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Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle Or the Mansions
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THE CONCLUSION SETS FORTH WHAT APPEARS TO BE OUR LORD'S PRINCIPAL INTENTION
IN CONFERRING THESE SUBLIME FAVOURS ON SOULS, AND EXPLAINS HOW NECESSARY IT
IS FOR MARY AND MARTHA TO GO TOGETHER. THIS CHAPTER IS VERY PROFITABLE.
1. Vicissitudes of the Seventh Mansion. 2. Humility produced by them. 3.
Such souls free from mortal and from wilful venial sins. 4. The fate of
Solomon. 5. Holy fear. 6. These favours strengthen souls to suffer. 7.
Crosses borne by the saints. 8. Effect of vision of our Lord on St. Peter.
9. Fruits of these favours. 10. Why the spiritual marriage takes place. 11.
Love for Christ proved by our deeds. 12. True spirituality. 13. Humility and
the virtues must combine with prayer. 14. Zeal of advanced souls. 15.
Strengthened by the divine Presence within them. 16. Examples of the saints.
17. Both Martha and Mary must serve our Lord. 18. Christ's food. 19. Mary's
mortification. 20. Her grief at the Passion. 21. Can we lead souls to God?
22. How to do so. 23. Love gives value to our deeds. 24. Conclusion.
1. You must not suppose, sisters, that the effects I mentioned always exist
in the same degree in these souls, for as far as I remember, I told you that
in most cases our Lord occasionally leaves such persons to the weakness of
their nature. The venomous creatures from the moat round the castle and the
other mansions at once unite to revenge themselves for the time when they
were deprived of their power.
2. True, this lasts but a short time--a day perhaps or a little longer--but
during this disturbance, which generally arises from some passing event,
these persons learn what benefits they derive from the holy Company they are
in. Our Lord gives them such great fortitude that they never desert His
service nor the good resolutions they have made, which only seem to gather
strength by trial, nor do their hearts ever turn from them, even by a slight
movement of the will. This trouble rarely happens; our Lord wishes the soul
to keep in mind its natural condition so that it may be humble and may
better understand how much it owes Him, and how great a grace it has
received, and so may praise Him.
3. Do not fancy that in spite of the strong desire and determination of
these souls that they do not commit imperfections and even fall into many
sins: that is, not wilfully; for such people are given special grace from
God on this point: I mean venial sins. As far as they are aware, they are
free from mortal sins, although they do not feel certain they may not be
guilty of some of which they are ignorant.
4. This grieves their hearts sorely, as does the sight of the souls
perishing around them; although on the one hand they have strong hopes of
not being themselves among the number of the lost, yet remembering what we
are told in Holy Scripture of the fate of men who, like Solomon, seemed the
special favourites of God [437] and conversed so familiarly with His
Majesty, they cannot help fearing for themselves.
5. Let that one among you who feels most confidence on this point fear the
most, for: 'Blessed is the man who feareth the Lord,' as David said. [438]
May His Majesty ever protect us. Let us beg Him never to permit us to offend
Him: therein lies our greatest safety. May He be for ever praised. Amen.
6. It would be well to tell you, sisters, the reason why God bestows such
favours on souls in this world, although you must have learned this by the
effects produced if you have considered the matter. I return to the matter
in order that none of you may think it is only for the sake of the pleasure
such persons feel, which would be a great mistake on your part, for His
Majesty can bestow no greater favour on us than to give us a life such as
was led by His beloved Son. Therefore, as I have often told you, I feel
certain that these graces are sent to strengthen our weakness so that we may
imitate Him by suffering much.
