhile or not: I
would neither affirm that it does nor that the body is deprived of it. I
have often thought that as, though the sun does not leave his place in the
heavens yet his rays have power to reach the earth instantaneously, so the
soul and the spirit, which make one and the same thing (like the sun and its
rays) may, while remaining in its own place, through the strength of the
ardour coming to it from the true Sun of Justice, send up some higher part
of it above itself. In fact I do not understand what I am talking about, but
the truth is that, with the swiftness of a bullet fired from a gun, an
upward flight takes place in the interior of the soul. (I know no other name
for it but˜flight.) Although noiseless, it is too manifest a movement to
be any illusion [300] and the soul is quite outside itself; at least that
is the impression made upon it. Great mysteries are revealed to it
meanwhile, and when the person returns to consciousness she is so greatly
benefited that she holds all this worlds goods as filth compared with what
she has seen. Henceforth earthly life is grievous to her and what used to
please her now remains uncared for and unnoticed. [301]

11. Those children of Israel who were sent on first to the Land of Promise
brought back tokens from it; [302] so here our Lord seems to seek to show
the soul something of the land to which it is travelling, to give it courage
to pass through the trials of its painful journey, now that it knows where
it must go to find rest. You may fancy that such profit could not thus
quickly be obtained, yet only those who have experienced what signal
benefits this favour leaves in the soul can realize its value.

12. This clearly shows it to be no work of the devil; neither the
imagination nor the evil one could represent what leaves such peace, calm,
and good fruits in the soul, and particularly the following three graces of
a very high order. [303] The first of these is a perception of the
greatness of God which becomes clearer to us as we witness more of it.
Secondly, we gain self-knowledge and humility from seeing how creatures so
base as ourselves in comparison with the Creator of such wonders have dared
to offend Him in the past or venture to gaze on Him now.

13. The third grace is a contempt for all earthly things unless they are
consecrated to the service of so great a God. With such jewels the
Bridegroom begins to deck His Bride; they are too valuable for her to keep
them carelessly. [304] These visions are so deeply engraved in her memory
that I believe she can never forget them until she enjoys them for evermore,
for to do so would be the greatest misfortune. [305] But the Spouse Who
gave her these gifts has power to give her grace not to lose them.

14. I told you that courage was required by the soul, for do you think it is
a trifling matter for the spirit to feel literally separated from the body,
as it does when perceiving that it is losing its senses without
understanding the reason? There is need that He Who gives all the rest
should include fortitude. You will say this fright is well rewarded, and so
say I. May He Who can bestow such graces be for ever praised and may His
Majesty vouchsafe that we may be worthy to serve Him. Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[288] Rel. viii. 10, 11. Life, ch. xviii, 8; xx. 3.

[289] Life, ch. xx. 9. St. John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle, stanzas
xiv.-xv. 23 sqq. Philippus a SS. Trinit. l.c. p. iii. tr. i. disc. iii. art.
3.This prayer of rapture is superior to the preceding grades of prayer, as
also to the ordinary prayer of union, and leaves much more excellent effects
and operations in many other ways. St. Catherine of Siena (Dialogue, ch.
lxxix. 1) says:˜Wherefore, oftentimes, through the perfect union which the
soul has made with Me, she is raised from the earth almost as if the heavy
body became light. But this does not mean that the heaviness of the body is
taken away, but that the union of the soul with Me is more perfect than the
union of the body with the soul; wherefore the strength of the spirit,
united with Me, raises the body from the earth. (Transl. by Algar Thorold.)

[290] Life, ch. xxii. 20.

[291] Castle, M. iv. ch. ii. 3.

[292] Prov. viii. 29.

[293] St. Luke xii. 48:˜Cui multum datum est, multum quaeretur ab eo, et
cui commendaverunt multum, plus petent ab eo.

[294] Rel. ix. 8. This happened at Seville in 1575 or 1576.

[295] 1 Cor. iv. 7:˜Quid autem habes quod non accepisti?

[296] 2 Cor. xii. 2:˜Sive in corpore nescio, sive extra corpus nescio, Deus
scit.

[297] This is called˜lumen propheti¦ and is a transient form of the˜lumen
glori¦. See St. Thomas Aquinas, Sum. theol. 2a 2¦, q. 175, art. 3 ad 2.

[298] The same thing is related of some Saints while on earth, e.g. St Paul
the first hermit and St. Anthony, who greeted each other by name though
neither knew nor had heard of the other.

[299] These words, though necessary for the context, were only begun, but
not completed by St. Teresa.

[300] Life, ch. xx. 32. Castle, M. iv. ch. i. 10.

[301] Compare §§ 8-10 with Philippus a SS. Trinitate, l.c. p. iii. tr. i.
disc. iii. art. 3.Muchas veces he pensado, si como el sol est¡ndose en el
cielo, que sus rayos tienen tanta fuerza, que no mud¡ndose©l de all­, de
presto llegan ac¡; si el alma y el esp­ritu (que son una misma cosa, como le
es el soly sus rayos) puede, qued¡ndose ella en su puesto, con la fuerza de
calor que le viene del verdadero Sol de justicia, alguna parte superior
salir sobre s¬ misma. En fin, yo no s© lo que digo, lo que es verdad es, que
con la presteza que sale la pelota de un arcabuz, cuando le ponen el fuego,
se levanta en lo interior un vuelo (que yo no s© otro nombre que le poner)
que aunque no hace ruido, hace movimento tan claro, que no puede ser antojo
en ninguna manera; y muy fuera de si misma,¡ todo lo que puede entender, se
le muestran grandes cosas.

[302] Num. xiii. 24.

[303] Life, ch. xx. 31. The same distinctions with respect to divine and
diabolical locutions may be found in Life, ch. xxv. 5.

[304]Dexteram meam et collum meum cinxit lapidibus pretiosis; tradidit
auribus meis inestimabiles margaritas. From the Office of St. Agnes.

[305] This is undoubtedly the correct rendering of this difficult and
obscure passage.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER VI.

DESCRIBES AN EFFECT WHICH PROVES THE PRAYER SPOKEN OF IN THE LAST CHAPTER TO
BE GENUINE AND NO DECEPTION, TREATS OF ANOTHER FAVOUR OUR LORD BESTOWS ON
THE SOUL TO MAKE IT PRAISE HIM FERVENTLY.

1. The soul longs for death. 2. The soul cannot help desiring these favours.
3. St. Teresa bewails her inability to serve God. 3. Fervour resulting from
ecstasies. 5. Excessive desires to see God should be restrained. 6. They
endanger health. 7. Tears often come from Physical causes. 8. St. Teresas
own experience. 9. Works, not tears, are asked by God. 10. Confide entirely
in God. 11. The jubilee of the soul. 12. Impossibility of concealing this
joy. 13. The worlds judgment of this jubilee. 14. Which is often felt by
the nuns of St. Josephs. 15. The Saints delight in this jubilee.

1. THESE sublime favours leave the soul so desirous of fully enjoying Him
Who has bestowed them that life becomes a painful though delicious torture,
and death is ardently longed for. Such a one often implores God with tears
to take her from this exile where everything she sees wearies her. [306]
Solitude alone brings great alleviation for a time, but soon her grief
returns and yet she cannot bear to be without it. In short, this poor little
butterfly can find no lasting rest. So tender is her love that at the
slightest provocation it flames forth and the soul takes flight. Thus in
this mansion raptures occur very frequently, nor can they be resisted even
in public. Persecutions and slanders ensue; [307] however she may try, she
cannot keep free from the fears suggested to her by so many people,
especially by her confessors.

2. Although in one way she feels great confidence within her soul,
especially when alone with God, yet on the other hand, she is greatly
troubled by misgivings lest she is deceived by the devil and so should
offend Him Whom she deeply loves. She cares little for blame, except when
her confessor finds fault with her as if she could help what happens. She
asks every one to pray for her [308] since she has been told to do so, and
begs His Majesty to direct her by some other way than this which is so full
of danger. Nevertheless, so great are the benefits left by these favours
that she cannot but see that they lead her on the way to heaven, [309] of
which she has read and heard and learnt in the law of God. As, strive how
she may, she cannot resist desiring to receive these graces, she resigns
herself into Gods hands. Yet she is grieved at finding herself forced to
wish for these favours which appears to be disobedience to her confessor,
for she believes that in obedience, and in avoiding any offence against God,
lies her safeguard against deception. Thus she feels she would prefer to be
cut in pieces rather than wilfully commit a venial sin, yet is greatly
grieved at seeing that she cannot avoid unwittingly falling into a great
number. God bestows on such people so intense a desire neither ever to
displease Him in however small a matter, nor to commit any avoidable
imperfection, that, were there no other reason, they would try to avoid
society and they greatly envy those who live in deserts. [310] On the
other hand, they seek to live amidst men in the hopes of helping if but one
soul to praise God better. [311] In the case of a woman, she grieves over
the impediment offered by her sex [312] and envies those who are free to
proclaim aloud to all Who is this mighty God of hosts. [313]

3. O poor little butterfly! chained by so many fetters that stop thee from
flying where thou wouldst! Have pity on her, O my God, and so dispose her
ways that she may be able to accomplish some of her desires for Thy honour
and glory! Take no account of the poverty of her merits, nor of the vileness
of her nature, Lord, Thou Who hast the power to compel the vast ocean to
retire, and didst force the wide river Jordan to draw back so that the
Children of Israel might pass through! [314] Yet spare her not, for aided
by Thy strength she can endure many trials. She is resolved to do so”she
desires to suffer them. Stretch forth Thine arm, O Lord, to help her lest
she waste her life on trifles! Let Thy greatness appear in this Thy
creature, womanish and weak as she is, so that men, seeing the good in her
is not her own, may praise Theefor it! Let it cost her what it may and as
dear as she desires, for she longs to lose a thousand lives to lead one soul
to praise Thee but a little better. If as many lives were hers to give, she
would count them well spent in such a cause, knowing as a truth most certain
that she is unworthy to bear the lightest cross, much less to die for Thee.

4. I cannot tell why I have said this, sisters, nor what made me do so;
indeed I never intended it. You must know that these effects are bound to
follow from such trances or ecstasies: they are not transient, but permanent
desires; when opportunity occurs of acting on them, they prove genuine. How
can I say that they are permanent, when at times the soul feels cowardly in
the most trivial matters and too timorous to undertake any work for God?

5. I believe it is because our Lord, for its greater good, then leaves the
soul to its natural weakness, which at once convinces it so thoroughly that
any strength it possessed came from His Majesty as to destroy its self-love,
enduing it with a greater knowledge of the mercy and greatness of God which
He deigned to show forth in one so vile. However, the soul is usually in the
former state. Beware of one thing, sisters; these ardent desires to behold
our Lord are sometimes so distressing as to need rather to be checked than
to be encouraged”that is, if feasible, for in another kind of prayer of
which I shall speak later, it is not possible as you will see.

6. In the state I speak of these longings can sometimes be arrested, for the
reason is at liberty to conform to the will of God and can quote the words
of St. Martin; [315] should these desires become very oppressive, the
thoughts may be turned to some other matter. As such longings are generally
found in persons far advanced in perfection, the devil may excite them in
order to make us think we are of their number”in any case it is well to be
cautious. For my part, I do not believe he could cause the calm and peace
given by this pain to the soul, but would disturb it by such uneasiness as
we feel when afflicted concerning any worldly matter. A person inexperienced
in both kinds of sorrow cannot understand the difference, but thinking such
grief an excellent thing, will excite it as much as possible which greatly
injures the health, as these longings are incessant or at least very
frequent.

7. You must also notice that bodily weakness may cause such pain, especially
with people of sensitive characters who cry over every trifling trouble.
[316] Times without number do they imagine they are mourning for Gods
sake when they are doing no such thing. If for a considerable space of time,
whenever such a person hears the least mention of God or thinks of Him at
all, these fits of uncontrollable weeping occur, [317] the cause may be an
accumulation of humour round the heart, which has a great deal more to do
with such tears than has the love of God. Such persons seem as if they would
never stop crying: believing that tears are beneficial, they do not try to
check them nor to distract their minds from the subject, but encourage them
as much as possible. The devil seizes this opportunity of weakening nuns so
that they become unable to pray or to keep their Rule.

8. I think you must be puzzling over this and would like to ask what I would
have you do, as I see danger in everything. If I am afraid of delusions in
so good a thing as tears, perhaps I myself am deluded, and may be I am! But
believe me, I do not say this without having witnessed it in other people
although not in my own case, for there is nothing tender about me and my
heart is so hard as often to grieve me. [318] However, when the fire burns
fiercely within, stony as my heart may be, it distils like an alembic. [319]
It is easy to know when tears come from this source, for they are soothing
and gentle rather than stormy and rarely do any harm. This delusion, when it
is one, has the advantage, with a humble person, of only injuring the body
and not the soul. But if one is not humble, it is well to be ever on ones
guard.

9. Let us not fancy that if we cry a great deal we have done all that is
needed”rather we must work hard and practise the virtues: that is the
essential”leaving tears to fall when God sends them, without trying to force
ourselves to shed them. Then, if we do not take too much notice of them,
they will leave the parched soil of our souls well watered, making it
fertile in good fruit; for this is the water which falls from heaven. [320]
However we may tire ourselves in digging to reach it, we shall never get
any water like this; indeed, we may often work and search until we are
exhausted without finding as much as a pool, much less a springing well!

