Customer Reviews

Interior Castle Explored: St. Teresa's Teaching on the Life of Deep Union With God

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If you are interested in St Teresa of Avila, as I am, this is an excellent book. Written prayerfully with great insights into the Carmelite saint, Sr Ruth opens and makes Interior Castles more accessible while faithfully following the historic Catholic understanding of her writings. Anneg

This is a critical appreciation of Interior Castle by this Carmelite sister. As such, it stands in its own right as a re-presentation of the practice of contemplative prayer in the Carmelite tradition. Departing from the older commentaries on the great Teresa of Avila, Burrows was unafraid to critique her writings and in the process clarify for readers the core of what she meant to convey from her contemplative experiences. This is not to disparage the great saint in any way because she was simply making best use of the literary and theological convention of her day to explicate the virtually inexplicable. As such, she wrote within the dualistic framework (spirit-body dichotomy) of her day and being too credulous of her fellow practitioners' prayer experiences, she muddled up some of the important distinctions between real mystical grace, para-psychological phenomena and her own psychic reactions to them. The discussion on the 'light on' and 'light off' phenomena is interesting, if a little dense. The upshot of her discussion is however crystal clear: the real fruit of contemplation has little/nothing to do with these psychic states and experiences (which are induced from our natural psychic resources) but transformation into the image of Christ - that is pure love.

What I appreciate about this treatment of Teresa is the interface between Burrows' own contemplative insights with those of the great saint. There is no 'idolization' of the latter which is a tendency among most other literature on her but an honest interaction between two Carmelite pray-ers. It is an another insightful book I have added to my own reading of the Christian contemplative tradition. Burrows' other piece on John of the Cross' Ascent to Mount Carmel is worth your every dollar too.

As I reflect upon this book I am reminded of Ps 27:4:

One thing I have asked of the LORD,

This I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

To gaze upon the beauty of the LORD,

And contemplate His holy temple.