7. We always find that those nearest to Christ our Lord bear the heaviest
cross: think of what His glorious Mother and the Apostles bore. How do you
think St. Paul went through such immense labours? [439] We learn from his
conduct the fruits of genuine visions and contemplation which come from our
Lord and not from our own imagination, or the devil's fraud. Do you suppose
that St. Paul hid himself to enjoy these spiritual consolations at leisure
and did nothing else? You know that he never took a day's rest so far as we
can learn, nor could he have slept much since he worked all night to get his
living. [440]
8. I am delighted with St. Peter, who when fleeing from prison was met by
our Lord, Who told him He was going to Rome to be crucified again. I never
recite the Office in which this is commemorated without feeling a special
joy. [441] What effect did this vision have on St. Peter, and what did he
do? He went at once to meet his death--and our Lord did him no small favour
in finding him an executioner!
9. Oh, my sisters, how forgetful of her ease, how unmindful of honours, and
how far from seeking men's esteem should she be whose soul God thus chooses
for His special dwelling-place! For if her mind is fixed on Him, as it ought
to be, she must needs forget herself: all her thoughts are bent on how to
please Him better and when and how she can show the love she bears Him.
10. This is the end and aim of prayer, my daughters; this is the reason of
the spiritual marriage whose children are always good works. Works are the
unmistakable sign which shows these favours come from God, as I told you. It
will do me little good to be deeply recollected when alone, making acts of
the virtues, planning and promising to do wonders in God's service, if
afterwards, when occasion offers, I do just the opposite. I did wrong in
saying, 'It will do me little good,' for all the time we spend with God does
us great good. Though afterwards we may weakly fail to perform our good
intentions, yet some time or other His Majesty will find a way for us to
practise them although perhaps much to our regret. Thus when He sees a soul
very cowardly, He often sends it some great affliction, much against its
will, and brings it through this trial with profit to itself, When the soul
has learnt this, it is less timid in offering itself to Him.
11. I ought to have said, 'will do us little good' in comparison with the
far greater good we can gain when our works fulfil our aspirations and our
promises. She that cannot do all this at once should do it little by little,
gradually dominating her will, if she wishes to gain fruit from prayer. Even
in this little nook she will find many a chance to praise this. Remember,
this is of far more importance than I know how to express. Fix your eyes on
the Crucified One, and all will seem easy. If His Majesty proved His love
for us by such stupendous labours and sufferings, how can you seek to please
Him by words alone?
12. Do you know what it is to be truly spiritual? It is for men to make
themselves the slaves of God--branded with His mark, which is the cross.
Since they have given Him their freedom, He can sell them as slaves to the
whole world, as He was, which would be doing them no wrong but the greatest
favour. Unless you make up your minds to this, never expect to make much
progress, [442] for as I said humility is the foundation of the whole
building and unless you are truly humble, our Lord, for your own sake, will
never permit you to rear it very high lest it should fall to the ground.
13. Therefore, sisters, take care to lay a firm foundation by seeking to be
the least of all and the slave of others, watching how you can please and
help them, for it will benefit you more than them. Built on such strong
rocks, your castle can never go to ruin. I insist again: your foundation
must not consist of prayer and contemplation alone: unless you acquire the
virtues and praise them, you will always be dwarfs; and please God no worse
may befall you than making no progress, for you know that to stop is to go
back--if you love, you will never be content to come to a standstill.
14. Perhaps you think I am speaking of beginners and that one may rest later
on, but, as I told you, the rest such souls feel is within them: they have
less outwardly nor do they wish for it. Why, do you think, does the soul
send from its centre these inspirations, or rather aspirations, (the
messages of which I spoke), to the dwellers in the precincts of the castle
and to the surrounding mansions? To send them to sleep? No, no, no! The soul
wages a fiercer war from thence to keep the powers, senses and the whole
body from being idle, than ever it did when it suffered in their company.
Formerly it did not understand the immense benefit its afflictions brought,
though indeed they may have been the means God used to advance it to this
state.