10. Therefore, sisters, I think it best for us to place ourselves in the
presence of God, contemplate His mercy and grandeur and our own vileness and
leave Him to give us what He will, whether water or drought, for He knows
best what is good for us; thus we enjoy peace and the devil will have less
chance to deceive us.

11. Amongst these favours, at once painful and pleasant, Our Lord sometimes
causes in the soul a certain jubilation [321] and a strange and mysterious
kind of prayer. If He bestows this grace on you, praise Him fervently for
it; I describe it so that you may know that it is something real. I believe
that the faculties of the soul are closely united to God but that He leaves
them at liberty to rejoice in their happiness together with the senses,
although they do not know what they are enjoying nor how they do so. This
may sound nonsense but it really happens. So excessive is its jubilee that
the soul will not enjoy it alone but speaks of it to all around so that they
may help it to praise God, which is its one desire. [322]

12. Oh, what rejoicings would this person utter and what demonstrations
would she make, if possible, so that all might know her happiness! She seems
to have found herself again and wishes, like the father of the prodigal son,
to invite all her friends to feast with her [323] and to see her soul in
its rightful place, because (at least for the time being) she cannot doubt
its security. I believe she is right, for the devil could not possibly
infuse a joy and peace into the very centre of her being which make her
whole delight consist in urging others to praise God. It requires a painful
effort to keep silent and to dissemble such impulsive happiness. St. Francis
must have experienced this when, as the robbers met him rushing through the
fields crying aloud, he told them in answer to their questions that he was
the˜herald of the great King. [324] So felt other saints who retired
into the deserts so that, like St. Francis, they might proclaim the praises
of their God.

13. I knew Fray Peter of Alcantara who used to do this. I believe he was a
saint on account of the life he led, yet people often took him for a fool
when they heard him. [325] Oh happy folly, sisters! Would that God might
let us all share it! What mercy He has shown you in placing you where, if He
gave you this grace and it were perceived by others, it would rather turn to
your advantage than bring on you contempt as it would do in the world, where
men so rarely hear God praised that it is no wonder they take scandal at it.

14. Oh miserable times and wretched life spent in the world! How blest are
those whose happy lot it is to be freed from them! [326] It often delights
me, when in my sisters company to see how the joy of their hearts is so
great that they vie with one another in praising our Lord for placing them
in this convent: it is evident that their praises come from the very depths
of their souls. I should like you to do this often, sisters, for when one
begins she incites the rest to imitate her. How can your tongues be better
employed when you are together than in praising God, Who has given us so
much cause for it?

15. May His Majesty often grant us this kind of prayer which is most safe
and beneficial; we cannot acquire it for ourselves as it is quite
supernatural. Sometimes it lasts for a whole day and the soul is like one
inebriated, although not deprived of the senses; [327] nor like a person
afflicted with melancholia, [328] in which, though the reason is not
entirely lost, the imagination continually dwells on some subject which
possesses it and from which it cannot be freed. These are coarse comparisons
to make in connection with such a precious gift, yet nothing else occurs to
my mind. In this state of prayer a person is rendered by this jubilee so
forgetful of self and everything else that she can neither think nor speak
of anything but praising God, to which her joy prompts her. Let us all of us
join her, my daughters, for why should we wish to be wiser than she? What
can make us happier? And may all creatures unite their praises with ours for
ever and ever. Amen, amen, amen!
_________________________________________________________________

[306] Excl. ii. See poem 4,˜Cuan triste es, Dios mio; and the two versions
of˜Vivir sin vivir en mi. (Poems 3 and 4. Minor Works.)

[307] Life, ch. xxv. 18.

[308] Ibid. ch. xxv. 20. Rel. vii. 7.

[309] Ibid. ch. xxvii. 1, 2.

[310] Rel. i. 6.

[311] Life, ch. xxxii. 14; xxxv. 13. Castle, M. vii. ch. iv. 21 . Found. ch.
i. 6, 7.

[312] Way of Perf. ch. i.

[313] III Reg. xix. 10.

[314] Ps. cxiii. 3; Exod. xiv. and Jos. iii.

[315]When St. Martin was dying, his brethren said to him:˜Why, dear
Father, will you leave us? Or to whom can you commit us in our desolation?
We know, indeed, that you desire to be with Christ, but your reward above is
safe and will not be diminished by delay; rather have pity on us whom you
are leaving desolate. Then Martin, always pitiful, moved by these
lamentations, is said to have burst into tears. Turning to God, he replied
to the mourners around him only by crying:˜O Lord, if I am still necessary
to Thy people, I do not shrink from toil; Thy will be done. (Sulpitius
Severus, Life of St. Martin, letter 3.)

[316] Way of Perf.. ch. xvii. 4; xix. 6.

[317] Life, ch. xxix. 12.

[318] Compare with this what we have said in note 1 to the second chapter of
the Fourth Mansions. Rel. ii. 12.

[319] Life, ch. xix. 1-3.

[320] Way of Perf. ch. xix. 6. Life, ch. xviii. 12 sqq.

[321] Philippus a SS. Trinit. l.c. p. iii. tr. i. disc. iv. art. 5. Antonius
a Sp. S. l.c. tr. iv. n.156.

[322] Rel. ii. 12.

[323] St. Luke xv. 23.

[324]He plunged into a large forest, and there in a loud voice and in
French, he made the echoes resound with the praises of God. Some robbers,
attracted by his singing, rushed out upon him. But the sight of so poor a
man destroyed their hopes of booty. They questioned him, and Francis gave
them no answer beyond saying in allegorical language:˜I am the herald of
the great King! The robbers considered themselves insulted by these words.
They threw themselves upon him, beat him severely, and went off after having
thrown him into a ditch full of snow. This treatment only added fire to the
zeal of Francis. He sang his holy canticles with greater love than
before. (Rev. Father L©on, Lives of the Saints of the Order of St. Francis,
vol. 1, ch, i,)

[325]St. Peter of Alcantara, in the jubilation of his soul through the
impetuosity of divine love, was occasionally unable to refrain from singing
the divine praises aloud in a wonderful manner. To do this more freely, he
sometimes went into the woods where the peasants who heard him sing took him
for one who was beside himself. (Rev. Alban Butler, Lives of the Saints.)

[326] Way of Perf. ch. ii. 8; iii. i; viii. 1.

[327] Compare with this what has been said in the fourth chapter of this
Mansion, § 17, note 17.

[328] Melancholia here as elsewhere means hysteria.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER VII.

DESCRIBES THE GRIEF FELT ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR SINS BY SOULS ON WHOM GOD HAS
BESTOWED THE BEFORE-MENTIONED FAVOURS. SHOWS THAT HOWEVER SPIRITUAL A PERSON
MAY BE, IT IS A GREAT ERROR NOT TO KEEP BEFORE OUR MIND THE HUMANITY OF OUR
LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST AND HIS SACRED PASSION AND LIFE, AS ALSO THE
GLORIOUS MOTHER OF GOD AND THE SAINTS. THE BENEFITS GAINED BY SUCH A
MEDITATION. THIS CHAPTER IS MOST PROFITABLE.

1. Sorrow for sin felt by souls in the Sixth Mansion. 2. How this sorrow is
felt. 3. St. Teresas grief for her past sins. 4. Such souls, centred in
God, forget self-interest. 5. The remembrance of divine benefits increases
contrition. 6. Meditation on our Lords Humanity. 7. Warning against
discontinuing it. 8. Christ and the saints our models. 9. Meditation of
contemplatives. 10. Meditation during aridity. 11. We must search for God
when we do not feel His presence. 12. Reasoning and mental prayer. 13. A
form of meditation on our Lords Life and Passion. 14. Simplicity of
contemplatives meditation. 15. Souls in every state of prayer should think
of the Passion. 16. Need of the example of Christ and the saints. 17. Faith
shows us our Lord as both God and Man. 18. St. Teresas experience of
meditation on the sacred Humanity. 19. Evil of giving up such meditation.

1. IT may seem to you, sisters, that souls to whom God has communicated
Himself in such a special manner may feel so sure of enjoying Him for ever
as no longer to require to fear or to mourn over their past sins. Those of
you will be most apt to hold this opinion who have never received the like
favours; souls to whom God has granted these graces will understand what I
say. This is a great mistake, for sorrow for sin increases in proportion to
the divine grace received and I believe will never quit us until we come to
the land where nothing can grieve us any more. Doubtless we feel this pain
more at one time than at another and it is of a different kind. A soul so
advanced as that we speak of does not think of the punishment threatening
its offences but of its great ingratitude towards Him to Whom it owes so
much [329] and Who so justly deserves that it should serve Him, for the
sublime mysteries revealed have taught it much about the greatness of God.

2. This soul wonders at its former temerity and weeps over its irreverence;
its foolishness in the past seems a madness which it never ceases to lament
as it remembers for what vile things it forsook so great a Sovereign. The
thoughts dwell on this more than on the favours received, which, like those
I am about to describe, are so powerful that they seem to rush through the
soul at times like a strong, swift river. Yet the sins remain like the mire
in the river bed and dwell constantly in the memory, making a heavy cross to
bear.

3. I know some one who, though she had ceased to wish for death in order to
see God, [330] yet desired it that she might be freed from her continual
regret for her past ingratitude towards Him to Whom she owed, and always
would owe, so much. She thought no ones guilt could be compared to her own,
for she felt there could be none with whom God had borne so patiently nor on
whom He had bestowed such graces.

4. Souls that have reached the state I speak of have ceased to fear hell. At
times, though very rarely, they grieve keenly over the possibility of their
losing God; their sole dread is lest He should withdraw His hand, allowing
them to offend Him, and so they might return to their former miserable
condition. They care nothing for their own pain or glory; if they are
anxious not to stay long in Purgatory, it is more on account of its keeping
them from the Presence of God than because of its torments. Whatever favours
God may have shown a soul, I think it is dangerous for it to forget the
unhappy state it was once in; painful as the remembrance may be, it is most
beneficial.

5. Perhaps I think so because I have been so wicked and that may be the
reason why I never forget my sins; people who have led good lives have no
cause for grief; yet we always fall at times whilst living in this mortal
body. This pain is not lessened by reflecting that our Lord has already
forgiven and forgotten our faults; our grief is rather increased at seeing
such kindness and favours bestowed on one who deserves nothing but hell. I
think St. Paul and the Magdalen must thus have suffered a cruel martyrdom;
[331] their love was intense, they had received many mercies and realized
the greatness and the majesty of God and so must have found it very hard to
bear the remembrance of their sins, which they must have regretted with a
most tender sorrow.

6. You may fancy that one who has enjoyed such high favours need not
meditate on the mysteries of the most sacred Humanity of our Lord Jesus
Christ but will be wholly absorbed in love. I have written fully about this
elsewhere. [332] I have been contradicted and told that I was wrong and
did not understand the matter; that our Lord guides souls in such a way that
after having made progress it is best to exercise oneself in matters
concerning the Godhead and to avoid what is corporeal; yet nothing will make
me admit that this latter is a good way.

7. I may be mistaken; we may all really mean the same thing but I found the
devil was trying to lead me astray in this manner. Having been warned by
experience in this respell, I have decided to speak again about it here
although I have very often done so elsewhere. [333] Be most cautious on
the subject; attend to what I venture to say about it and do not believe any
one who tells you the contrary. I will endeavour to explain myself more
clearly than I did before. If the person who undertook to write on the
matter had treated it more explicitly he would have done well, for it may do
much harm to speak of it in general terms to us women, who have scanty wits.

8. Some souls imagine they cannot meditate even on the Passion, still less
on the most blessed Virgin or on the saints, the memory of whose lives
greatly benefits and strengthens us. [334] I cannot think what such
persons are to meditate upon, for to withdraw the thoughts from all
corporeal things like the angelic spirits who are always inflamed with love,
is not possible for us while in this mortal flesh; we need to study, to
meditate upon and to imitate those who, mortals like ourselves, performed
such heroic deeds for God. How much less should we wilfully endeavour to
abstain from thinking of our only good and remedy, the most sacred Humanity
of our Lord Jesus Christ? I cannot believe that any one really does this;
they misunderstand their own minds and so harm both themselves and others.
Of this at least I can assure them: they will never thus enter the last two
mansions of the castle. If they lose their Guide, our good Jesus, they
cannot find the way and it will be much if they have stayed safely in the
former mansions. Our Lord Himself tells us that He is˜the Way; He also
says that He is˜the Light; that no man cometh to the Father but by Him;
and that˜He that seeth Me, seeth the Father also. [335]

9. Such persons tell us that these words have some other meaning; I know of
no other meaning but this, which my soul has ever recognized as the true one
and which has always suited me right well. Some people (many of whom have
spoken to me on the subject) after our Lord has once raised them to perfect
contemplation, wish to enjoy it continually. This is impossible; still, the
grace of this state remains in their souls in such a way that they cannot
reason as before on the mysteries of the Passion and the Life of Christ. I
cannot account for it but it is very usual for the mind thus to remain less
apt for meditation. I think it must be because, as the one end of meditation
is to seek God, after He has once been found and the soul is accustomed to
seek Him again by means of the will, it no longer wearies itself by
searching for Him with the intellect.

