Catholic Thought discussion

Introduction

This is the first time I've approached a group read this way. I may make errors or not provide enough information and I would certainly welcome just like St. Teresa did any editing of my writing. When St. Teresa began to write this book she constantly consulted with her confessor. She welcomed editing of her writing. Her vision of the mansions applies the figure of the castle, in which she see seven mansions, to the life of prayer. Our ultimate goal is to reach the seventh mansion but she encourages us to explore all of them. Our pathway through these mansions depends on our faith and our applying it to our daily life. A great deal of humility is needed to complete this voyage. Wondering how people think we can make our travels through the mansions.

The first thing that comes to mind is perseverance. We must commit to finding the quiet time and not become discouraged. We need to give that time to put ourselves in God's presence because He has/is the key to the rooms!
We must keep the faith, as this journey has very little that we can actually see...we must believe...
And, as always for me...patience along the way!

I loved what St Treresa had to say about how we must continue on and to be joyful at other's experiences with God, even when we think we have not ourselves, been graced. Remembering that will serve me well...

That is so true Susie. Not sure why but I always carry a set of rosary beads with me to pray wherever I am.

Me too...even when I don't have time for the full Rosary, just holding them helps me to center in for a few minutes of reflection and quiet...

That pesky time thing again!

In the 16th century the average life expectancy was 38 years, so the fact that St. Teresa wrote the "Interior Castle" at age 62 and died at age 67 is pretty impressive. She had many years to perfect her prayer life. Although I am only a few years behind Teresa's age when she wrote her book, sadly I am still lingering between the first and second mansions with many creatures clinging to my ankles. I agree that perseverance is the key to prayer and contemplation. In my case, praying for perseverance is also necessary.

The other thing I appreciate about her is that she really did not begin to take her prayer life seriously until she was in her 40s, after an illness almost killed her. I feel as if Teresa is a spiritual writer for the mature demographic. About 25 years ago, I created a formation program where I walked people physically/symbolically through the mansions. It was a really powerful meditation experience.

Irene that's wonderful!

As a new group member I can immediately say how excited I am to approach a spiritual work in this way.It's a little like going on pilgrimage!A few years ago I visited Our Lady's Shrine at Little Walsingham and happened to see on the notice board of Our Lady Of The Annunciation that their Catholic Reading group was studying The Interior Castle.I so wished I could be one of them!

In answer to Doreen's wondering how we might make our way through the mansions I will admit that once I'd have tried to find my own way with whatever knowledge I thought I had or could glean,but now,in my fifties,I'd hope to be a bit wiser. Remembering Teresa's doubts about writing anything at all in her poor state of health and then reflecting on the extraordinary quality of the work which she went on to produce while leaning heavily on her Saviour,I'm inclined to remember the words of another Therese-this time of Lisieux :
" We live in an age of inventions. We need no longer climb laboriously up flights of stairs; in well-to-do houses there are lifts.... I was determined to find a lift to carry me to Jesus, for I was far too small to climb the steep stairs of perfection. So I sought in holy Scripture some idea of what this life I wanted would be, and I read these words: "Whosoever is a little one, come to me." It is your arms, Jesus, that are the lift to carry me to heaven. And so there is no need for me to grow up: I must stay little and become less and less."/b>

Like the Little Flower,I suspect that Our Lord will carry us!

Irene wrote: "The other thing I appreciate about her is that she really did not begin to take her prayer life seriously until she was in her 40s, after an illness almost killed her. I feel as if Teresa is a spir..."

Irene, your parish is lucky to have you!

Vicky wrote: "As a new group member I can immediately say how excited I am to approach a spiritual work in this way.It's a little like going on pilgrimage!A few years ago I visited Our Lady's Shrine at Little Wa..."

I am happy that you have joined our group Vicky. I like your quote. Jesus can be my elevator!

From the introduction, I see that I mainly stay in mansion one. I will have quite a bit to learn from this book and each one of your comments. The short description of the first mansion from the Introduction stood out to me.