15. Besides, the company it enjoys gives it far greater strength than ever
before. If, as David says: 'With the holy thou shalt be holy,' [443]
doubtless by its becoming one with the Almighty, by this sovereign union of
spirit with spirit, the soul must gather strength, as we know the saints
did, to suffer and to die. Beyond doubt, with the force thus gained, the
soul succours all within the castle and even the very body itself, which
often seems to have no feeling left in it. The vigour the soul derives from
'the wine' drunk in the 'cellar' [444] (into which the Bridegroom brought
her and would not let her go) overflows into the feeble body, just as the
food we eat nourishes both the head and the whole frame.
16. Indeed the body suffers much while alive, for whatever work it does, the
soul has energy for far greater tasks and goads it on to more, for all it
can perform appears as nothing. This must be the reason of the severe
penances performed by many of the saints, especially the glorious Magdalen,
who had always spent her life in luxury. [445] This caused the zeal felt
by our Father Elias for the honour of God, [446] and the desires of St.
Dominic, [447] and St. Francis [448] to draw souls to praise the
Almighty. I assure you that, forgetful of themselves, they must have passed
through no small trials.
17. This, my sisters, is what I would have us strive for--to offer our
petitions and to practise prayer, not for our own enjoyment but to gain
strength to serve God. Let us seek no fresh path; we should lose ourselves
in ways of ease. It would be a strange thing to fancy we should gain these
graces by any other road than that by which Jesus and all His saints have
gone before. Let us not dream of such a thing: believe me, both Martha and
Mary must entertain our Lord and keep Him as their Guest, nor must they be
so inhospitable as to offer Him no food. How can Mary do this while she sits
at His feet, if her sister does not help her? [449]
18. His food is that in every possible way we should draw souls to Him so
that they may be saved and may praise Him for ever. You may offer two
objections--first, that I said that Mary had chosen the better part, [450]
for she had already done Martha's work by waiting on our Lord, by washing
His feet and by wiping them with her hair.
19. Do you think it was a small mortification for a woman of rank, as she
was, to go through the street, perhaps by herself, for in her zeal she never
thought of how she went? Then she entered a house where she was a stranger
and had to bear the railing of the Pharisee and many other trials. [451]
It was strange to see such a woman as she had been thus publicly change her
life. With a wicked nation like the Jews, the sight of her love for our Lord
Whom they hated so bitterly was enough to make them cast in her face her
former life and taunt her with wanting to become a saint. Doubtless she must
have changed her rich robes and all the rest. Considering how men talk now
of people far less known than she was, what must have been said of her?
20. I assure you, sisters, she won the better part after many crosses and
mortifications. Must not the mere sight of men's hatred of her Master have
been an intolerable trial? Then, think of what she endured afterwards at our
Lord's death! I believe, myself, that she did not suffer martyrdom because
she was already a martyr by grief at witnessing the crucifixion. [452]
Then what terrible pain His absence must have caused her [453] during the
long years afterwards! You see, she was not always enjoying contemplation at
the feet of our Saviour!
21. Secondly, you may say that you have neither the power nor the means to
lead souls to God; though you would willingly do so, you do not know how, as
you can neither teach nor preach as did the Apostles. I have often written
an answer to this objection though I cannot tell whether I have done so in
connection with the Castle. However, as the difficulty probably often
crosses your minds on account of the desires our Lord gives you of serving
Him, I will now speak of it again. [454] I told you elsewhere how the
devil frequently fills our thoughts with great schemes, so that instead of
putting our hands to what work we can do to serve our Lord, we may rest
satisfied with wishing to perform impossibilities.