10. It also appears to me that as the will is already inflamed with love,
this generous faculty would, if it could, cease to make use of the reason.
This would be well, were it not impossible, especially before the soul has
reached the last two mansions. [336] Time spent in prayer would thus be
lost as the will often needs the use of the understanding to rekindle its
love. Notice this point, sisters, which as it is important I will explain
more fully. Such a soul desires to spend all its time in loving God and
wishes to do nothing else; but it cannot succeed, for though the will is not
dead yet the flame which kindled it is dying out and the spark needs fanning
into a glow. Ought the soul to remain quiescent in this aridity, waiting
like our father Elias for fire to descend from heaven [337] to consume the
sacrifice which it makes of itself to God? Certainly not; it is not right to
expect miracles; God will work them for this soul when He chooses. As I have
told you already and shall do again, His Majesty wishes us to hold ourselves
unworthy of their being wrought on our account and desires us to help
ourselves to the best of our abilities.

11. In my opinion we ought during our whole life, to act in this manner,
however sublime our prayer may be. True, those whom our Lord admits into the
seventh mansion rarely or never need thus to help their fervour, for the
reason I will tell you of; if I recollect it when I come to write of this
room where, in a wonderful manner, souls are constantly in the company of
Christ our Lord both in His Humanity and His Divinity. [338] Thus, when
the fire in our hearts, of which I spoke does not burn in the will, nor do
we feel the presence of God, we must search for Him as He would have us do,
like the Bride in the Canticles, [339] and must ask all creatures˜who it
was that made them; as St. Augustine (either in his Soliloquies or his
Confessions) tells us that he did. [340] Thus we shall not stand like
blockheads, wasting our time in waiting for what we before enjoyed. At
first, it may be that our Lord will not renew His gift again for a year or
even for many years; His Majesty knows the reason which we should not try to
discover since there is no need for us to understand it.

12. As most certainly the way to please God is to keep the commandments and
counsels, let us do so diligently, while meditating on His life and death
and all we owe Him; then let the rest be as God chooses. Some may answer
that their mind refuses to dwell on these subjects; and for the above
causes, this to a certain extent is true. You know that it is one thing to
reason and another thing for the memory to bring certain truths before the
mind. Perhaps you may not understand me; possibly I fail to express myself
rightly but I will do my best. Using the understanding much in this manner
is what I call meditation.

13. Let us begin by considering the mercy God showed us by giving us His
only Son; let us not stop here but go on to reflect upon all the mysteries
of His glorious life; or let us first turn our thoughts to His prayer in the
garden, then allow them to continue the subject until they reach the
crucifixion. Or we may take some part of the Passion such as Christs
apprehension and dwell on this mystery, considering in detail the points to
be pondered and thought over, such as the treachery of Judas, the flight of
the Apostles, and all that followed. This is an admirable and very
meritorious kind of prayer. [341]

14. Souls led by God in supernatural ways and raised to perfect
contemplation are right in declaring they cannot practise this kind of
meditation. As I said, I know not why, but as a rule they are unable to do
so. Yet they would be wrong in saying that they cannot dwell on these
mysteries nor frequently think about them, especially when these events are
being celebrated by the Catholic Church. Nor is it possible for the soul
which has received so much from God to forget these precious proofs of His
love which are living sparks to inflame the heart with greater love for our
Lord, nor can the mind fail to understand them. Such a soul comprehends
these mysteries, which are brought before the mind and stamped on the memory
in a more perfect way than with other people, so that the mere sight of our
Lord prostrate in the garden, covered with His terrible sweat, suffices to
engross the thoughts not merely for an hour but for several days. The soul
looks with a simple gaze upon Who He is and how ungratefully we treat Him in
return for such terrible sufferings. Then the will, although perhaps without
sensible tenderness, desires to render Him some service for such sublime
mercies and longs to suffer something for Him Who bore so much for us,
employing itself in similar considerations in which the memory and
understanding also take their part.

15. I think this is why such souls cannot reason connectedly about the
Passion and fancy they are unable to mediate on it. Those who do not
meditate on this subject had better begin to do so; for I know that it will
not impede the most sublime prayer nor is it well to omit praising this
often. If God then sees fit to enrapture them, well and good; even if they
are reluctant, He will make them cease to meditate. I am certain that this
way of king is most helpful to the soul and not the hindrance it would
become were great efforts made to use the intellect. This, as I said, I
believe cannot be done when a higher state of prayer is attained. It may be
otherwise in some cases, for God leads souls in many different ways. Let not
those be blamed, however, who are unable to discourse much in prayer, nor
should they be judged incapable of enjoying the great graces contained in
the mysteries of Jesus Christ, our only Good, which no one, however
spiritual he may be, can persuade me it is well to omit contemplating. 16.
There are souls who, having made a beginning, or advanced half-way, when
they begin to experience the prayer of quiet and to taste the sweetness and
consolations God gives, think it is a great thing to enjoy these spiritual
pleasures continually. Let them, as I advised elsewhere, cease to give
themselves up so much to this absorption. Life is long and full of crosses
and we have need to look on Christ our pattern, to see how He bore His
trials, and even to take example by His Apostles and saints if we would bear
our own trials perfectly. Our good Jesus and His most blessed Mother are too
good company to be left and He is well pleased if we grieve at His pains,
even though sometimes at the cost of our own consolations and joys. [342]
Besides, daughters, consolations are not so frequent in prayer that we have
no time for this as well. If any one should tell me she continually enjoys
them, and that she is one of those who can never meditate on the divine
mysteries, I should feel very doubtful about her state. Be convinced of
this; keep free from this deception and to the utmost of your power stop
yourselves from being constantly immersed in this intoxication. If you
cannot do so, tell the Prioress so that she may employ you too busily for
you to think of the matter; thus you will be free from this danger which, if
it does no more, when it lasts long, greatly injures the health and brain. I
have said enough to prove to those who require it that, however spiritual
their state, it is an error so to avoid thinking of corporeal things as to
imagine that meditation on the most sacred Humanity can injure the soul.

17. People allege, in defence, that our Lord told His disciples that it was
expedient for them that He should go from them. [343] This I cannot admit.
He did not say so to His blessed Mother, for her faith was firm. She knew He
was both God and man; and although she loved Him more dearly than did His
disciples, it was in so perfect a way that His bodily presence was a help to
her. The faith of the Apostles must have been weaker than it was later on,
and than ours has reason to be. I assure you, daughters, that I consider
this a most dangerous idea whereby the devil might end by robbing us of our
devotion to the most blessed Sacrament.

18. The mistake I formerly made [344] did not lead me as far as this, but
I did not care so much about meditating on our Lord Jesus Christ, preferring
to remain absorbed, awaiting spiritual consolations. I recognized clearly
that I was going wrong, for as I could not always keep in this state, my
thoughts wandered hither and thither and my soul seemed like a bird, ever
flying about and finding no place for rest. Thus I lost much time and did
not advance in virtue nor make progress in prayer.

19. I did not understand the reason, and as I believed that I was acting
wisely I think I should never have learnt it but for the advice of a servant
of God whom I consulted about my mode of prayer. Then I perceived plainly
how mistaken I had been and I have never ceased regretting that there was a
time when I did not realize how difficult it would be to gain by so great a
loss. Even if I could, I would seek for nothing save by Him through Whom
comes all the good we possess. May He be for ever praised! Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[329] Life, ch. vi. 7.

[330] Excl. vi. 4, 5. Supra, M. v. ch. ii, 5. Poems 2, 3, 4. Minor Works.

[331] Life, ch. xxi, 9. All editions have˜Peter. St. Teresa only wrote
Po but the parallel passage proves she meant Pablo, and not Pedro. See
also M. i. ch. i. 5.

[332] Life, ch. xxii. 9-11.

[333] Ibid. ch. xxii. i; xxiii. 18; xxiv. 2.

[334]Deliberate forgetfulness and rejection of all knowledge and of form
must never be extended to Christ and His sacred Humanity. Sometimes, indeed,
in the height of contemplation and pure intuition of the Divinity the soul
does not remember the Sacred Humanity, because God raises the mind to this,
as it were, confused and most supernatural knowledge; but for all this,
studiously to forget it is by no means right, for the contemplation of the
sacred Humanity and loving meditation upon it will help us up to all good,
and it is by it we shall ascend most easily to the highest state of union.
It is evident at once that, while all visible and bodily things ought to be
forgotten, for they are a hindrance in our way, He, Who for our salvation
became man, is not to be accounted among them, for He is the truth, the
door, and the way, and our guide to all good. (St. John of the Cross Ascent
of Mount Carmel, bk. iii. ch. i. 12-14.

[335] St. John viii. 12; xiv. 6, 9.

[336] Life, ch. xv. 20. St. John of the Cross treats the subject most
carefully. He shows how and when meditation becomes impossible: Ascent of
Mount Carmel, bk. ii. ch. xii. (circa finem) ch. xiii. (per totum). Living
Flame of Love, stanza iii. 35. Obscure Night, bk. i. ch. x. 8, and bk. ii.
ch. viii. That it should be procured whenever possible: Ibid. bk. i. ch. x.
(in fine); that it should be resumed; Ascent of Mount Carmel; bk. ii, ch.
xv.

[337] III Reg. xviii. 30-39.

[338] Continual sense of the presence of God: Life, ch. xxvii. 6. Rel. xi.
3:˜The intellectual vision of the Three Persons and of the Sacred Humanity
seems ever present. Castle, M. vii. ch. iv. 15.

[339] Cant, iii. 3;˜Num quem diligit anima mea, vidistis?

[340]I asked the earth, and it answered me:˜I am not He; and whatsoever
it contains confessed the same. I asked the sea and the depths, and the
living, creeping things, and they answered:˜We are not thy God, seek above
us. I asked the heavens, I asked the moving air; and the whole air with its
inhabitants answered:Anaximenes was deceived, I am not God. I asked the
heavens, sun, moon, stars.Nor, say they,˜are we the God Whom thou
seekest. And I replied unto all things which encompass the door of my
flesh:˜Ye have told me of my God, that ye are not He; tell me something of
Him. And they cried out with a loud voice:He made us. By my thought of
them I questioned them, and their beauty gave their answer. (St.
Augustines Confessions, bk. x. ch. 6.) St. Teresa may have read this in St.
Augustines Confessions, (see above, p. 78), or in the Soliloquies, a
collection of extracts from St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Anselm, etc.,
which was printed in Latin at Venice in 1512, translated into Spanish and
brought out at Valladolid in 1515, and again at Medina del Campo in 15 53,
and at Toledo in 1565. The words quoted by St. Teresa occur in chapter xxxi.
See Life, ch. xl. 10.

[341] Life, ch. xiii. 17-23.

[342] Way of Perf. ch. xxv. 7.

[343] St. John xvi. 7:˜Expedit vobis ut ego vadam; si enim non abiero,
Paraclitus non veniet ad vos. Life, ch. xxii. 1, 2 and note.

[344] Life, ch. xxii. 11. Although the Saint defends herself against the
charge of self-contradiction, there can be no doubt from this avowal that
she too was at one time mistaken on this point.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER VIII.

SPEAKS OF THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD COMMUNICATES WITH THE SOUL BY INTELLECTUAL
VISION AND GIVES ADVICE UPON THE SUBJECT. OF THE EFFECTS PRODUCED BY THIS
VISION WHEN GENUINE. SECRECY ABOUT THESE FAVOURS IS ENJOINED.

1. Our Lords presence accompanying the soul. 2. St. Teresas experience of
this. 3. Confidence and graces resulting from this vision. 4. Its effects .
5. It Produces humility. 6. And prepares the soul for other graces. 7.
Consciousness of the presence of the saints. 8. Obligations resulting from
this grace. 9. Signs that this favour is genuine. 10. A confessor should be
consulted. 11. Our Lord will enlighten our advisers. 12. Cautions about this
vision.

1. To prove to you more clearly, sisters, the truth of what I have been
saying and to show that the more the soul advances, the closer does this
good Jesus bear it company, it would be well for me to tell you how, when He
so chooses, it cannot withdraw from His presence. This is clearly shown by
the manners and ways in which His Majesty communicates Himself to us,
manifesting His love by wonderful apparitions and visions which, if He is
pleased to aid me, I will describe to you so that you may not be alarmed if
any of these favours are granted you. We ought, even if we do not receive
them ourselves, to praise Him fervently for thus communing with creatures,
seeing how sovereign are His majesty and power.

2. For example, a person who is in no way expecting such a favour nor has
ever imagined herself worthy of receiving it, is conscious that Jesus Christ
stands by her side although she sees Him neither with the eyes of the body
nor of the soul. [345] This is called an intellectual vision; I cannot
tell why. I knew a person to whom God granted both this grace and others I
shall describe later on. At first it distressed her, for she could not
understand it; she could see nothing, yet so convinced did she feel that
Jesus Christ was thus in some way manifesting Himself that she could not
doubt that it was some kind of vision, whether it came from God or no. Its
powerful effects were a strong argument that it was from Him; still she was
alarmed, never having heard of an intellectual vision, nor was she aware
that such a thing could be. She however felt certain of our Lords presence,
[346] and He spoke to her several times in the way that I described.
Before she had received this favour, she had heard words spoken but had
never known who uttered them.