"The souls in the First Mansions are in a state of grace, but are still very much in love with the venomous creatures outside the castle - that is, with occasions of sin - and need a long and searching discipline before they can make any progress." (pg. 4 Dover Thrift Edition, 1946)

It reminded me of the passage I read in "The Holy Longing" by Ronald Rolheiser:
"Most of us are quite like Mother Teresa in that we want to will God and the poor. We do will them. The problem is we will everything else as well. Thus, we want to be a saint, but we also want to feel every sensation experienced by sinners; we want to be innocent and pure, but we also want to be experienced and taste all of life; we want to serve the poor and have a simple lifestyle, but we also want all the comforts of the rich; we want to have the depth afforded by solitude, but we also do not want to miss anything; we want to pray, but we also want to watch television, read, talk to friends, and go out."

I find myself waking up each day longing for a relationship with Christ. I look to books and podcasts and prayer to open myself up to His will. But I always stumble and resort back to earthly distractions that pull me away from being in union with Christ. At the end of the day, before bed, I look back on what has happened and realize that I was too busy with focusing on everything other than Christ and worried about completing selfish goals in which I do not even ask God's blessing.

I can only pray to God that he gives me the strength and wisdom to seek Him and His merciful love.

"Faith and trust in God is such a difficult thing. We yearn for the stability that God brings, but at the same time are so afraid to let go of our own will. This dichotomy of fear and desire is a constant theme in our lives. Because of this, faith is not the refuge of the weak-minded but the domain of the brave. The Israelites trusted in God when they heard the proclamation of Ezra the prophet and had faith that God would fulfill his promises. We have an even greater prophet in Jesus Christ. Let us rest our faith on him and let him fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts." (Magnificat - Sunday, January 24, Prayer for the Morning)

Lord, help me to bravely seek you in a world where the devil is always at my heels.

I’m not sure what is considered the Introduction. If we mean the introduction by the editor, then everyone’s translation will probably have a different introduction. So I’m not going to comment on the introduction in my edition.

But St. Theresa does have a Preface, and if that’s what Doreen is calling the Introduction, I do have a couple of thoughts, and these are just random thoughts that come to me as I read and jot down in the margins.

She comments in that second paragraph that she has already said what she will say in this book in other books. I have not read any other of her books, but I am a little surprised by that. What did she mean? I am not aware she wrote about a spiritual journey in the form of a castle before. The Wikipedia entry does not mention that she wrote anything along those lines before. Her book The Way to Perfection speaks about ways of prayer that perfect the soul and the four stages of perfection. This book describes seven stages of the soul. Are they the same thing only now she’s come up with seven categories instead of four, a sort of fine tuning on her original thoughts? If anyone has read The Way to Perfection, can someone comment on the difference between the two books?

I love her metaphors and similes. The Castle with all these rooms is a metaphor that shapes the book. Also in that second paragraph she says she “writes mechanically as birds taught to speak.” So she says she writes as a parrot speaks. I find that unusual. So does that imply someone taught her? I find what she says extremely original.

In the last paragraph in the Preface she says she’s been commanded to write this for the nuns in the convents “because women best understand each other’s language.” Well, that’s probably true back in her day when I bet most women were illiterate. I wonder how many of those nuns in her day could read.

Manny, I think Teresa is trying to say that, although the metaphors for the spiritual life may differ from book to book, the essence of what she is writing is the same. She is not giving any new teaching on prayer, just another way to think about it. She was under the scrutiny of the Inquisition for many years. She is very careful to try to deflect condemnation because the consequences would be dire. When she likens her writing to a sort of parroting, it is because she does not want to appear to be writing unique thoughts that might be viewed as suspect. She will say over and over in her various books that she is a mere woman, stupid, only writing under obedience, etc. As for the literacy of the nuns, most would have been literate. The Carmelites of Teresa's day drew mainly from the upper crust of society. A dowery was required for enterence which the poor could not afford. And, those who came without an education would have been given one upon coming to the Carmel. This was written for choir nuns who were literate, not the "sisters" who were not permitted profound vows and often served the community as cooks, laundresses, etc. They did not have the obligation of choir prayer and were considered a "lesser" vocation.