22. You can do much by prayer; and then, do not try to help the whole world,
but principally your companions; this work will be all the better because
you are the more bound to it. Do you think it is a trifling matter that your
humility and mortification, your readiness to serve your sisters, your
fervent charity towards them, and your love of God, should be as a fire to
enkindle their zeal, and that you should constantly incite them to practise
the other virtues? This would be a great work and one most pleasing to our
Lord: by thus doing all that is in your power, you would prove to His
Majesty your willingness to do still more and He would reward you as if you
had won Him many souls. Do you answer: 'This would not be converting my
sisters, for they are very good already?' What business is that of yours? If
they were still better, the praise they render God would please Him more and
their prayers would be more helpful to their neighbours. [455]
23. In short, my sisters, I will conclude with this advice; do not build
towers without a foundation, for our Lord does not care so much for the
importance of our works as for the love with which they are done. When we do
all we can, His Majesty will enable us to do more every day. If we do not
grow weary, but during the brief time this life lasts (and perhaps it will
be shorter than any of you think) we give our Lord every sacrifice we can,
both interior and exterior, His Majesty will unite them with that He offered
to His Father for us on the Cross so that they may be worth the value given
them by our love, however mean the works themselves may be.
24. May it please His Majesty, my sisters and my daughters, that we may all
meet together where we may praise Him for ever, and may He give me grace to
practice something of what I have taught you, by the merits of His Son, Who
liveth and reigneth for ever! Amen. I assure you that I am filled with
confusion at myself and I beg you, for the sake of the same Lord, not to
forget this poor sinner in your prayers.
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[437] III. Reg. xi.
[438] Ps. cxi. 1. 'Beatus vir qui timet Dominum.'
[439] Though thou shouldst have been rapt up to the third heaven with Saint
Paul, thou art not thereby secured that thou shalt suffer no adversity.
'I,' said Jesus, 'will shew him how great things he must suffer for My
name's sake' (Acts. ix. 16). To suffer, therefore, is what waits for thee,
if thou wilt love Jesus and constantly serve Him For our merit and the
advancement of our state consist not in having many sweetnesses and
consolations, but rather in bearing great afflictions and tribulations'
(Imitation, bk. ii. ch. xii. 12).
[440] i Thess. ii. 9.
[441] The Antiphon of the Magnificat at first Vespers of the Feast of Saints
Peter and Paul, June 29, in the Carmelite Breviary used by St. Teresa is:
'Beatus Petrus Apostolus vidit sibi Christum occurrere. Adorans eum ait:
«Domine, quo vadis?»--«Venio Romam iterum crucifigi.» 'The Blessed Apostle
Peter saw Christ come to meet him. Adoring Him, he asked «Lord, where art
Thou going?»--«I go to Rome to be crucified anew.» The saint at once returned
to Rome and was taken by the soldiers and crucified. See Letter of Jan. 17.
1577, note 4. Vol. II.
[442] «If thou wilt stand upon self and wilt not offer thyself freely to My
will, thine offering is not perfect, nor will there be entire union between
us.' (Imitation, bk. iv. ch. viii. 2.)
[443] Ps. xvii. 26: 'Cum sancto sanctus eris.'
[444] Cant. ii. 4.
[445] 'St. Mary Magdalen gave herself up to penance and contemplation in a
deep excavation of the rocks at La Baume, near Marseilles. In this wild spot
there was neither bread, water, nor even herbage. Thus she lived for more
than thirty-two years without any kind of nourishment but that which was
celestial, performing meanwhile most severe penances.' (St. Vincent Ferrer.)
[446] III Reg. xix. 10.
[447] 'There was one sentiment within him to which may almost be given the
name of passion: it was his ceaseless burning thirst for the salvation of
souls. As his Divine Master had come into the world to save sinners and
loved them even unto death, so he, too, gave up all that was most dear to
him in his life to win souls to Christ. He was always giving himself: it was
the very key-note of his existence. He would have sold himself as a slave,
he would have been cut to pieces by the heretics, he would spare himself
neither by day nor by night, if by any means he might save some.' (From the
History of St. Dominic, by Augusta Theodosia Drane. London, 1891, p. 256).
[448] 'St. Francis of Assisi, at the very beginning of his Order, when he
had only seven followers, said to them: «Consider, my brethren, what is our
vocation. It is not only for our own salvation that the mercy of God has
called us, but for the salvation of many other souls. It is that we may go
forth and exhort all men rather by our example than by our words, to do
penance and keep the divine commands.»' (The Life of St. Francis of Assisi,
by a religious of the Order of Poor Clares, London, 1861, p. 32).