3. She was frightened by this vision which, unlike an imaginary one, does
not pass away quickly but lasts for several days and even sometimes for more
than a year. She went, in a state of great anxiety, to her confessor [347]
who asked her how, if she saw nothing, she knew that our Lord was near her,
and bade her describe His appearance. She said that she was unable to do so,
nor could she see His face nor tell more than she had already done, but that
she was sure it was the fact that it was He Who spoke to her and it was no
trick of her imagination. Although people constantly cautioned her against
this vision, as a rule she found it impossible to disbelieve in it,
especially when she heard the words:˜It is I, be not afraid [348]

4. The effect of this speech was so powerful that for the time being she
could not doubt its truth. She felt much encouraged and rejoiced at being in
such good company, seeing that this favour greatly helped her to a constant
recollection of God and an extreme care not to displease in any way Him Who
seemed ever by her side, watching her. Whenever she desired to speak to His
Majesty in prayer, or even at other times, He seemed so close that He could
not fail to hear her though He did not speak to her whenever she wished, but
unexpectedly, when necessity arose. She was conscious of His being at her
right hand, although not in the way we know an ordinary person to be beside
us but in a more subtle manner which cannot be described. Yet this presence
is quite as evident and certain, and indeed far more so, than the ordinary
presence of other people about which we may be deceived; not so in this, for
it brings with it graces and spiritual effects which could not come from
melancholia. Nor could the devil thus fill the soul with peace, with a
constant desire to please God, and such utter contempt of all that does not
lead to Him. As time went on, my friend recognized that this was no work of
the evil one, as our Lord showed her more and more clearly.

5. However, I know that she often felt great alarm and was at times overcome
with confusion, being unable to account for so high a favour having been
granted her. She and I were so very intimate [349] that I knew all that
passed in her soul, hence my account is thoroughly true and reliable. This
favour brings with it an overwhelming sense of self-abasement and humility;
the reverse would be the case, did it come from Satan. [350] It is
evidently divine; no human effort could produce such feelings nor could any
one suppose that such profit came from herself, but must needs recognize it
as a gift from the hand of God.

6. Although I believe some of the former favours are more sublime, yet this
brings with it a special knowledge of God; a most tender love for Him
results from being constantly in His company, while the desires of devoting
ones whole being to His service are more fervent than any hitherto
described. The conscience is greatly purified by the knowledge of His
perpetual and near presence, for although we know that God sees all we do,
yet nature inclines us to grow careless and forgetful of it. This is
impossible here since our Lord makes the soul conscious that He is close at
hand, thus preparing it to receive the other graces mentioned by constantly
making acts of love to Him Whom it sees or feels at its side. In short, the
benefits caused by this grace prove how great and how valuable it is. The
soul thanks our Lord for bestowing it on one unworthy of it, but who would
refuse to exchange it for any earthly riches or delight.

7. When our Lord chooses to withdraw His presence, the soul in its
loneliness makes every possible effort to induce Him to return. This avails
but little, for this grace comes at His will and not by our endeavours. At
times we may enjoy the company of some saint, [351] which also brings us
great profit. You will ask me, if we see no one, how can we know whether it
is Christ, or His most glorious Mother, or a saint? Such a person cannot
answer this question or know how she distinguishes them, but the fact
remains undoubted. It seems easy to recognize our Lord when He speaks, but
it is surprising how the soul can, without hearing a word from him,
recognize which saint has been sent by God to be its companion and helper.

8. There are other spiritual matters which cannot be explained. Our
inability to grasp them should teach us how incapable is our nature of
understanding the sublime mysteries of God. Those on whom these favours are
bestowed should marvel at and praise Gods mercy for them. As these
particular graces are not granted to everybody, any one who receives them
should esteem them highly and strive to serve God more zealously, since He
has given her such special aid. Therefore such a person does not rate
herself more highly on this account, but rather thinks she serves Him less
than any one else in the world; feeling herself to be under greater
obligations to Him than others, any fault she commits pierces her to the
heart, as indeed it ought under the circumstances.

9. When the effects described are felt, any of you whom our Lord leads by
this way may be certain that it is neither deception nor fancy in her case.
I believe it to be impossible for the devil to produce an illusion lasting
so long, neither could he benefit the soul so remarkably nor cause such
interior peace. It is not his custom, nor, if he would, could such an evil
creature bring about so much good; the soul would soon be clouded by
self-esteem and the idea that it was better than others. The minds
continual keeping in the presence of God [352] and the concentration of
its thoughts on Him would so enrage the fiend that, although he might try
the experiment once, he would not often repeat it. God is too faithful to
permit him so much power over one whose sole endeavour is to please His
Majesty and to lay down her life for His honour and glory; He would soon
unmask the demons artifices.

10. I contend, as I always shall, that if the soul reaps the effects
described from these divine graces, although God may withdraw these special
favours, His Majesty will turn all things to its advantage; even should He
permit the devil to deceive it at any time, the evil spirit will only reap
his own confusion. Therefore, as I told you, daughters, none of you who are
led by this way need feel alarm. Fear is good and we should be cautious and
not overconfident, for if such favours made you careless, it would prove
they were not from God as they did not leave the results I described. It
would be well at first to tell your case, under the seal of confession, to a
thoroughly qualified theologian (for that is the source whence we must
obtain light) or to some highly spiritual person. If your confessor is not
very spiritual, a good theologian would be preferable; [353] best of all,
one who unites both qualities. [354] Do not be disturbed if he calls it
mere fancy; if it is, it can neither harm nor benefit your soul much.
Recommend yourself to the divine Majesty and beg Him not to allow you to be
misled.

11. It would be worse should he tell you the devil is deceiving you,
although no learned man would say so if he sees in you the effects
described. Even should your adviser say this, I know that the same Lord Who
is beside you will comfort and reassure you and will go to your counsellor
and give him light that he may impart it to you. [355] If the director,
though given to prayer, has not been led by God in this way, he will at once
take fright and condemn it. Therefore I advise you to choose a qualified
theologian and, if possible, one who is also spiritual. The Prioress ought
to allow you this, for although she may feel sure that you are safe from
delusion because you lead a good life, yet she is bound to permit you to
consult some one for your mutual security. When you have conferred with
these persons, be at peace; trouble yourself no more about the matter, for
sometimes when there is no cause for fear, the demon gives rise to such
immoderate scruples that the person cannot be satisfied with consulting her
confessor only once on the subject, especially if he is inexperienced and
timid or if he bids her consult him again.

12. Thus that which should have been kept strictly private becomes public;
[356] such a person is persecuted and tormented and finds that what she
believed to be her own secret has become public property. Hence she suffers
many troubles which may even devolve upon the Order in such times as these.
Consequently I warn all Prioresses that great caution is required in such
matters; also they must not think a nun more virtuous than the rest because
such favours are shown her. Our Lord guides every one, in the way He knows
to be best. This grace, if made good use of, prepares one receiving it to
become a great servant of God, but sometimes our Lord bestows it on the
weakest souls; therefore in itself it is neither to be esteemed nor
condemned. We must look to the virtues; she who is most mortified, humble
and single-minded in serving God is the most holy. However, we can never
feel very certain about such matters until the true Judge rewards each one
according to his merits. Then we shall be surprised to find how very
different is His judgment from that of this world. May He be for ever
praised. Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[345] Life, ch. xxvii. 3, 5. Rel. vii. 26.

[346] Life, ch. xxvii. 7.

[347] Ibid. l.c. 4. Father Juan de Pradanos was then the Saints confessor.

[348] Life, ch. xxv. 22; XXX. 17. Supra, M. vi. ch. iii. 5. Rel. vii. 22.
St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, bk. ii. ch. xxxi. 1.

[349] In fact, one and the same person.

[350] Life, ch. xix. a; xx. 38. Way of Perf. ch. xxxvi. 10.

[351] Life, ch. xxix 6.

[352] Gen. xvii, 1:˜Ambula coram me et esto perfectus.

[353]Magni doctores scholastici, si non sint spirituales, vel omni rerum
spiritualium experientia careant, non solent esse magistri spirituales
idonei”nam theologia scholastica est perfectio intellectus; mystica,
perfectio intellectus et voluntatis: unde bonus theologus scholasticus
potest esse malus theologus mysticus. In rebus tamen difficilibus, dubiis,
spiritualibus, pr¦stat mediocriter spiritualem theologum consulere quam
spiritualem idiotam. (Schram, Theol. Myst. § 483.)

[354] Life, ch. v. 6.

[355] Ibid. ch. xxv. 18 sqq. Way of Perf. ch. iv. 11; v. 3.

[356] Life, ch. xxiii. 14-15. Rel. vii. 17.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER IX.

THIS CHAPTER SPEAKS OF THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD COMMUNICATES WITH THE SOUL BY
IMAGINARY VISIONS. STRONG REASONS ARE GIVEN FOR NOT DESIRING TO BE LED IN
THIS WAY; THIS IS VERY PROFITABLE READING.

1. The jewel in the locket. 2. The simile explained. 3. The apparition
explained. 4. Awe produced by this vision. 5. False and genuine visions. 6.
Illusive visions. 7. Effects of a genuine vision. 8. Conviction left by a
genuine vision. 9. Its effects upon the after conduct. 10. A confessor
should be consulted. 11. How to treat visions. 12. Effects of seeing the
face of Christ. 13. Reasons why visions are not to be sought. 14. The second
reason. 15. Third reason. 16. Fourth reason. 17. Fifth reason. 18. Sixth
reason. 19. Additional reasons. 20. The virtues more meritorious than
consolations. 21. Fervent souls desire to serve God for Himself alone.

1. Now we come to treat of imaginary visions, whereby it is held that the
devil is more liable to deceive people than by the other visions I have
already described. This is probably true. Yet when imaginary visions are
divine, they seem, in a certain manner, more profitable for us than the
others, as being more suited to our nature”with the exception of the visions
sent by our Lord in the seventh mansion which far surpass all others. The
presence of our Lord described in the last chapter may thus be symbolized.
Let us suppose that we have in our possession a gold locket containing a
precious stone of the highest value and powers, which, though we have not
seen it, we are certain is in the case, and its virtues benefit us when we
wear the pendant. Although we have never gazed on it we value it highly,
knowing by experience that it has cured us of maladies for which it is
remedial. However, we dare not look at it nor open the locket nor could we
do so even if we wished, for the owner of the jewel alone knows the secret
of unfastening its casket. Although he lent it us for our use, yet he kept
the key for himself; he will open the trinket when he chooses to show us its
contents and close it again when he sees fit to do so.

2. Our Lord treats us here in this way. Now, suppose the owner of this
locket suddenly opened it at times for the benefit of the person to whom he
has entrusted it; doubtless the latter would value the diamond more highly
through remembering its wonderful lustre. This may be compared to what
happens when our Lord is pleased to caress the soul. He shows it in vision
His most sacred Humanity under whatever form He chooses; either as He was
during His life on earth [357] or after His resurrection. [358] The
vision passes as quickly as a flash of lightning, yet this most glorious
picture makes an impression on the imagination that I believe can never be
effaced until the soul at last sees Christ to enjoy Him for ever. Although I
call it a˜picture, you must not imagine that it looks like a painting;
Christ appears as a living Person Who sometimes speaks and reveals deep
mysteries. You must understand that though the soul sees this for a certain
space of time, it is no more possible to continue looking at it than to gaze
for a very long time on the sun; therefore this vision passes very quickly,
although its brightness does not pain the interior sight in the same way as
the suns glare injures our bodily eyes.

3. The image is seen by the interior sight alone; but of bodily apparitions
I can say nothing, for the person I know so intimately never having
experienced anything of the kind herself could not speak about them with
certainty. [359] The splendour of Him Who is revealed in the vision
resembles an infused light like that of the sun covered with a veil as
transparent as a diamond, if such a texture could be woven, while His
raiment looks like fine linen. The soul to whom God grants this vision
almost always falls into an ecstasy, nature being too weak to bear so dread
a sight. I say˜dread, though this apparition is more lovely and delightful
than anything that could be imagined even though any one should live a
thousand years and spend all that time in trying to picture it, for it far
surpasses our limited imagination and understanding; yet the presence of
such surpassing majesty inspires the soul with great fear.

4. There is no need to ask how the soul knew Who He was or who declared with
absolute certainty that He was the Lord of heaven and earth. This is not so
with earthly kings; unless we were told their names or saw their attendant
courtiers, they would attract little notice. O Lord, how little do we
Christians know Thee! What will that day be in which Thou comest as our
Judge, since now, when Thou comest as a Friend to Thy spouse, the sight of
Thee strikes us with such awe? O daughters! what will it be when He says in
wrath:˜Go, accursed of my Father? [360] Let this impression be the result
of this favour granted by God to the soul and we shall reap no little
benefit from it, since St. Jerome, saint as he was, ever kept the thought of
the last judgment before his eyes. [361] Thus we shall care nothing what
sufferings we endure from the austerities of our Rule, for long as they may
last, the time is but a moment compared to this eternity of pain. I
sincerely assure you that, wicked as I am, I have never feared the torments
of hell [362] for they have seemed to me as nothing when I remembered that
the lost would see the beautiful, meek and pitiful eyes of our Lord turned
on them in wrath. [363] I have thought all my life that this would be more
than my heart could bear.

5. How much more must any one fear this to whom our Lord so revealed Himself
in vision here as to overcome her feelings and produce unconsciousness! This
must be the reason that the soul remains in a rapture: our Lord strengthens
its weakness so as to unite it to His greatness in this sublime communion
with God. When any one can contemplate this sight of our Lord for a long
time, I do not believe it is a vision but rather some overmastering idea
which causes the imagination to fancy it sees something; but this illusion
is only like a dead image in comparison with the living reality of the other
case.

6. As not only three or four, but a large number of people have spoken to me
on the subject, I know by experience that there are souls which, either
because they possess vivid imaginations or active minds, or for some other
reason of which I am ignorant, are so absorbed in their own ideas as to feel
certain they see whatever their fancy imagines. If they had ever beheld a
genuine vision, they would recognize the deception unmistakably. They
themselves fabricate, piece by piece, what they fancy they see: no after
effects are produced on the mind, which is less moved to devotion than by
the sight of a sacred picture. It is clear that no attention should be paid
to such fancies, which pass more quickly than dreams from the memory.

