The purpose of Christian life is to be in compete union with Christ. To live as a Christian, upon receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, is to grow in faith, to be one with Christ, who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in Trinity. Based on her own conversion, she described transformative growth of Christian life in “The Interior Castle”(El Castillo Interior).
“Interior” means inner being (טֻחָה/tochah), where
the truth is found and wisdom is concealed for those who are in contrition
(i.e. Psalm 51:58). For Teresa of Avile, however, “The Interior Castile” is a
metaphor of the soul (נֶפֶשׁ/nephesh). The seven mansions in the
“Interior Castle” symbolically refer to seven developmental phases the soul
grows closer to and to be in union with Christ.
Teresa wrote:
I thought of the soul as resembling a
castle, formed of a single diamond or a very transparent crystal, and
containing many rooms, just as in heaven there are many mansions. 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. 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 (The
Interior Castle, The First Mansions, Chapter I, 2).
Teresa sees the soul as the Interior Castle with seven
mansions in juxtaposition to the Father’s house in heaven with many rooms (John
14:2). Therefore, making an inner journey into and through the seven mansions
in one’s soul also reflects our exile from this world to heaven.
Then, what is the purpose of this inner journey into
the “Interior Castle”, the soul?
Teresa explains:
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. 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 (The Interior Castle, The First
Mansions, Chapter I, 4).
Namely, we enter the “Interior Castle” – explore the
soul – to be in complete union with Christ is the principal chamber in which
God and the soul hold their most secret intercourse. And this most
secret intercourse for the soul to be in union with God is the Seventh Mansion.
Though we are not worthy to be in such a perfect union
with God, as we are loathsome worms (cf. Psalm 22:7; Isaiah 41:14; cf.
Job 25:6), the love of God for us makes us bestowed with grace of His immense
goodness and infinite mercy, for we are, in fact, created in His
triune image (Genesis 1:26-27).
Moving from the first mansions to the seventh mansions,
we go through series of challenges. But these are, as Teresa indicates, to fully
restore our true being, the image of God in Trinity, by “pruning” (i.e. John
15:1-2). It is a necessary process to remove what may keep us from Christ,
mainly worldly matters and carnal desires which can lead to sins.
To be in complete union with God the Christ, we must
be as pure as a virgin. For Teresa, this is what we are to be transformed as we
grow closer to Christ, who is in the Seventh Mansions, innermost part of the
Inner Castle, the soul.
Thus, Teresa writes:
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. 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; 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
(The Inner Castle, The Seventh Mansions, Chapter II, 4).
Though the divine and spiritual nuptials with God in Christ cannot not take place during our life time on earth, this splendor union with Him is where our exile from this world, from our life of sin, will end, through series of cleansings, pruning, and refinements, as we move through these mansions to the seventh ones.
Teresa recognizes that there are many souls, laying in
the courtyard of the castle, rather than entering the interior castle and meet
Christ in the most intimate union in the seventh mansions. These displaced
souls are of those whose faith is lukewarm. Or of those who are lured by
worldly and carnal pleasures.
As she explains, the only way to enter the interior
castle and go through the journey of growth and transformation with spiritual
pruning is prayer and meditation in sincere humility. In other words, being in
prayer and meditation as anawim is how we enter and commence this
pilgrim journey to be in nuptial union with God in Christ, experience his full
revelation.
The First Reading (Romans 8:22-27) of the memorial
feast of St. Teresa of Avila reflects the fact that it is the Holy Spirit to
empower and guide our entry into the interior castle with the hope for
redemption and adoption by God’s love to be worthy of the nuptial union with Christ
though we are as worthless as worms because of our sins. The journey through the mansions in the interior castle can be painful in our stuggle with the forces that keep us from Christ. But this pain is from pruning (John 15:2) and like a labor pain (Romans 8:22) to be born as the new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Gospel Reading (John 15:1-8) shows that
our journey through the mansions in the interior castle to be in union with
Christ is to become fruitful pruned branches securely attached Christ the true
vine.
Let us enter the interior castle through our prayer
and meditation, with humility of anawim, leaving worldly and carnal
attachments behind. Let us continue to be pruned and cleansed as we move
through mansions to mansions in the castile, keeping hope for redemption and
adoption to be worthy to be in complete union with Christ in Trinity. Then, we
will find ourselves securely attached to Christ, being abundantly fruitful in
his glory.
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