Irene wrote: "She was under the scrutiny of the Inquisition for many years. She is very careful to try to deflect condemnation because the consequences would be dire."

The common perception of the Inquisition is quite negative. But the actual historical Inquisition was nothing like it. The goal of the Inquisition was conversion from heresy, not criminal punishment. The trials were known for their humane procedures - unlike civil courts you were allowed a defense attorney - and they rarely used torture let alone the death penalty. There were very few inquisitors, and they had to cover huge geographic areas so many places saw an inquisitor only once every few years, if ever.

From the little I've gathered, one of Teresa's grandfathers converted from Judaism to Christianity. Many Jews of the time did that because they were treated as second class citizens and suffered many restrictions. But secretly a significant number of these "converts" continued to be practicing Jews. So the scrutiny by the Inquisition was warranted because of the duplicity. Those who were found out had an opportunity to recant. It would be interesting to find out what the typical punishment was for false converts. I imagine their punishments were largely of an economic nature.
Was Teresa's grandfather a true convert or not? The family may have very well been under scrutiny. Though I would think that because her mother was very pious and she herself two generations removed and in a convent, she had not much to fear.

So my questions are:
1) To what extend is Teresa threatened by the Inquisition?
2) Does anyone know any further details?

Matthew wrote: "From the introduction, I see that I mainly stay in mansion one. I will have quite a bit to learn from this book and each one of your comments. The short description of the first mansion from the In..."

Matthew I think I too am still in the First Mansion but am striving with everything I have in me to reach the Second Mansion. Whether this happens soon or not is God's will.

In the edition that I am reading, the translator, Mirabai Starr, writes in the introduction that Teresa was in constant fear of the Spanish Inquisition. Starr states that because of the Protestant Reformation, Inquisitors “were constantly on the lookout for unorthodox practices”. Because of her (Teresa) raptures, she was worried that she would be condemned as a heretic. Also, Teresa’s autobiography, “The Life” came to the attention of the Inquisition and the book was not made known to the public until after her death. Additionally, teaching and writing was a man’s domain even though Teresa was commanded by her confessor to write.

Irene wrote: "Manny, I think Teresa is trying to say that, although the metaphors for the spiritual life may differ from book to book, the essence of what she is writing is the same. She is not giving any new te..."

Thanks Irene. I guess that is what she's trying to say.

Susan Margaret wrote: "In the edition that I am reading, the translator, Mirabai Starr, writes in the introduction that Teresa was in constant fear of the Spanish Inquisition. Starr states that because of the Protestant ..."

That makes sense. Thanks!

I think I am reading the same translation with the same introduction. It also spoke about the humiliating public punishment that the grandfather had to perform as a Jewish convert, a humiliation he never forgot and which the author thinks was communicated to his son and granddaughter.

Irene wrote: "I think I am reading the same translation with the same introduction. It also spoke about the humiliating public punishment that the grandfather had to perform as a Jewish convert, a humiliation he..."

Yes, the Mirabai Starr translation gives some interesting background information in the introduction. I like it.

I did not know until today that I actually have this book in my computer's electronic library in Verbum 6. It is the John Dalton translation from the Spanish written in published in 1852. I will have to start reading so I can comment here. By the way, are there discussion threads for the individual chapters, or is everyone still on the introduction?

We're still on the introduction Jeffery. Doreen has put out a discussion schedule by chapter. It's around somewhere around here on Catholic Thought.

A link to the reading schedule is here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

We started the dicsussion on the First Mansions today, Wednesday, Jan 27th. Here is the link for the First Mansion:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I just finished reading the introduction, I'm a little behind having just found this group recently. I am amazed by the humility of St. Teresa. God has truly blessed us in giving us great saints throughout history who we can follow!

Lisa wrote: "I just finished reading the introduction, I'm a little behind having just found this group recently. I am amazed by the humility of St. Teresa. God has truly blessed us in giving us great saints th..."
Great to have you join the discussion Lisa. I don't think we're going too fast, so you should catch up soon. Plus there's nothing that says we can't go back to the earlier chapters to make another comment.

Yes, humility is at the very center of St. Theresa's spirituality.