7. In the favour of which I speak, the case is very different. A person is
far from thinking of seeing anything, no idea of which has crossed the mind,
when suddenly the vision is revealed in its entirety, causing within the
powers and senses of the soul a fright and confusion soon changed into a
blissful peace. Thus, after St. Paul was thrown to the ground, a great
tempest and noise followed from heaven; [364] so, in the interior world of
the soul, there is a violent tumult followed instantly, as I said, by
perfect calm. Meanwhile certain sublime truths have been so impressed on the
mind that it needs no other master, for with no effort of its own, Wisdom
Himself has enlightened its former ignorance.

8. The soul for some time afterwards possesses such certainty that this
grace comes from God that whatever people may say to the contrary it cannot
fear delusion. Later on, when her confessor suggests doubts to her, God may
allow such a person to waver in her belief for a time and to feel misgivings
lest, in punishment for her sins, she may possibly have been left to go
astray. However, she does not give way to these apprehensions, but (as I
said in speaking of other matters) [365] they only affect her in the same
way as the temptations of the devil against faith, which may disturb the
mind but do not shake the firmness of belief. In fact, the more severe the
assault, [366] the more certain is she that the evil one could never have
produced the great benefits she is conscious of having received, because he
exercises no such power over the interior of the soul. He may present a
false apparition but it does not possess such truth, majesty, and efficacy.

9. As confessors cannot see these effects, which perhaps the person to whom
God has shown the vision is unable to explain, they are afraid of deception,
as indeed they have good reason to be. Therefore caution is necessary and
time should be allowed to see what effects follow. Day by day, the progress
of the soul in humility and in the virtues should be watched: if the devil
is concerned in the matter, he will soon show signs of himself and will be
detected in a thousand lies. If the confessor is experienced and has
received such favours himself, he will not take long in discovering the
truth. In fact, he will know immediately, on being told of the vision,
whether it is divine or comes from the imagination or the demon: more
especially if he has received the gift of discerning spirits”then, if he is
learned, he will understand the matter at once even though he has not
personally experienced the like.

10. The great point is, sisters, that you should be perfectly candid and
straightforward with your confessor: I do not mean in declaring your sins
that is evident enough”but in giving him an account of your prayer. [367]
Unless you do this, I cannot assure you of your safety nor that you are led
by God. Our Lord desires that we should be as truthful and open with those
who stand in His place as we should with Himself; that we should wish them
to know not only our thoughts but especially all relating to our actions,
however insignificant. Then you need feel no trouble nor anxiety [368]
because even if your vision were not from God, it could do you no harm if
you are humble and possess a good conscience, for His Majesty knows how to
glean good from evil. What the devil intended to injure you will benefit you
instead: believing that God has granted you such signal favours, you will
strive to please Him better and will keep His image ever before your memory.

11. A great theologian [369] once said that he should not trouble himself
though the devil, who is a clever painter, should present before his eyes
the living image of Christ, which would only kindle his devotion and defeat
the evil one with his own weapons. However wicked an artist may be, we
should reverence his picture if it represents Him Who is our only good. This
great scholar held that it was very wrong to advise any one who saw a vision
of our Lord to offer it signs of scorn, [370] because we are bound to show
respect to the portrait of our King wherever we see it. I am sure that he
was right, for even in the world any one who was on friendly terms with a
person would take it as an offence were his portrait treated with contempt.
How much more should we always show respect to a crucifix or a picture of
our heavenly Sovereign wherever it meets our gaze! Although I have written
about this elsewhere, I am glad of the opportunity of saying it now for I
know some one who was deeply pained at being bidden to behave in this way. I
know not who can have invented such a torture for one who felt bound to obey
the counsel given by her confessor, for she would have thought her soul was
at stake had she disobeyed him. My advice is, if you are given such an
order, that humbly alleging the reasons I have set before you to your
confessor, you should not carry it out. I am perfectly satisfied with the
motives given for doing so by him who counselled me on this subject.

12. One great advantage gained by the soul from this favour shown by our
Lord is that when thinking of Him or of His life and Passion, the
remembrance of His most meek and beautiful face brings with it the greatest
consolation. In the same way, we feel happier after having seen a benefactor
than if we had never known him personally. I can assure you that the
remembrance of the joy caused by this vision gives us the greatest comfort
and assistance.

13. Many other advantages result; but as I have written elsewhere [371] at
length about the effect these visions produce, and must do so again later
on, I will say no more now lest I weary us both. But I most earnestly advise
you, when you know or hear of Gods bestowing these graces on others, never
to pray nor desire to be led by this way yourself though it may appear to
you to be very good; indeed, it ought to be highly esteemed and reverenced,
yet no one should seek to go by it for several reasons. Firstly, as it is a
want of humility to desire what you have never deserved, I do not think any
one who longs for these graces can be really humble: a common labourer never
dreams of wishing to be made a king”the thing seems impossible and he is
unfit for it; a lowly mind has the same feeling about these divine favours.
I do not believe God will ever bestow these gifts on such a person, as
before doing so He always gives thorough self-knowledge. How can that soul,
while filled with such lofty aspirations, realize the truth that He has
shown it great mercy in not casting it into hell?

14. The second reason is that such a one is certain to be deceived or at
least is in great danger of delusion, for an entrance is thus left open to
the devil, who only needs to see the door left ajar to slip in at once and
play us a thousand tricks.

15. Thirdly: when people strongly desire a thing, the imagination makes them
fancy they see or hear it, just as when a mans mind is set upon a subject
all day he dreams of it at night.

16. Fourthly: it would be very presumptuous of me to choose a way for myself
without knowing what is good for me. [372] I should leave our Lord, Who
knows my soul, to guide me as is best for me so that His will may be done in
all things.

17. Fifthly: do you think people on whom our Lord bestows these favours have
little to suffer? No, indeed! their trials are most severe and of many
kinds. How can you tell whether you would be able to bear them?

18. Sixthly: perhaps what you think would be your gain might prove your
loss, as happened to Saul when he was made king. [373] In short, sisters,
there are other reasons besides these; believe me, it is safer to wish only
what God wishes, Who knows us better than we know ourselves and Who loves
us. Let us place ourselves entirely in His hands so that His will may be
done in us; we can never go astray if our will is ever firmly fixed on this.

19. Know that for having received many favours of this kind, you will not
merit more glory but will be the more stringently obliged to serve, since
you have received more. God does not deprive us of anything by which we
merit more, for this remains in our own control. There are many saints who
never knew what it was to receive one such favour, while others who have
received them are not saints at all. Do not imagine that these gifts are
continually bestowed; indeed, for one that is granted, the soul bears many a
cross, so that instead of longing to receive more favours, it only strives
to use them better.

20. True, such a grace is a most powerful aid towards practising the virtues
in their highest perfection, but it is far more meritorious to gain them at
the cost of ones own toil. I was acquainted with some one, [374] indeed
with two people (of whom one was a man), on whom our Lord had bestowed some
of these gifts. They were both so desirous of serving His Majesty at their
own cost without these great consolations and so longed to suffer for His
sake, that they remonstrated with Him for giving them these favours, and if
it had been possible would have refused to receive them. When I say
˜consolations, I do not mean these visions which greatly benefit the soul
and are highly to be esteemed, but the delights given by God during
contemplation.

21. I believe that these desires are supernatural and proper to very fervent
souls who wish to prove to God that they do not serve Him for pay; so as I
said, such people do not urge themselves to work harder for Him by the
thought of the glory they will gain, but rather labour to satisfy their
love, of which the nature is to toil for the Beloved in a thousand ways.
Such souls would fain find a way to consume themselves in Him, and were
there need that, for the sake of Gods greater glory, they should be
annihilated for ever, they would count it great gain. May He be for ever
praised Who, in abasing Himself to hold converse with us miserable
creatures, vouchsafes to manifest His greatness! Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[357] Life, ch, vii, 11.

[358] Ibid. xxix, 4.

[359] Life, ch, vii. 11, 12.

[360] St. Matt. xxv. 41:˜Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem¦ternum.

[361]Whenever I ponder on the Day of Judgment I am overwhelmed by the
thought and tremble from head to foot. (St. Jerome). The following saying
is by some attributed to St. Jerome, though not to be found in his works:
˜Whether I eat or drink, or whatever else I do, the dreadful trumpet of the
last day seems always sounding in my ears: Arise, ye dead, and come to
judgment. (Alban Butler, Life of St. Jerome). The Life of Christ by Ludolf
of Saxony gives this quotation with the word vox instead of tuba (part ii.
ch. lxxxvii. 9).

[362] Life, ch. iii.

[363] Excl. xiii, 3.

[364] Acts ix. 3, 4.

[365] Castle, M. vi. ch. iii. 12.

[366] Way of Perf ch, xl. 4.

[367] Life, ch. xxvi. 5; xxviii. 21.

[368] Way of Perf. ch. xl. 3.

[369] This was Father Dominic Ba±ez. Found. ch. viii. 3. Life, ch. xxix. 6,
7 and note.

[370] Letters of Blessed John of Avila (translated by the Benedictines of
Stanbrook), i. 5, p. 19.

[371] Life, ch. xxviii. 13, 4.

[372] St. Teresa, when led in this way, always asked to be delivered from
favours so dangerous as visions, etc. See Life, ch. xxv. 20; xxvii. 3.

[373] I. Reg. xv. 26-28.

[374] Life, ch. xl. 27. She herself was one, and the other, no doubt, was
St. John of the Cross.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER X.

SPEAKS OF VARIOUS OTHER GRACES GOD BESTOWS ON THE SOUL IN DIFFERENT WAYS,
AND OF THE GREAT BENEFITS CONFERRED BY THEM.

1. Reasons for speaking of these supernatural favours. 2. An intellectual
vision. 3. God compared to a palace in which His creatures dwell. 4. Forgive
as we are forgiven. 5. The vision shows God to be Truth itself. 6. We should
imitate God by truthfulness. 7. Why God reveals these truths.

1. OUR Lord communicates with the soul by means of these apparitions on many
occasions”sometimes when it is afflicted, at other times when it is about to
receive some heavy cross, and again for the sake of the mutual delight of
Himself and His beloved. There is no need for me to specify each different
case nor do I intend to do so. I only wish to teach you (as far as I am
acquainted with them myself) what are the different favours God shows a soul
in this state so that you may understand their characteristics and the
effects they produce. Thus you will not mistake every idle fancy for a
vision and if you really see one, knowing that such a thing is possible, you
will not be disturbed nor unhappy. The devil, who gains greatly by it, is
delighted to see a soul troubled and distressed, knowing how this hinders it
from employing itself wholly in loving and serving God.

2. His Majesty has far higher ways of communicating Himself to the soul;
they are less dangerous for I do not think the evil spirit can imitate them.
They are more difficult to explain, being more abstruse; therefore imaginary
visions are easier to describe. God is sometimes pleased, while a person is
engaged in prayer and in perfect possession of her senses, to suspend them
and to discover sublime mysteries to her which she appears to see within God
Himself. This is no vision of the most sacred Humanity nor can I rightly say
the soul˜sees, for it sees nothing; this is no imaginary vision but a
highly intellectual one, wherein is manifested how all things are beheld in
God and how He contains them within Himself. [375] It is of great value,
for although passing in an instant, it remains deeply engraved in the
memory, producing a feeling of great shame in the mind which perceives more
clearly the malice of offences against God, since these most heinous sins
are committed within His very being since we dwell within Him. I will try to
explain this truth to you by a comparison, for although it is obvious and
has been often told us, we either never reflect upon it or do not wish to
understand it. If we realized it, we could not possibly behave with such
audacity.

3. Let us compare God to a very spacious and magnificent mansion or palace
and remember that this edifice is God Himself. Can the sinner withdraw from
it in order to carry out his crimes? No, certainly not, for within this very
palace, that is, within God Himself, are perpetrated all the abominations,
impurities and evil deeds that sinners commit. Oh awful thought, well worthy
to be pondered over! What profit it would bring to us, who know so little
and understand these truths but partially or how could we possibly be so
reckless in our daring? Let us, sisters, meditate on the infinite mercy and
patience of God in not casting us down to hell at once and let us render Him
hearty thanks. Surely we should be ashamed of resenting anything done or
said against us”we who are the scum of the earth”when we see what outrages
are offered to God our Creator within His very being, by us His creatures;
yet we are wounded whenever we hear of an unkind word having been spoken of
us in our absence, although perhaps with no evil intention.

4. Oh misery of mankind! When, daughters, shall we imitate Almighty God in
any way? Oh, let us not think we are doing great things if we suffer
injuries patiently: rather let us bear them with alacrity; let us love our
enemies, since this great God has not ceased to love us in spite of our many
sins! This is indeed the chief reason that all should forgive any harm done
them. I assure you, daughters, that though this vision passes very quickly,
our Lord has bestowed signal grace on her to whom He grants it, if she seeks
to profit by keeping it constantly in mind.

5. Short as the time lasts, yet, in a manner impossible to describe, God
also manifests that in Him there is a verity which makes all truth in
creatures seem obscure. He convinces the soul that He alone is that Truth
which cannot lie, thus demonstrating the meaning of Davids words in the
psalm:˜Every man is a liar, [376] which could never be thus realized by
any other means, however often we might hear that God is truth infallible.
As I recall Pilate and how he besought our Lord in His Passion to answer his
question:˜What is truth? [377] I realize how little mortals know of that
sublime veracity.