[449] St. Luke x. 39, 40. Life, ch. xvii. 6. Rel. viii. 6. Way of Perf. ch.
i. 4. Concep. ch. vii. 4.
[450] Ibid. x. 42: 'Maria optimam partem elegit.'
[451] Ibid. vii. 37.
[452] Marginal note in the Saint's handwriting.
[453] Life, ch. xxi. 9.
[454] Way of Perf. ch, i. 1. Found, ch. i, 6, 7. Supra, M. vi ch. vi, 2.
[455] Way of Perf. ch. vii. 7.
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IHS
ALTHOUGH, as I told you, I felt reluctant to begin this work, yet now it is
finished I am very glad to have written it, and I think my trouble has been
well spent, though I confess it has cost me but little. Considering your
strict enclosure, the little recreation you have, my sisters, and how many
conveniences are wanting in some of your convents, I think it may console
you to enjoy yourselves in this interior castle which you can enter, and
walk about at will, at any hour you please, without asking leave of your
superiors. It is true you cannot enter all the mansions by your own power,
however great it may appear to you, unless the Lord of the castle Himself
admits you. Therefore I advise you to use no violence if you meet with any
obstacle, for that would displease Him so much that He would never give you
admission to them. He dearly loves humility: [456] if you think yourselves
unworthy to enter the third mansion, He will grant you all the sooner the
favour of entering the fifth. Then, if you serve Him well there and often
repair to it, He will draw you into the mansion where He dwells Himself,
whence you need never depart unless called away by the Prioress, whose
commands this sovereign Master wishes you to obey as if they were His own.
If by her orders, you are often absent from His presence chamber, whenever
you return He will hold the door open for you. When once you have learnt how
to enjoy this castle, you will always find rest, however painful your trials
may be, in the hope of returning to your Lord, which no one can prevent.
Although I have only mentioned seven mansions, yet each one contains many
more rooms, above, below, and around it, with fair gardens, fountains, and
labyrinths, besides other things so delightful that you will wish to consume
yourself in praising in return the great God Who has created the soul to His
own image and likeness. If you find anything in the plan of this treatise
which helps you to know Him better, be certain that it is sent by His
Majesty to encourage you, and that whatever you find amiss in it is my own.
In return for my strong desire to aid you in serving Him, my God and my
Lord, I implore you, whenever you read this, to praise His Majesty fervently
in my name and to beg Him to prosper His Church, to give light to the
Lutherans, to pardon my sins and to free me from purgatory, where perhaps I
shall be, by the mercy of God, when you see this book (if it is given to you
after having been examined by theologians). If these writings contain any
error, it is through my ignorance; I submit in all things to the teachings
of the holy Catholic Roman Church, of which I am now a member, as I protest
and promise I will be both in life and death. May our Lord God be for ever
praised and blessed! Amen, Amen.
I finished writing this book in the convent of St. Joseph of Avila, 1577, on
the Vigil of St. Andrew, for the glory of God, Who liveth and reigneth for
ever and ever! Amen.
HERE ENDS THE INTERIOR CASTLE
OR THE MANSIONS
TRANSLATED AND PRINTED BY THE
BENEDICTINES OF STANBROOK
A.D. MCMXXI
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[456] Way of Perf. ch. xvi. 1.
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INDEX
Absalom, III. i. 6
Acts of praise, love, etc. IV. i. 7
Agnes St., VI. v. 13
Alcantara, St. Peter of, IV. iii. 5; VI. vi. 13
Alva, Duchess of; VI. iv. 9; VII. i. 9, note 6
Amber, VI. v. 2
Anthony, St., VI. v. 9
Antonius a Spiritu Sancto, IV. iii. I; VI. i. 5, 12, 18, iii. 5; iv. 17, VI.
