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 under- standing, nor the memory has power to hinder the graces bestowed on it, ' Lijef ch. xvii. 2.
CHAP. I.] FIFTH MANSIONS 123 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.^ 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 addid:ed to them, but the union differs from that which is divine and the mind misses the delight and satisfad:ion, 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 effed:s, as you know by experience.
7. I said somewhere' that the one seems only to touch the surface of the body, while the other penetrates to the very marrow: I believe this is * According to St. Thomas, angels — whether good or bad — do not know the thoughts of man unless they become manifest by some ex- terior sign. S. Theol. I. q. Ivii. art. 4. See also St. John of the Cross, Dark Night, bk. II, ch. xxiii. 2, 5.
^ Mansion iv, ch. i. 5.
124 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. i.
corred:, 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 un- derstand 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 judg- ment 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 perfed:ly 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-in- strud:ed people whose ignorance has cost me very dear.'" 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 commu- I CHAP. I.] FIFTH MANSIONS 125 nicate 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."
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 l^ that He may the better imprint in it true wisdom: it neithersees, hears, nor understands anything while this state lasts, which is never more than a very brjgf time;" 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 fa(S,'^ setting aside the effedls left by this prayer, to which I will refer later on. The convidlion 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"^ or know these " Life, ch. xviii. i6.
'■' Philippus a SS. Trinitate, I.e., pars iii. tr. i. disc. iv. art, 2, where he adds some further signs. Anton, a Sp. S., I.e., tract, i. nn. 1 16 and 117.
^* ' The soul does not see the good Master who teaches it, although 126 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. i.
things? I do not say that she saw it at the time, but that she perceives it clearly afterwards, not by any vision but bv a certitude which remains in the heart which God alone could give. I know of some one who was unaware of God's being in all things by presence, power and essence, yet was firmly convinced of it by a divine favour of this sort.'* She asked an ill-instru(5led 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.'^ Yet so strong was her clearly conscious of His presence.' {Cofuept. ch. iv. 3.)
^^ '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 im- mediately 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, ^jr^?;//, bk. ii. ch. v. 3.)
Fr. Gracian, FeregrinacUn de Anastas'to (Burgos, 1905), p. 171.
^^ Life, ch. xviii. 20. Rel. ix. 17; xi. 8. St. Teresa was so deeply impressed by the ignorance of this priest that she very frequent 1}- referred to it.
CHAP. I.] FIFTH MANSIONS 127 convidiion of the truth learnt during her prayer that she did not believe him and questioned other spi- ritual persons on the subjecft, who confirmed her in the true doctrine, much to her joy. Do not mis- take and imagine that this certainty of God's 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 fad:. 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 whv trouble ourselves on the sub- je(5l? 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 |:he words of the Bride in the Canticles, which you will remember to have heard: *The King brought me into the cellar of wine,' '^ (or * placed me' I think she says): she does not say she went of her own accord, '^ Cant. i. 3: 'Introduxit me rex in cellaria sua.' Castle, M. v. ch. ii. II. Wa'^ ofPerf. ch. xviii. i. Concep. ch. iv. 4-8; v. 5; vi. 7; vii. 2-5. Life, ch. xviii. i 7.
128 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. i.
although telling us how she wandered up and down seeking her Beloved.'^ 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,"' and as He emerged from the sepulchre without remov- ing; 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 com- prehension! May He be for ever praised! Amen.
'* Cant. iii. 2: ' Per vicos et plateas quaeram quern diliglt anima mea.' '^ 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 ami the silkivorm. 4. Preparation of the soul for God's imhvelling. 5. Mystic death of the silkivorm. 6. Effects of divine union. 7. Increase of fervour and detach- ment. 8. Trials succeeding the prayer of union. 9. Longing for death and zeal for God's honour. 10. This zeal supernatural. 11. God alone works this grace. 12. The same zeal as that felt by our Lord on earth. 13. Christ's keenest suffering.
I. 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 w^hen the soul on v^hich God bestows this grace disposes itself for their reception, I could tell you much about the marvels our Lord works in it. I will des- cribe 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 acftive part in this work of God within us,' 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 fadls are inaccurate the fault will not be mine. When, in the warm weather, the mulberry trees ' Way of Per/, ch. xxv. 3.
129 130 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. ii.
come into leaf, the little egg which was lifeless before its food was ready, begins to live. The cater- pillar 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 insed:s so utterly with- out 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 books, 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.
CHAP. II.] FIFTH MANSIONS 131 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." It makes little difference to my meaning which of these quotations is corredl.
4. This shows, my daughters, how much, by God's 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 no- thing 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 ' Col. iii. 3: 'Vita vestra est abscondita cum Christo in Deo.' Gal. ii. 20; 'Vivo autem, jam non ego; vivit vero in me Christus.'
\^ 132 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. ri.
self-love and self-will/ care for nothing earthly, do penance, pray, mortify ourselves, be obedient, and perform all the other good works of which you know. A6t 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. Under- stand 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 en- tirely dead to the world, it comes forth like a lovely little white butterfly!'^ Oh, how great God is! How beautiful is the soul after having been im- mersed in God's 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.* Truly, the spirit does not recognize itself, being as different from what it was as is the white butterfly from the repul- sive caterpillar. It does not know how it can have merited so great a good, or rather, whence this grace came^ 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 * 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.
' Life, ch. xviii. 16. ^ Life, ch. xviii, 5-7.
CHAP. II.] FIFTH MANSIONS 133 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 see- ing 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 effedls 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 experi- ence great things. Oh, to see the restlessness of this charming little butterfly, although never in its life has it been more tranquil and at pjeace! 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 ad:ions, 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/ fearing contact with ' Rel, ix. II.
134 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. ii.
them lest it should offend God. It wearies of every- ^ thing, realizing that no true rest can be found in creatures.
8. I seem to have enlarged on this subjed:, 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, estrang- ed 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 soul's power, do what it will, but depends upon God's pleasure. Alas, what fresh trials begin to afflid: the mind! Who would expedt this after such a sublime grace?* In fad: in oneway 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 conso- lation, 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 satisfadion 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, " JFay of Pcrf. ch. xviii. 1-4.. Castle, iM. vi ch. i. 3,;^^. M. vii. ch, iv. 7.
CHAP. II.] FIFTH MANSIONS 135 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 con- formed to His will, the soul feels an unconquerable relu(5lance to submit, for our Lord has not given it higher grace. During prayer this grief breaks forth in tloods 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 ot God's 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 tew days — this soul thought of nothing but itself. Who has made it feel such tormenting cares.f* 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 suthce? 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 136 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. n.
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)' how the Bride says that God * brought her into the cellar of wine and set in order charity in her'?'° 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 n/ 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.
1 2. 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 pos- sessed when living on earth — He could bestow ^ greater gift on us. Who could ever have longed more eagerly to leave this life than did Christ.?
® Fifth Mansions, ch. i. 10.
^^ C<J«/. ii. 4. 'Introduxit me in cellam vinariam, ordinavit in me caritatem,' CHAP. II.] FIFTH MANSIONS 137 As He said at the Last Supper: *With desire have I desired'" 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 com- parison. '