6. I wish I could explain this better but am unable to do so. Let us learn
from it, sisters, that if we would bear any resemblance to our God and our
Spouse, we must strive to walk ever in the truth. I do not merely mean that
we should not tell falsehoods thank God, I see that in these convents you
are most careful never to do so on any account”but I desire that as far as
possible we should at with perfect truth before God and man and above all
that we should not wish to be thought better than we are; that in all our
deeds we should ascribe to God what is His and attribute what is ours to
ourselves, and that we should seek for verity in all things. Thus we shall
care little for this world, which is but deception and falsehood, and
therefore cannot last. Once, while I was wondering why our Lord so dearly
loves the virtue of humility, the thought suddenly struck me, without
previous reflection, that it is because God is the supreme Truth and
humility is the truth, for it is most true that we have nothing good of
ourselves but only misery and nothingness: whoever ignores this, lives a
life of falsehood. They that realize this fact most deeply are the most
pleasing to God, the supreme Truth, for they walk in the truth. God grant,
sisters, that we may have the grace never to lose this self-knowledge! Amen.

7. Our Lord shows the soul these favours because she is now indeed His
bride, resolute to do His will in all things; therefore He wishes to give
her some idea how to accomplish it and to manifest to her some of His divine
attributes. I need say no more about it, but I believe the two points above
mentioned will prove very useful. These favours should cause no fear but
lead us to praise God for bestowing these graces. I think neither the devil
nor our own imaginations can have much to do with them, therefore the soul
may rest in perfect peace.
_________________________________________________________________

[375] Life, ch. xl. 13-16.

[376] Ps. cxv. 11.˜Omnis homo mendax.

[377] St. John xviii. 38: Quid est veritas?
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER XI.

TREATS OF HOW GOD INSPIRES THE SOUL WITH SUCH VEHEMENT AND IMPETUOUS DESIRES
OF SEEING HIM AS TO ENDANGER LIFE. THE BENEFITS RESULTING FROM THIS DIVINE
GRACE.

1. Favours increase the souls desire for God. 2. The dart of love. 3.
Spiritual sufferings produced. 4. Its physical effects. S. Torture of the
desire for God. 6. These sufferings are a purgatory. 7. The torments of
hell. 8. St. Teresas painful desire after God. 9. This suffering
irresistible. 10. Effects of the dart of love. 11. Two spiritual dangers to
life. 12. Courage needed here and given by our Lord.

1. WILL all these graces bestowed by the Spouse upon the soul suffice to
content this little dove or butterfly (you see I have not forgotten her
after all!) so that she may settle down and rest in the place where she is
to die? No indeed: her state is far worse than ever; although she has been
receiving these favours for many years past, she still sighs and weeps
because each grace augments her pain. She sees herself still far away from
God, yet with her increased knowledge of His attributes her longing and her
love for Him grow ever stronger as she learns more fully how this great God
and Sovereign deserves to be loved. As, year by year her yearning after Him
gradually becomes keener, she experiences the bitter suffering I am about to
describe. I speak of˜years because relating what happened to the person I
mentioned, though I know well that with God time has no limits and in a
single moment He can raise a soul to the most sublime state I have
described. His Majesty has the power to do all He wishes and He wishes to do
much for us. These longings, tears, sighs, and violent and impetuous desires
and strong feelings, which seem to proceed from our vehement love, are yet
as nothing compared with what I am about to describe and seem but a
smouldering fire, the heat of which, though painful, is yet tolerable.

2. While the soul is thus inflamed with love, i t often happens that, from a
passing thought or spoken word of how death delays its coming, the heart
receives, it knows not how or whence, a blow as from a fiery dart. [378] I
do not say that this actually is a˜dart, but, whatever it may be,
decidedly it does not come from any part of our being. [379] Neither is it
really a˜blow though I call it one, but it wounds us severely”not, I
think, in that part of our nature subject to physical pain but in the very
depths and centre of the soul, where this, thunderbolt, in its rapid course,
reduces all the earthly part of our nature to powder. At the time we cannot
even remember our own existence, for in an instant, the faculties of the
soul are so fettered as to be incapable of any action except the power they
retain of increasing our torture. Do not think I am exaggerating; indeed I
fall short of explaining what happens which cannot be described.

3. This is a trance of the senses and faculties except as regards what helps
to make the agony more intense. The understanding realizes acutely what
cause there is for grief in separation from God and His Majesty now augments
this sorrow by a vivid manifestation of Himself. This increases the anguish
to such a degree that the sufferer gives vent to loud cries which she cannot
stifle, however patient and accustomed to pain she may be, because this
torture is not corporal but attacks the innermost recesses of the soul. The
person I speak of learnt from this how much more acutely the spirit is
capable of suffering than the body; she understood that this resembled the
pains of purgatory, where the absence of the flesh does not prevent the
tortures being far worse than any we can feel in this world.

4. I saw some one in this condition who I really thought would have died,
nor would it have been surprising, for there is great danger of death in
this state. Short as is the time it lasts, it leaves the limbs all
disjointed and the pulse as feeble as if the soul were on the point of
departure, which is indeed the case, for the natural heat fails, while that
which is supernatural so burns the frame that were it increased ever so
little God would satisfy the souls desire for death. Not that any pain is
felt by the body at the moment, although, as I said, all the joints are
dislocated so that for two or three days afterwards the suffering is too
severe for the person to have even the strength to hold a pen; [380]
indeed I believe that the health becomes permanently enfeebled in
consequence. At the time this is not felt, probably because the spiritual
torments are so much more keen that the bodily ones remain unnoticed; just
as when there is very severe pain in one part, slighter aches elsewhere are
hardly perceived, as I know by experience. During this favour there is no
physical suffering either great or small, nor do I think the person would
feel it were she torn to pieces.

5. Perhaps you will say this is an imperfection, and you may ask why she
does not conform herself to the will of God since she has so completely
surrendered herself to it. Hitherto she has been able to do so and she
consecrated her life to it; but now she cannot because her reason is reduced
to such a state that she is no longer mistress of herself; nor can she think
of anything but what tends to increase her torment”for why should she seek
to live apart from her only Good? She feels a strange loneliness, finding no
companionship in any earthly creature; nor could she, I believe, among those
who dwell in heaven, since they are not her Beloved: meanwhile all society
is a torture to her. She is like one suspended in mid-air, who can neither
touch the earth nor mount to heaven; she is unable to reach the water while
parched with thirst and this is not a thirst that can be borne, but one
which nothing will quench nor would she have it quenched save with that
water of which our Lord spoke to the Samaritan woman, but this is not given
to her. [381]

6. Alas, O Lord, to what a state dost Thou bring those who love Thee! Yet
these sufferings are as nothing compared with the reward Thou wilt give for
them. It is right that great riches should be dearly bought. Moreover, her
pains purify her soul so that it may enter the seventh mansion, as purgatory
cleanses spirits which are to enter heaven: [382] then indeed these trials
will appear like a drop of water compared to the sea. Though this torment
and grief could not, I think, be surpassed by any earthly cross (so at least
this person said and she had endured much both in body and mind), yet they
appeared to her as nothing in comparison with their recompense. The soul
realizes that it has not merited anguish which is of such measureless value.
This conviction, although bringing no relief; enables the sufferer to bear
her trials willingly”for her entire lifetime, if God so wills,”although
instead of dying once for all, this would be but a living death, for truly
it is nothing else.

7. Let us remember, sisters, how those who are in hell lack this submission
to the divine will and the resignation and consolation God gives such a soul
and the solace of knowing that their pains benefit them, for the damned will
continually suffer more and more; (more and more, I mean in regard to
accidental pains [383] ). The soul feels far more keenly than the body and
the torments I have just described are incomparably less severe than those
endured by the lost, who also know that their anguish will last for ever:
what, then, will become of these miserable souls? What can we do or suffer
during our short lives which is worth reckoning if it will free us from such
terrible and endless torments? I assure you that, unless you have learned by
experience, it would be impossible to make you realize how acute are
spiritual pangs and how different from physical pain. Our Lord wishes us to
understand this, so that we may realize what gratitude we owe Him for having
called us to a state where we may hope, by His mercy, to be freed from and
forgiven our sins.

8. Let us return to the soul we left in such cruel torment. This agony does
not continue for long in its full violence”never, I believe, longer than
three or four hours; were it prolonged, the weakness of our nature could not
endure it except by a miracle. In one case, where it lasted only a quarter
of an hour, the sufferer was left utterly exhausted; indeed, so violent was
the attack that she completely lost consciousness. This occurred when she
unexpectedly heard some verses to the effete that life seemed unending; she
was engaged in conversation at the time, which was on the last day of
Easter. All Eastertide she had suffered such aridity as hardly to realize
what mystery was being celebrated. [384]

9. It is as impossible to resist this suffering as it would be to prevent
the flames having heat enough to burn us if we were thrown into a fire.
These feelings cannot be concealed: all who are present recognize the
dangerous condition of such a person although they are unable to see what is
passing within her. True, she knows her friends are near, but they and all
earthly things seem to her but shadows. To show you that, should you ever be
in this state, it is possible for your weakness and human nature to be of
help to you, I may tell you that at times, when a person seems dying from
her desire for death [385] which so oppresses her soul with grief that it
appears on the point of leaving her body, yet her mind, terrified at the
thought, tries to still its pain so as to keep death at bay. Evidently this
fear arises from human infirmity, for the souls longings for death do not
abate meanwhile nor can its sorrows be stilled or allayed until God brings
it comfort. [386] This He usually does by a deep trance or by some vision
whereby the true Comforter consoles and strengthens the heart, which thus
becomes resigned to live as long as He wills. [387]

10. This favour entails great suffering but leaves most precious graces
within the soul, which loses all fear of any crosses it may henceforth meet
with, for in comparison with the acute anguish it has gone through all else
seems nothing. Seeing what she has gained, the sufferer would gladly endure
frequently the same pains [388] but can do nothing to help herself in the
matter. There are no means of reaching that state again until God chooses to
decree it, when neither resistance nor escape is possible. The mind feels
far deeper contempt for the world than before, realizing that nothing
earthly can succour it in its torture; it is also much more detached from
creatures, having learnt that no one but its Creator can bring it
consolation and strength. It is more anxious and careful not to offend God,
seeing that He can torment as well as comfort. [389]

11. Two things in this spiritual state seem to me to endanger life,”one is
that of which I have just spoken which is a real peril and no small one; the
other an excessive gladness and a delight so extreme that the soul appears
to swoon away and seems on the point of leaving the body, which indeed would
bring it no small joy.

12. Now you see. sisters, whether I had not reason to tell you that courage
was needed for these favours and that when any one asks for them from our
Lord He may well reply, as He did to the sons of Zebedee:˜Can you drink the
chalice that I shall drink? [390] I believe, sisters, we should all
answerYes”and we should be perfectly right for His Majesty gives strength
when He sees it needed: He ever defends such souls and answers for them when
they are persecuted and slandered as He did for the Magdalen”if not in
words, at least in deeds. [391] At last, ah, at last! before they die He
repays them for all they have suffered, as you shall now learn. May He be
for ever blessed and may all creatures praise Him! Amen.
_________________________________________________________________

[378] Life, ch. xxix. 17. (Transverberation.)

[379] Ibid. ch. xxix. 13, 14. Rel. viii. 16-19.

[380] St. John of the Cross, Obscure Night, bk. ii. ch. i. (in fine);
Spiritual Canticle, stanza xiii; xiv-xv. (in fine). When this happened to
St. Teresa she was unable to write for twelve days. Ribera, Acta SS. p. 555
(in fine). Rel. viii. 13. Life, ch. xx. 16.

[381] St. John iv. 15. Life, ch. xxx. 24. Way of Perf. ch. xix. 4 sqq.
Concept. ch. vii. 7, 8. Found. ch. xxxi. 42. See note, Life, ch. i. 6.

[382] St. John of the Cross, Obscure Night, bk. ii. ch. xii.

[383] Marginal note in the Saints handwriting. The˜substantial pain of
hell consists in the irrevocable loss of God, our last end and supreme Good;
this is incurred from the first moment in its fullest intensity and
therefore cannot increase. The physical pain with which the bodies will be
afflicted when united to the souls after the general resurrection may vary,
but will neither increase nor abate. The˜accidental pain of the damned
arises from various causes, for instance from the ever-increasing effects of
evil actions, and therefore increases in the same proportion. Thus a
heresiarch will suffer keener accidental pain as more and more souls are
lost through his false teaching.

[384] Rel. iv. 1. Concept. ch. vii. 2. Isabel of Jesus, in her deposition in
the Acts of Canonisation (Fuente, Obras, vol. vi. 316) declares that she was
the singer. The words were:

V©ante mis ojos,

Dulce Jesºs bueno:

V©ante mis ojos,

Y mu©rame yo lu©go.
Fuente, l.c. vol. v. 143, note 1. Å’uvres, ii. 231. (Poem 36, English
version.) There is a slight difference in the two relations of this
occurrence. In Rel. iv. St. Teresa seems to imply that it happened on Easter
Sunday evening, but here she says distinctly:˜Pascua de Resurreccion, el
postrer dia, that is, on Easter Tuesday, April 17, 1571, at Salamanca.

[385] Compare the wordsQue muero porque no muero in the Glosa of St.
Teresa. Way of Perf. ch. xlii . 2. Castle, M. vii. ch. iii. 14.