11
Apostles, our Lord's prayer for, VII. ii. 10; sufferings of, VII. iv. 7
Augustine, St., IV. iii. 3; VI. vii. 11
Avila, Bl. John of; VI. ix. 11; St. Joseph's convent at, VI. vi. 14; VII.
iv. conclusion
Awe, produced by visions, VI. ix. 4
Babe, likeness of; IV. iii. 9
Ba+¦ez, Fr. Dominic, VI. ix. 11
Bee, likeness of; I. ii. 9; V. ii. 2
Beggar, likeness of; IV. iii. 5
Beginners, II. i. passim
Bethsaida, the blind man at the pool of; I. i. 10
Blindness, spiritual, VI. iv. 15
Body, the setting of the diamond, I. i. 3; the outer walls of the Castle, I.
i. 3; care of, III. ii. 9, 11; VI. iii. 12; strength of; not necessary in
prayer of Union, V. i. 2; effect of prayer of Union on, V. i. 3
Books, spiritual insufficiency of, IV. iii. 4; use of; V. ii. 3
Bride, in the Canticle, V. i. 10; and Bridegroom, V. iv. 3
Butterfly, likeness of, V. ii. I, 2. 6, 7, 8; iv. I; VI. iv. 1, Vi. I, 3;
xi. I; VII. iii. 1, 10
Cecilia, St., V. iv. 1
Call, God's, to the soul, II. i. 4-6; IV. iii. 2, 3
Carelessness in prayer, I. i. 9
Carmel, our Lady of; Preface, p. 36; III. i. 5; Order of, Constitutions, I.
ii. 7; V. i. 2; Rule of, VI. vi. 7
Carmelite nuns, discalced, Preface, p. 36; I. i. 9; VI. vi. 14
Castle, Interior, Preface, argument, p. 35; I. i. 2, 3, ii. I; VI. iii. 27,
iv. 17; description, I. ii. 8; entrance to, I. i. 7; foundation of, VII. iv.
13; prayer and meditation, I. i. 9, 11; precincts of, I. i. 10
Caterpillar, likeness of, V. ii. 6
Cellar of wine, V. i. 10, ii. 11
Certitude of the soul, a sign of union, V. i. 8, 9
Changes wrought in the soul by prayer of Union, V. ii. 7, 10, 12
Charity, works of; only remedy in times of darkness, VI. i. 24; effect of
spiritual matrimony, VII. iv. 16-23
Christ's face, VI. ix. 12; sufferings, our pains joined to, V. ii. 4
Church, holy Roman Catholic, Preface, p. 36; VII. iv. conclusion; love of,
IV. i. 7
Clearness, a sign that locutions come from God, VI. iii. 20
Communion, holy, VII. ii. 1
Complaints, loving, VI. ii. 3
Confession, regular, V. ii. 3
Confessor, to be consulted on locutions, VI. iii. 18; and on visions, VI.
ix. 10; if mistaken, VI. viii. 10, 11; timorous, VI. i. 15-19
Confidence, II. i. 17
Confirmation in grace, VII. ii. 13
Conformity with the will of God, II. i. 15; III. ii. 5, 8; VI. xi. 5.
Consolations, divine (prayer of Quiet), III. ii. 13; IV. i. 4, 5, ii. 2, 4,
5, 6, iii. 7; earthly, no use, VI. i. 22
Contempt, III. ii. 6; for earthly things, an effect of raptures, VI. V. 13
Contradiction, by good people, VI. i. 5
Courage, necessary, II. i. 13; III. ii. 10; VI. i. 2, 3, iv. I, V. 7, 14.
Cross, II. i. 15; necessary in prayer of Union, V. ii. 8; of saints, VII.
iv. 7
Crystal, I. i. 2, ii. 3, 4
Darkness, dispelled by God, VI. i. 20; different kinds of, I. ii. I. VII. i.
