Customer Reviews

The Interior Castle

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Teresa of Avila was a Carmelite nun living in the 1500s who wrote the "Interior Castle" (known as "The Mansions" in her native Spain) at the request of her confessor. A mystic who communed intimately with God, she had experienced a vision of "a most beautiful crystal globe, made in the shape of a castle, and containing seven mansions, in the seventh and innermost of which was the King of Glory, in the greatest splendour, illuming and beautifying them all. . . outside the palace limits everything was foul, dark, and infested with toads, vipers and other venomous creatures." This castle became Teresa's metaphor for the soul. "Interior Castle" explores each of the seven mansions in great detail. Her intended audience were the sisters who made up her cloistered religious community, however her insights offer much to the world at large.

Teresa wrote reluctantly and felt that she had little to offer that had not already been said. She believed that "Our Lord will be granting me a great favour if a single one of these nuns should find that my words help her to praise Him a little better." She focuses on the beauty of the soul and laments that we spend so much attention on our physical body and so little on the divine spark that is within.

Teresa focuses on gaining self-knowledge, but not in the way we in the 21st century interpret that term. For her, self-knowledge means coming to know the soul within. It means understanding our dependence on God and gaining humility by acknowledging that we are nothing without Him. The route to self-knowledge and entry into the interior castle comes through prayer and meditation. As one progresses through the mansions, one comes to know and long for God more and more and to reject the world and its attractions. Teresa encourages the beginner in prayer "to labour and be resolute and prepare himself with all possible diligence to bring his will into conforming with the will of God." She also offers encouragement: "If, then, you sometimes fall, do not lose heart or cease striving to make progress, for even out of your fall God will bring good."

As one makes her way ever deeper into the heart of the castle, increased spiritual consolations and trials become par for the course. Many (perhaps even most) do not reach the most inner mansions in this lifetime. Teresa is quick to point out, however, that "the Lord gives when He wills and as He wills and to whom He wills, and as the gifts are His own, this is doing no injustice to anyone." Indeed she cautions her readers to never believe that they deserve any gift that the Lord bestows upon them, nor should we set out to obtain any consolations or mystical experiences because "the most essential thing is that we should love God without any motive of self-interest."

Teresa was truly granted amazing gifts of insight and experience from God. While we may not share in her experience, "Interior Castle" offers a unique perspective into the divine within each of us. It offers a portrait of our souls and invites us into a deeper relationship with God.
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Interior Castle, by St. Teresa of Avila, is one of the saint's writings that is filled with spiritual insight, charm, and breathtaking closeness to God. Her castle is the God within, and there are outward mansions that must be penetrated to get to this inner treasure. Each mansion is a deepening of one's knowledge of God, and a step further away from one's capture by externality and the world. She describes these inward steps, and leads one onward to union with God (or God carries one onward - at first it is our efforts, than it is God's). Beautiful and illuminating.

The Interior Castle (or The Mansions as it is known in Spain) compares the soul to a castle filled with many rooms. Each room is an aspect or stage of the soul, and one can progress into and out of each room. The more into the center of this castle one goes, the more his soul is conformed to the will and ways of God. It is the most interior chamber of this castle in which God dwells. The book describes the soul's way of making it to this chamber. St. Teresa focuses her work towards the nuns of her convent, and because of her personal relationship with them, the book is written in her typical conversational tone and humility. She only loosely adheres to the analogy of a castle. However, it contains several morsels of enlightened spiritual knowledge and insight. The principles that are expounded by Teresa testify to her intimacy with the Creator. She spends a great deal of time on mortification and prayer. Written in 1577, it still contains spiritual wisdom that can be applied today to both Catholics and Protestants.

This was a hard book to read due to MY expectations. I was expecting details where St. Teresa gives almost none. One realizes why in the long run, simply that to give the details of HER experience would limit your thoughts on how God would interact with you. Yet, it is frustrating to read this and realize that she could be telling us so much more in regards to what she has been shown by God. I rate it 5 stars though because in the end one realizes that to find out what she knows, YOU are going to have to tread a likewise path...no freebies here. Therefore St. Teresa (really the Holy Spirit) is telling you no more than you need to know to become interested in following the path, and subsequently trodding that path. For those of us who are so used to getting on the Net and finding the easy way to solve a puzzle...well, God doesn't publish the Cheat Codes....

Teresa of Avila is one of the more remarkable figures in the history of Christianity. Living in a perilous time, when the Roman Catholic church was suspicious of anything that might develop into Protestant heresies and schisms, she walked a fine line between obedience to the political structure and obedience to God. It is often the case that mystics and spiritual giants are at odds with church structures of the day (this is rather ecumenical, reaching across Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant lines).

Teresa lived at time shortly after the explusion of the Jews from Spain (which occurred in 1492). Her own family was a converso family; hence, there were different dimensions to the wariness of the powers in the culture toward her activities. Being a woman at the time didn't help matters, either, as she defied the stereotypes in several ways, by seeking education and leadership opportunities, all the while being part of the discalced Carmelites, who strive to cultivate humility and poverty.

Teresa's life was not an easy one; she suffered physical ailments and political difficulties. However, she was also a sought-after advisor, spiritual leader, and fairly prolific author. Her various writings made her famous in her own day, but the towering achievement that has lasted over time is without doubt 'Interior Castle'. This text shows a spiritual journey on the inside, developing different walks through aspects of spiritual life and prayer developed in seven stages, or mansions.