[386] Way of Perf. ch. xix. 10. Excl. vi.; xii. a.; xiv.

[387] See the two versions of the poems written by the Saint on her recovery
from the trance into which she was thrown, beginning˜Vivir sin vivir in
me and the poem,Cuan triste es, Dios mio (Poems 2, 3, and 4, English
version). See also St. Teresas poem,˜Ya toda me entregu© y d­. (Poem 7,
English version).

Struck by the gentle Hunter

And overthrown,

Within the arms of Love

My soul lay prone.

Raised to new life at last,

This contracttween us passed,

That the Beloved should be mine own,

I His alone.

[388] Rel. viii. 17.

[389] Acta SS. p. 64, n. 229.

[390] St. Matt. xx. 22:˜Potestis bibere calicem quem ego bibiturus sum?

[391] St. Matt. xxvi. to: St. Mark xiv. 6; St. John xii. 7. Way of Perf. ch.
xvi. 7; xvii. 4. Excl. v. 2-4.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

THE SEVENTH MANSIONS
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER I.

TREATS OF THE SUBLIME FAVOURS GOD BESTOWS ON SOULS WHICH HAVE ENTERED THE
SEVENTH MANSIONS. THE AUTHOR SHOWS THE DIFFERENCE SHE BELIEVES TO EXIST
BETWEEN SOUL AND SPIRIT ALTHOUGH THEY ARE BOTH ONE. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS
SOME NOTEWORTHY THINGS.

1. Sublime mysteries of these mansions. 2. St. Teresa abashed at treating
such subjects. 3. Our Lord introduces His bride into His presence chamber.
4. Darkness of a soul in mortal sin. 5. Intercession for sinners. 6. The
soul an interior world. 7. The spiritual nuptials. 8. Former favours differ
from spiritual nuptials. 9. The Blessed Trinity revealed to the soul. 10.
Permanence of Its presence in the soul. 11. The effects. 12. This presence
is not always equally realized. 13. It is beyond the souls control. 14. The
centre of the soul remains calm. 15. The soul and the spirit distinct though
united. 16. The soul and its faculties not identical.

1. You may think, sisters, that so much has been said of this spiritual
journey that nothing remains to be added. That would be a great mistake:
Gods immensity has no limits, neither have His works; therefore, who can
recount His mercies and His greatness? [392] It is impossible, so do not
be amazed at what I write about them which is but a cipher of what remains
untold concerning God. He has shown great mercy in communicating these
mysteries to one who could recount them to us, for as we learn more of His
intercourse with creatures, we ought to praise Him more fervently and to
esteem more highly the soul in which He so delights. Each of us possesses a
soul but we do not realize its value as made in the image of God, therefore
we fail to understand the important secrets it contains. May His Majesty be
pleased to guide my pen and to teach me to say somewhat of the much there is
to tell of His revelations to the souls He leads into this mansion. I have
begged Him earnestly to help me, since He sees that my object is to reveal
His mercies for the praise and glory of His name. I hope He will grant this
favour, if not for my own sake, at least for yours, sisters”so that you may
discover how vital it is for you to put no obstacle in the way of the
Spiritual Marriage of the Bridegroom with your soul which brings, as you
will learn, such signal blessings with it.

2. O great God! surely such a miserable creature as myself should tremble at
the thought of speaking on such a subject so far beyond anything I deserve
to understand. Indeed I felt abashed and doubted whether it would not be
better to finish writing about this Mansion in a few words, lest people
might imagine that I am recounting my personal experience. I was overwhelmed
with shame for, knowing what I am, it is a terrible undertaking. On the
other hand, this fear seemed but a temptation and weakness: even if I should
be misjudged, so long as God is but a little better praised and known, let
all the world revile me. Besides, I may be dead before this book is seen.
May He Who lives and shall live to all eternity be praised! Amen.

3. When our Lord is pleased to take pity on the sufferings, both past and
present, endured through her longing for Him by this soul which He has
spiritually taken for His bride, He, before consummating the celestial
marriage, brings her into this His mansion or presence chamber. This is the
seventh Mansion, for as He has a dwelling-place in heaven, so has He in the
soul, where none but He may abide and which may be termed a second heaven.

4. It is important, sisters, that we should not fancy the soul to be in
darkness. As we are accustomed to believe there is no light but that which
is exterior, we imagine that the soul is wrapt in obscurity. This is indeed
the case with a soul out of the state of grace, [393] not, however,
through any defer in the Sun of Justice which remains within it and gives it
being, but the soul itself is incapable of receiving the light, as I think I
said in speaking of the first Mansion. [394] A certain person was given to
understand that such unfortunate souls are, as it were, imprisoned in a
gloomy dungeon, chained hand and foot and unable to perform any meritorious
action: they are also both blind and dumb. Well may we pity them when we
reflect that we ourselves were once in the same state and that God may show
them mercy also.

5. Let us, then, sisters, be most zealous in interceding for them and never
neglect it. To pray for a soul in mortal sin is a far more profitable form
of almsgiving than it would be to help a Christian whom we saw with hands
strongly fettered behind his back, tied to a post and dying of hunger”not
for want of food, because plenty of the choicest delicacies lay near him,
but because he was unable to put them into his mouth, although he was
extremely exhausted and on the point of dying, and that not a temporal
death, but an eternal one. Would it not be extremely cruel of us to stand
looking at him, and give him nothing to eat? What if by your prayers you
could loose his bonds? Now you understand.

6. For the love of God I implore you constantly to remember in your prayers
souls in a like case. We are not speaking now of them but of others who, by
the mercy of God, have done penance for their sins and are in a state of
grace. You must not think of the soul as insignificant and petty but as an
interior world containing the number of beautiful mansions you have seen; as
indeed it should, since in the centre of the soul there is a mansion
reserved for God Himself.

7. When His Majesty deigns to bestow on the soul the grace of these divine
nuptials, He brings it into His presence chamber and does not treat it as
before, when He put it into a trance. I believe He then united it to
Himself, as also during the prayer of union; but then only the superior part
was affected and the soul did not feel called to enter its own centre as it
does in this mansion. Here it matters little whether it is in the one way or
the other.

8. In the former favours our Lord unites the spirit to Himself and makes it
both blind and dumb like St. Paul after his conversion, [395] thus
preventing its knowing whence or how it enjoys this grace, for the supreme
delight of the spirit is to realize its nearness to God. During the actual
moment of divine union the soul feels nothing, all its powers being entirely
lost. But now He acts differently: our pitiful God removes the scales from
its eyes [396] letting it see and understand somewhat of the grace
received in a strange and wonderful manner in this mansion by means of
intellectual vision.

9. By some mysterious manifestation of the truth, the three Persons of the
most Blessed Trinity reveal themselves, preceded by an illumination which
shines on the spirit like a most dazzling cloud of light. [397] The three
Persons are distinct from one another; a sublime knowledge is infused into
the soul, imbuing it with a certainty of the truth that the Three are of one
substance, power, and knowledge and are one God. Thus that which we hold as
a doctrine of faith, the soul now, so to speak, understands by sight, though
it beholds the Blessed Trinity neither by the eyes of the body nor of the
soul, this being no imaginary vision. All the Three Persons here communicate
Themselves to the soul, speak to it and make it understand the words of our
Lord in the Gospel that He and the Father and the Holy Ghost will come and
make their abode with the soul which loves Him and keeps His commandments.
[398]

10. O my God, how different from merely hearing and believing these words is
it to realize their truth in this way! Day by day a growing astonishment
takes possession of this soul, for the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity
seem never to depart; it sees with certainty, in the way I have described,
that They dwell far within its own centre and depths; though for want of
learning it cannot describe how, it is conscious of the indwelling of these
divine Companions.

11. You may fancy that such a person is beside herself and that her mind is
too inebriated to care for anything else. On the contrary, she is far more
active than before in all that concerns Gods service, and when at leisure
she enjoys this blessed companionship. Unless she first deserts God, I
believe He will never cease to make her clearly sensible of His presence:
she feels confident, as indeed she may, that He will never so fail her as to
allow her to lose this favour after once bestowing it; at the same time, she
is more careful than before to avoid offending Him in any way.

12. This presence is not always so entirely realized, that is, so distinctly
manifest, as at first, or as it is at times when God renews this favour,
otherwise the recipient could not possibly attend to anything else nor live
in society. Although not always seen by so clear a light, yet whenever she
reflects on it she feels the companionship of the Blessed Trinity. This is
as if, when we were with other people in a very well lighted room, some one
were to darken it by closing the shutters; we should feel certain that the
others were still there, though we were unable to see them. [399]

13. You may ask:˜Could she not bring back the light and see them again?
[400] This is not in her power; when our Lord chooses, He will open the
shutters of the understanding: He shows her great mercy in never quitting
her and in making her realize it so clearly. His divine Majesty seems to be
preparing His bride for greater things by this divine companionship which
clearly helps perfection in every way and makes her lose the fear she
sometimes felt when other graces were granted her.

14. A certain person so favoured found she had improved in all virtues:
whatever were her trials or labours, the centre of her soul seemed never
moved from its resting-place. Thus in a manner her soul appeared divided: a
short time after God had done her this favour, while undergoing great
sufferings, she complained of her soul as Martha did of Mary, [401]
reproaching it with enjoying solitary peace while leaving her so full of
troubles and occupations that she could not keep it company.

15. This may seem extravagant to you, daughters, yet though the soul is
known to be undivided, it is fact and no fancy and often happens. Interior
effects show for certain that there is a positive difference between the
soul and the spirit, although they are one with each other. [402] There is
an extremely subtle distinction between them, so that sometimes they seem to
at in a different manner from one another, as does the knowledge given to
them by God.

16. It also appears to me that the soul and its faculties are not identical.
There are so many and such transcendental mysteries within us, that it would
be presumption for me to attempt to explain them. If by Gods mercy we enter
heaven we shall understand these secrets.
_________________________________________________________________

[392] Ps. cxliv. 3:˜Magnitudinis ejus non est finis.

[393] See the Saints description of a soul in the state of sin, Rel, iii.
13. (towards the end).

[394] Supra, M. i, ch. ii. 1.

[395] Acts ix. 8:˜Surrexit autem Saulus de terra, apertisque oculis nihil
videbat. There is, however, nothing to imply that he was dumb as well as
blind.

[396] Acts ix. 18:˜Et confestim ceciderunt ab oculis ejus tamquam squam¦,
et visum recepit. Way of Perf.. ch. xxviii. 11.

[397] Rel. iii. 6; v. 6-8; viii. 20, 21; ix. 12, 17, 19. Deposition by Fr.
Giles Gonzalez, S.J., Provincial of Old Castile, afterwards
Assistant”General in Rome:˜While the holy Mother lived at the convent of
the Incarnation of Avila [as prioress], I often spoke with her, and once I
remember she asked me:What am I to do, Father? Whenever I recollect myself
I realize that already in this life the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity
may be seen, and that They accompany me and assist me in the management of
my affairs. (Fuente, Obras, vol. vi. p. 280.)Do±a Maria Enriquez,
Duchess of Alva, said that St. Teresa made known to her many revelations she
had received from our Lord, and that she (the duchess) held in her
possession three paintings of the Blessed Trinity made according to the
description of the holy Mother, who, while they were being done, effaced
with her own hand those portions which the painter failed to design
conformably to the vision she had had. (Fuente, l.c. p. 297.)

[398] St. John xiv. 23:˜Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit, et
Pater meus diliget eum, et ad eum veniemus, et mansionem apud eum
faciemus.

[399] One of the Saints favourite comparisons. See Life, ch. xxvii. 7.
Castle, M. vi. ch. viii. 3. Rel. vii. 26.

[400]Though the soul be always in the high estate of marriage since God
has placed it there, nevertheless, actual union in all its powers is not
continuous, though the substantial union is. In this substantial union the
powers of the soul are most frequently in union, and drink of His cellar,
the understanding by knowledge, the will by love, etc. We are not therefore
to suppose that the soul, when saying it went out, has ceased from its
substantial or essential union with God, but only from the union of its
faculties, which is not, and cannot be, permanent in this life. (St. John
of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle, stanza xxvi. 9. On the words:˜In the
inner cellar of my Beloved have I drunk, and when I went forth).

[401] St. Luke x. 40. Excl. v. 2, 3. Way of Perf. ch. xv. 4; xxxi. 4. Rel.
viii. 6. Concept. ch. vii. 4.

[402] Life, ch. xviii. 4. The distinction between soul and spirit, to be
found in the Epistle to the Hebrews, iv. 12, according to Cornelius a Lapide
(ad loc.) consists in this, that the term soul comprises the faculties,
senses, and passions, whereas the term spirit denotes the substance of the
soul independently of its powers. In the inferior degrees of the Mystical
life God operates through the faculties, while in the Mystical marriage He
acts directly on the substance of the soul. St. Teresa is not quite
consistent in the use of these terms, which is not surprising, as she owns
that she does not quite understand this subtle distinction.
_________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER II.

TREATS OF THE SAME SUBJECT: EXPLAINS, BY SOME DELICATELY DRAWN COMPARISONS,
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPIRITUAL UNION AND SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE.

1. The spiritual nuptials introduced by an imaginary vision. 2. Spiritual
betrothal and marriage differ. 3. Spiritual marriage lasting. 4. Not so
spiritual betrothal. 5. Spiritual marriage permanent. 6. St. Paul and
spiritual marriage. 7. The souls joy in union. 8. Its conviction of Gods
indwelling. 9. Its peace. 10. Christs prayer for the divine union of the
soul. 11. Its fulfilment. 12. Unalterable peace of the soul in the seventh
Mansion. 13. Unless it offends God. 14. Struggles outside the seventh
Mansion. 15. Comparisons explaining this.

