13. I have often meditated on this and I know that the torture a friend of mine'^ has felt, and still feels, at seeing our Lord sinned against is so unbear- able 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 insuf- ferable 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 "St. Luke xxii. 15: 'Desiderio desideravi hoc pascha manducare vobiscum, antequam patiar.'
^' This friend is, of course, St. Teresa herself. See Life, ch. xiii. 14- xxxii, 9. JVay ofPerf. ch. i. 3. Castle, M. vii, ch. i. 5, 6. Exd. x. 9.
ig X 138 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. iii.
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 perfed: obedience to His Father and His love for His brethren? What joy to suffer in doing God's 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.
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 ivith 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 neighSour. 8. Love for God and our iieigh- bour are proportionate. 9^ Real and imaginary virtues. 10. 1 llusionary good resolutions. 11. Works, not feelings, procure union. 12. Fraternal charity wilt certainly gain this union.
I. 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 CHAP. III.] FIFTH MANSIONS 139 commandments) it will share the fate of the butter- fly 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 \^ith 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.'
2. I knew a person to whom this happened. Al- though 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 efi^edis 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 every- thing 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.
3. In spite of all I have written, there still seems some ditliculty in understanding this mansion. The ' Life, ch. vii. i8. Way of Per/, xli. 8. * Life. ch. vii. 2 1.
I40 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. hi.
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 re- nounce our own will and by following the will of God in all things.'
4. Oh, how many of us athrm 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.'^ 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 affed: it, except that of persons useful to the Church of God, for the soul realizes thoroughly that God's disposal is wiser than its own desires.
5. You must know that there are different kinds ^ 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 ofter themselves a daily sacrifice to Me: for without this, divine union neither is nor will be obtained.' {Imitation, book iii. ch. xxxvii. 4.)
* Philippus a SS. Trinitate, I.e., p. iii. tr. i. disc. ii. art. 4.
CHAP. III.] FIFTH MANSIONS 14I 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.* 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,*^ they do not affed: 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 vidiorious;^ 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 ^ St. John xi. 35, 36: *Et lacrymatus est Jesus. Dixerunt ergo Judaei: Ecce quomodo amabat eum.'
•^ Fourth Mansions, ch. I. 5. Fifth Mansions, ch. i. 7. ' Way of Perf. ch. xvii. 2.
142 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. hi.
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 Jonas's ivy,* 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 perfe(fl union with the will of God.
7. What do you think, daughters, is His will.? That we may become quite perfed: and so be made one with Him and with His Father as He prayed we might be.' 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 spe- cial 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 ^ 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.'
* 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.' IVay of Per/. ch. xxxii. 6.
CHAP. III.] FIFTH MANSIONS 143 and sickness with joy."* This is well, but it some- times comes from common sense which, as we can- not help ourselves, makes a virtue of necessity. How often the great wisdom of the heathen philosophers led them to ad: 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 prad:ise both these virtues per- fecftly 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." Be sure that in propor- tion as you advance in fraternal charity, you are increasing in your love of God,'* for His Majesty bears so tender an affedlion for us that I cannot doubt He will repay our love for others by aug- menting, 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 perfedl I ^'>Way of P erf. ch. ix. i, 2.
" I St. John iv. 20: 'Qui enim non diligit fratrem suum quern • videt, Deum quern non videt quomodo potest diligere? ' '^ Wa-^ ofPerf. ch. xviii. 5.
144 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. iii.
J chanty 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 adlions 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 devil's wiles are many; he y 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 defedis; if any one unjustly accuses them of a fault, God deliver us from their outcries! Let those who can- not 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 CHAP. III.] FIFTH MANSIONS 145 the sort. O sisters! how easy it is to know which of you have attained to a sincere love of your neigh- bour, and which of you are far from it. If you knew the importance of this virtue, your only care would be to gain it.
1 1. 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 exped:s works from us. If you see a sick sister whom you can relieve,'* never fear losing your devotion; compassionate her; if she is in pain, feel for it as if it were vour 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 sister's 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.
1 2. I have often spoken on this subject elsewhere,'* 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.
'^ Way ofPerf. ch. vii. 4.
'* Way of Perf. ch. iv. 3; vii. 4.
146 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. hi.
If you are conscious that you are wanting in this charity, although you may feel devotion and sweet- ness 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 perfed: 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 al- though 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.
CHAPTER IV.
FURTHER EXPLANATION OF THE SAME SUBJECT; EXPLAINS THIS PRAYER. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ON ONE'S 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 belrolhal. 3. Before the spiritual nuptials temptations are dan- gerous. 4. The great good done by souls faithful to these graces. 5. Religious subject to the devil's deceptions. 6. Satan's strata- gems. 7. Why they are p&mitted. 8. Prayer and watchfulness our safeguards. 9. God's watchfulness over such souls. 10. Pro- gress in virtue. 11. Insignificance of our actions compared with their reivard. 12. St. Teresa's motives for writing on prayer.
I. 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 con- solations 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 mv 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.' You have often heard that God spiritually espouses souls: may He be * Compare: 'habebit fructum in respectione animarum sanctarum' (Breviar. Rom. J fit. ad Laudes de Com. Vtrg.); 'quasi apis argumentosa Domino deservisti ' {Ibid. Feast of St. Caecilia.)
H7 148 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. iv.
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 any- thing 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 de- scribed, 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.* There is no longer any * Liff, ch. xviii. i6.
CHAP. IV.] FIFTH MANSIONS 149 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. I'he 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 neglediful 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.'
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 tempta- tion, 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,"^ 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,* that I have known people far advanced m the spiritual life who had reached this state of prayer yet whom the devil reclaimed by his subtlety and wiles: as I ■* Way of P erf. ch. xxxi. lo.
^ Phil, a SS. Trinit. I.e. p. iii. tract, i. disc. ii. art. 2. * Contrast with this paragraph what the Saint says in her Life, ch. xix. ^ 8.
I50 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. iv.
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 fadt, 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 with- drawn from the world and constantly frequent the Sacraments?^ At the same time you enjoy the society ^ Lijif ch. xxxvi. 26; xxxix. 14. Found, ch. 1. 1-4.
cHAiMv.] FIFTH MANSIONS 151 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? ' 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 defedis 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 vicflim's 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 stridl 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 begiiming 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 152 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [chap. iv.
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.* 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 wav; 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 ofif and go to sleep.''
1 1. To show you, my daughters, how Christ treats the souls He takes for His brides, I will now speak ^ Li/'^, ch. xix. 9. " Life, ch. xix. 7.
CHAP. IV.] FIFTH MANSIONS 153 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.