The life of prayer is the castle, with seven stages of development. The first three stages are pieces that humankind can practice with their own efforts; the final four stages are those which are given from God, and God alone - no human effort can reach these places. The first mansion looks to the striving toward perfection of the human soul. The second looks to different pieces that give spiritual edification; sermons, readings, prayer practices, conversation, etc. The third mansion sets forth discipline and penance, striving toward good works while reaching for self-surrender. These are not easy stages, but are within the realm of human possibility.

The fourth mansion begins the mystical journey in earnest at the behest of God. Here Teresa uses a metaphor of water and a fountain to explain the soul, and explores graces as spiritual consolations. Here is the Prayer of Quiet. The fifth mansion continues the theme of water, looking toward a Prayer of Union, which leads naturally to the sixth mansion, where the soul is prepared for a marriage of sorts, as intimacy with God increases in the soul. The seventh and final, most interior mansion, which is heaven itself; metaphors here used include two candles joining as one, and the falling rain merging to become one with the river.

These mansions are based on visions; Teresa was compelled to write them down at the order of her ecclesiastical superiors, for she herself thought to keep them to herself. Her writing was done very late in her life, but even so, she took care to be humble and as non-threatening as possible; modern readers might be a bit taken aback by the self-deprecation of Teresa, and the general stance she seems to take towards women. This may have been an attempt to make an authoritative text written by a woman more acceptable to the male-dominated hierarchy of the time. However, not all of Teresa's humility should be dismissed or argued away in this manner. She is reputed to have said, 'There are more than enough books on prayer already,' in response to being told to write her visions. This might have been true (then and now), but few reach the power that Teresa's 'Interior Castle' achieve.

Interior Castle is a marvelous treatise on prayer, where the soul is likened to a castle in which are housed many mansions, or levels, of prayer. Teresa, known to have experienced ecstacies, was clearly devoted to Jesus Christ and this work is evidence of that. How powerful her words are coming from humble hands and mind! Each mansion is a step in further strengthening the soul to receive Christ's light and grace.

This may seem like heavy reading to some, but I have found Teresa easier to read than other Carmelite mystics. Interior Castle is definitely required reading if you are interested in Catholic mysticism.

Interior Castle is a wonderfully profound and insightful book enabling the reader to gain a better understanding and perspective of the "levels of faith" and a soul's journey toward union with God. Written over four centuries ago by Teresa of Avila, the book describes the soul as a castle with interior mansions and in each of the mansions, there are many rooms. The journey of the soul is toward the inner most chamber of the castle where God resides. St. Teresa describes the features and characteristics in each of these mansions. One might think of the mansions as "spheres of relationships"; relationship of love of God, love of our neighbor, and love of ourselves. As one moves from mansion to mansion, these relationships of love grow and change just as the features, characteristics, and experiences of God in each of the mansions grow and change. The entire journey can be summarized in St. Teresa's words "All the way to Heaven is heaven, too!".

By Sister Faith Magdalena, OSF FODC
One of the Christian Classics, St. Teresa of Avilia's journal, Interior Castles, is a work that is experienced on different levels each time the reader "revisits it." Over the years I have read this work many times, and each visit is a new experience bearing fresh revelations. She writes with insight into the various phases of personal human experience. She takes us to places within the human soul and psyche, recognizing the demonic and holy, along with the mundane and the sublime. A contemporary of St. John of the Cross, and a victim of the Inquisition, this Carmelite sister understood the high price exacted for belief and the ultimate cost should one abandon it.
Many modern authors have written on "Spiritual Warfare" and "Demonology", however, in my estimation, "Interior Castles" with its authors' clarity of insight remains fresh and pertinent to contemporary life.

This book is one of the small handful of essential books on prayer and the spiritual life. Unlike many contemporary books on prayer and mysticism, St. Teresa talks with authority; as you read this it becomes obvious that this women knew God like few other people have. The other difference is that this book is not about techniques or gimmicks; she stresses again and again that without living a Gospel lifestyle you will not advance in your prayer life. But it is not only a Christian masterpiece, it is a masterpiece for those of any age or religion trying to find God. People will still be be referring to this book at the turn of the next millenium. And the other amazing thing is that she is so charming! It is not surprising that her contemporaries found her so irresistible.

It would be well enough for the enquiring consumer to use Amazon's "Search Inside" feature and compare this translation by Mirabai Starr with the other Interior Castle translation by E. Allison Peers. Based on the prose alone, the Peers translation is far superior (and includes translation footnotes to explain where a word is difficult to translate). But the Starr translation fails much more miserably on account that an obvious liberal/"progressive" agenda is involved, wherein words like "sin" and "evil" are changed to be more suitable to contemporary sensibilities. Even "Our Lord" is changed into "Beloved." In other words, the translation wants to change this great Catholic mystical work into something more along the lines of New Age or Neopaganism. This is completely unacceptable and a misrepresentation of St. Teresa. Another reviewer who accidently posted his comments on the Peers translation page had this to say about Starr's translation (I disagree, however, that her translation is "lovely"...it's dumbed-down prose, in my opinion):

Mirabai Starr, the translator of this work, describes herself as a "Hindu/Buddhist/Jew translating the Catholic saints". Her translation is lovely, but quite different from the original, as she substitutes St. Theresa's own words with some that are perhaps more "universal". Below are Ms. Starr's own words:
"I opted to minimize references to the inherent wickedness of human beings and replace such terms as "sin" and "evil" with "missing the mark," "imperfection," "unconsciousness," "limitations," and "negativity." "Mortal sin" is "grave error." I call "hell" "the underworld" and the "devil" the "spirit of evil". When I name the "three divine Persons" in the seventh dwelling is what Teresa refers to as the "Holy Trinity."

As I said, the translation is quite lovely, but when St. Teresa said "sin" she did not mean "limitation" or "negativity". She meant sin. This translation is useless to me.