1. WE now come to speak of divine and spiritual nuptials, although this
sublime favour cannot be received in all its perfection during our present
life, for by forsaking God this great good would be lost. The first time God
bestows this grace, He, by an imaginary vision of His most sacred Humanity,
reveals Himself to the soul so that it may understand and realize the
sovereign gift it is receiving. He may manifest Himself in a different way
to other people; the person I mentioned, after having received Holy
Communion beheld our Lord, full of splendour, beauty, and majesty, as He was
after His resurrection. [403] He told her that henceforth she was to care
for His affairs as though they were her own and He would care for hers: He
spoke other words which she understood better than she can repeat them. This
may seem nothing new, for our Lord had thus revealed Himself to her at other
times; [404] yet this was so different that it left her bewildered and
amazed, both on account of the vividness of what she saw and of the words
heard at the time, also because it took place in the interior of the soul
where, with the exception of the one last mentioned, no other vision had
been seen.

2. You must understand that between the visions seen in this and in the
former mansions there is a vast difference; there is the same distinction
between spiritual espousals and spiritual marriage as between people who are
only betrothed and others who are united for ever in holy matrimony. I have
told you [405] that though I make this comparison because there is none
more suitable, yet this betrothal is no more related to our corporal
condition than if the soul were a disembodied spirit. This is even more true
of the spiritual marriage, for this secret union takes place in the
innermost centre of the soul where God Himself must dwell: I believe that no
door is required to enter it. I say,˜no door is required, for all I have
hitherto described seems to come through the senses and faculties as must
the representation of our Lords Humanity, but what passes in the union of
the spiritual nuptials is very different. Here God appears in the souls
centre, not by an imaginary but by an intellectual vision far more mystic
than those seen before, just as He appeared to the Apostles without having
entered through the door when He said:˜Pax vobis. [406]

3. So mysterious is the secret and so sublime the favour that God thus
bestows instantaneously on the soul, that it feels a supreme delight, only
to be described by saying that our Lord vouchsafes for the moment to reveal
to it His own heavenly glory in a far more subtle way than by any vision or
spiritual delight. As far as can be understood, the soul, I mean the spirit
of this soul, is made one with God [407] 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. He has thus deigned to unite Himself
to His creature: He has bound Himself to her as firmly as two human beings
are joined in wedlock and will never separate Himself from her.

4. Spiritual betrothal is different and like the grace of union is often
dissolved; for though two things are made one by union, separation is still
possible and each part then remains a thing by itself. This favour generally
passes quickly, and afterwards the soul, as far as it is aware, remains
without His company.

5. This is not so in the spiritual marriage with our Lord, where the soul
always remains in its centre with its God. Union may be symbolized by two
wax candles, the tips of which touch each other so closely that there is but
one light; or again, the wick, the wax, and the light become one, but the
one candle can again be separated from the other and the two candles remain
distinct; or the wick may be withdrawn from the wax. But spiritual marriage
is like rain falling from heaven into a river or stream, becoming one and
the same liquid, so that the river and rain water cannot be divided; or it
resembles a streamlet flowing into the ocean, which cannot afterwards be
disunited from it. This marriage may also be likened to a room into which a
bright light enters through two windows”though divided when it enters, the
light becomes one and the same.

6. Perhaps when St. Paul said,˜He who is joined to the Lord is one
spirit, [408] he meant this sovereign marriage, which presupposes His
Majestys having been joined to the soul by union. The same Apostle says:
˜To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. [409] This, I think, might
here be uttered by the soul, for now the little butterfly of which I spoke
dies with supreme joy, for Christ is her life.

7. This becomes more manifest by its effects as time goes on, for the soul
learns that it is God Who gives it˜life, by certain secret intuitions too
strong to be misunderstood, and keenly felt, although impossible to
describe. These produce such over-mastering feelings that the person
experiencing them cannot refrain from amorous exclamations, such as:˜O Life
of my life, and Power which doth uphold me! with other aspirations of the
same kind. [410] For from the bosom of the Divinity, where God seems ever
to hold this soul fast clasped, issue streams of milk, which solace the
servants of the castle. I think He wishes them to share, in some way, the
riches the soul enjoys; therefore from the flowing river in which the little
streamlet is swallowed up, some drops of water flow every now and then to
sustain the bodily powers, the servants of the bride and Bridegroom.

8. A person who was unexpectedly plunged into water could not fail to be
aware of it; here the case is the same, but even more evident. A quantity of
water could not fall on us unless it came from some source”so the soul feels
certain there must be some one within it who lances forth these darts and
vivifies its own life, and that there is a Sun whence this brilliant light
streams forth from the interior of the spirit to its faculties.

9. The soul itself, as I said, never moves from this centre, nor loses the
peace He can give Who gave it to the Apostles when they were assembled
together. [411] I think this salutation of our Lord contains far deeper
meaning than the words convey, as also His bidding the glorious Magdalen to
˜go in peace. [412] Our Lords words act within us, [413] and in these
cases they must have wrought their effect in the souls already disposed to
banish from within themselves all that is corporal and to retain only what
is spiritual, in order to be joined in this celestial union with the
uncreated Spirit. Without doubt, if we empty ourselves of all that belongs
to the creature, depriving ourselves of it for the love of God, that same
Lord will fill us with Himself.

10. Our Lord Jesus Christ, praying for His Apostles, (I cannot remember the
reference),asked that they might be made one with the Father and with
Himself; as Jesus Christ our Lord is in the Father and the Father in Him!
[414] I do not know how love could be greater than this! Let none draw
back from entering here, for His Majesty also said:˜Not only for them do I
pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in Me; [415]
and He declared:˜I am in them. [416]

11. God help me! how true these words are, and how clearly are they
understood by the soul which in this state of prayer finds them fulfilled in
itself! So should we all but for our own fault, for the words of Jesus
Christ, our King and our Lord, cannot fail. It is we who fail by not
disposing ourselves fitly, nor removing all that can obstruct this light,so
that we do not behold ourselves in this mirror wherein our image is
engraved. [417]

12. To return to what I was saying. God places the soul in His own mansion
which is in the very centre of the soul itself. They say the empyreal
heavens, in which our Lord dwells, do not revolve with the rest: so the
accustomed movements of the faculties and imagination do not appear to take
place in any way that can injure the soul or disturb its peace.

13. Do I seem to imply that after God has brought the soul thus far it is
certain to be saved and cannot fall into sin again? [418] I do not mean
this: whenever I say that the soul seems in security, I must be understood
to imply for as long as His Majesty thus holds it in His care and it does
not offend Him. At any rate I know for certain that though such a person
realizes the high state she is in and has remained in it for several years,
she does not consider herself safe, but is more careful than ever to avoid
committing the least offence against God. As I shall explain later on, she
is most anxious to serve Him and feels a constant pain and confusion at
seeing how little she can do for Him compared with all she ought. This is
no light cross but a severe mortification, for the harder the penances she
can perform, the better is she pleased. Her greatest penance is to be
deprived by God of health and strength to perform any. I told you elsewhere
what keen pain this caused her, but now it grieves her far more. This must
be because she is like a tree grafted on a stock growing near a stream which
makes it greener and more fruitful. [419] Why marvel at the longings of
this soul whose spirit has truly become one with the celestial water I
described?

14. To return to what I wrote about. It is not intended that the powers,
senses and passions should continually enjoy this peace. The soul does so,
indeed, but in the other mansions there are still times of struggle,
suffering, and fatigue, though as a general rule, peace is not lost by them.
This˜centre of the soul or˜spirit is so hard to describe or even to
believe in, that I think, sisters, my inability to explain my meaning saves
your being tempted to disbelieve me; it is difficult to understand how there
can be crosses and sufferings and yet peace in the soul.

15. Let me give you one or two comparisons”God grant they may be of use; if
not, I know that what I say is true. A king resides in his palace; many wars
and disasters take place in his kingdom but he remains on his throne. In the
same way, though tumults and wild beasts rage with great uproar in the other
mansions, yet nothing of this enters the seventh mansions, nor drives the
soul from it. Although the mind regrets these troubles, they do not disturb
it nor rob it of its peace, for the passions are too subdued to dare to
enter here where they would only suffer still further defeat. Though the
whole body is in pain, yet the head, if it be sound, does not suffer with
it. I smile at these comparisons”they do not please me”but I can find no
others. Think what you will about it”I have told you the truth.
_________________________________________________________________

[403] Rel. iii. 20; ix. 8 and 25.

[404] Life, ch. xxxix. 29.

[405] Castle, M. v. ch. iv. 1.

[406] St. John xx. 19.

[407] Rel. xi. 1. sqq.

[408] 1 Cor. vi. 17:˜Qui adh¦ret Domino unus spiritus est.

[409] Philip. i. 21:˜Mihi vivere Christus est, et mori lucrum.

[410] Such exclamations, in considerable number, form the Book of
Exclamations published by Fray Luis de Leon. De Fuente thinks it was written
in 1569, but as St. Teresas spiritual betrothal took place on November 18,
1572, it seems, at least in parts, of a later date. The spiritual nuptials
must be placed between the aforementioned year and May 1575, but it is not
possible to ascertain the exact date. (For the Exclamations, see Minor
Works).

[411] St. John xx. 19.

[412] St. Luke vii. 50.

[413] Supra, M. vi. ch. iii. 6. Life, ch. xxv. 5.

[414] St. John xvii. 2 I:˜Ut omnes unum sint, sicut tu Pater in me, et ego
in te, ut et ipsi in nobis unum sint.

[415] St. John xvii. 20:˜Non pro eis autem rogo tantum, sed et pro eis, qui
credituri sunt per verbum eorum in me.

[416] St. John xvii. 2 3:˜Ego in eis.

[417] This idea is expressed in St. Teresas poem: Alma, buscarte has en
Mi (Poem 10, Minor Works).

Such is the power of love, O soul,

To paint thee in my heart

No craftsman with such art

Whateer his skill might be, could there

Thine image thus impart!

Twas love that gave thee life”

Then, fair one, if thou be

Lost to thyself, thoult see

Thy portrait in my bosom stamped”

Soul, seek thyself in Me.

[418] In a letter dated May 1581, addressed to Don Alonso Velasquez, then
bishop of Osma, St. Teresa writes as follows:She [herself] has received
such an assurance of coming one day to the fruition of God that she almost
imagines she has already come into possession of Him, without, however, the
joy that will accompany it. She is in the same position as one who by legal
contract has received a splendid property which will become his, and whose
fruit he will enjoy at a given date. Until then he only holds the
title-deeds, without being able to take possession of the property.
Nevertheless my soul would not like to come immediately into the possession
of God, for it does not believe that it has deserved such a grace. It only
desires to continue in His service, even at the cost of terrible sufferings.
It would not mind thus serving Him to the end of the world, after having
received such a pledge. St. John of the Cross, in treating of this subject
(Spir. Cant. stanza xxii. 3) says:˜I believe that no soul ever attains to
this state without being confirmed in grace in it. See also Ribera, in the
Acta Ss. p. 554, circa finem.

[419] Ps. i. 3:˜Et erit tamquam lignum quod plantatum est secus decursus
aquarum, quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo.
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CHAPTER III.

THE GREAT FRUITS PRODUCED BY THE ABOVE-MENTIONED PRAYER. THE WONDERFUL
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE EFFECTS AND THOSE FORMERLY DESCRIBED SHOULD BE
CAREFULLY STUDIED AND REMEMBERED.

1. Effects of the graces last received. 2. The soul only cares for Gods
honour. 3. But still performs its duties. 4. Other fruits of these favours.
5. The souls fervent desire to serve God. 6. Christ dwells within this
soul. 7. And recalls it to fervour if negligent. 8. Gods constant care of
such souls. 9. Their peace and silence. 10. Few ecstasies in the Seventh
Mansions. 11. Probable reasons for this. 12. Allusions in Holy Scripture to
this state. 13. Watchfulness of such souls. 14. Crosses suffered in this
state.

1. THE little butterfly has died with the greatest joy at having found rest
at last, and now Christ lives in her. [420] Let us see the difference
between her present and her former life, for the effects will prove whether
what I told you was true. As far as can be ascertained they are these:
first, a self-forgetfulness so complete that she really appears not to
exist, as I said, [421] for such a transformation has been worked in her
that she no longer recognizes herself; nor does she remember that heaven, or
life, or glory are to be hers, but seems entirely occupied in seeking Gods
interests. Apparently the words spoken by His Majesty have done their work:
that she was to care for His affairs, and He would care for hers. [422]

2. Thus she recks nothing, whatever happens, but lives in such strange
oblivion that, as I stated, she seems no longer to exist, nor does she wish
to be of any account in anything”anything! unless she sees that she can
advance, however little, the honour and glory of God, for which she would
most willingly die.

3. Do not fancy I mean, daughters, that she neglects to eat and drink,
though it brings no small torment to her, or to perform the duties of her
state. I am speaking of her interior; as regards her exterior actions there
is little to say, for her chief suffering is to see that she has hardly
strength to do anything. For nothing in the world would she omit doing all
she can which she knows would honour our Lord.

4. The second fruit is a strong desire for suffering, though it does not
disturb her peace as before because the fervent wish of such souls for the
fulfilment of Gods will in them makes them acquiesce in