“All harm comes to us from failing to realize that God is near.” For “the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).Ĥ. God dwells in the soul. A central concept of Teresa’s spirituality is the realization that God is immanent – that is, He dwells within the innermost mansion of the human soul (thus, using Teresa’s image of the castle, He dwells in the seventh mansion). Those outside the castle are paralyzed by sin. Outside the castle there are many “venomous creatures” who represent the attraction of sin which the soul is now trying to overcome. The outer walls of this castle constitute the human body. Teresa envisions the soul “as if it were a castle made of a single diamond” in which there are seven mansions (each mansion containing many rooms). Therefore, we should take time to consider the “soul’s great dignity and beauty,” and to “carefully preserve the soul’s beauty.” (Intr. She states that “faith tells us that we possess souls” made in the image and likeness of God. Saint Teresa of Avila begins her famous book about the soul’s progress in prayer and virtue by lamenting how little effort many people make to care for their immortal souls. The Saint herself, a Carmelite nun, was a great mystic, and her personal style of writing demonstrates that she composed The Interior Castle from profound personal experience. Introduction: This note is merely a summary of Saint Teresa of Avila’s great book on Catholic mysticism, The Interior Castle, which was first published in 1588.
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