4
David, King, III. i. 6; VI. x. 5; VII. iv. 5, 15
Deaf-mutes, II. i. 3, 6
Deception, fear of, VI. i. 16; satanic, V. iv. 5, 6, 7; where impossible,
VI. ii. 9-12
Defects, impeding union, V. iii. 6
Desires, of death, VI. xi. 9; VII. iii. 14; generous, IV. i. 7; to serve
God, better than visions, etc., VI. ix. 20, 2 i; VII. iii. 5; of suffering,
VII. iii. 4; sometimes to be checked, VI. vi. 5; to see God, VI. vii. 3
Detachment, III. i. 13, ii. 7
Detraction, I. ii. 22
Devil, I. ii. 2; like a file, I. ii. 19 deceives by false favours, IV. iii.
10-13; V. ii. 8; a good painter, VI. ix. 11; unable to interfere in prayer
of Union, V. i. 6.; and in intellectual visions, VI. x. i; wiles of, I. ii.
13, 18, 20; II, i. 11; IV. iii. 10; VI. i. 25
Devotion, sensible, see Sweetness in prayer
Diamond, soul likened to, I. i.2, 3
Dilatation of heart, IV. i. 5, ii. 5
Direction necessary, II. i. 18; III. ii. 18
Directors, learned and unlearned, V. i. 7; VI. i. 16-19
Distractions, in prayer, I. i. 10; IV. i. 10, 11
Dominic, St., V. iv. 4; VII. iv. 16
Dove, soul likened to, V. iii. 1; iv. I; VI. ii. I, xi. I
Drowsiness, V. i. 3, 5
Dryness, in prayer, III. i. 9, 10, 15
Easter, trance on the feast of, VI. xi. 8.
Ecstasies, rare in Seventh Mansions, VII. iii. 10
Elias, St., VI. vii. 10; VII. iv. 16
Energy, III. ii. 10, 11
Enriquez, Do+¦a Maria, VI. iv. 9; VII. i. 9
Entering within oneself; IV. iii. I, 3, 4
Envy, spiritual, I. i. 5
Espousals, spiritual, V. iv. 1-3; VI. ii. 1, iv. i; difference between, and
matrimony, VII. ii. 2, 4
Exclamations, VII. ii. 7
Exterior works do not interfere with interior life, VII. iii. 3
Faculties, given to be used, IV. iii. 6; suspension of, VI. iv. 17
Faults, slight, V. iv. 6
Favours, divine, not to be disbelieved, I. i. 6.; value of; III, ii. 16, 17;
how to be used, IV. iii. 9, 10; false, IV. iii. 11, 12; V. ii. 8;
distinction from divine, IV. iii. 12
Fear of illusions, VI. ix. 8
Ferrer, St. Vincent, VII. iv. 16
Fervour, supernatural, VI. ii. 14; VII. iv. 14
File, devil likened to a, I. ii. 19
Fire of burning coal, God likened to, VI. ii. 6
Flight of the spirit, IV. i. 10; VI. v. I, 2, 8, 10-13
Francis, St., V. iv. 4; VI. vi. 12; VII. iv. 16
Fraternal charity, V. iii. 11, 12
Fretting under trials, III. ii. I, 2
Friendship, spiritual, II. i. 12
Fuente, Don Vicente de, VII. ii. 7
Gaze, the simple, VI. vii. 14
Gedeon, II. i. 13
Give all to God, V. i. 3
God compels the soul to listen when He speaks, VI. iii. 27
God's special care of souls most advanced, VII. iii. 8
Gonzalez, Giles, VII. i. 9
Gratian, Father Jerome, I. ii. 21; IV. i. 11; V. i. 9
Grief; natural and supernatural, V. ii. 11, 13, iii. 7
Hart, wounded, VII. iii. 12
Heathen philosophers, V. iii. 7
Hell, VI. xi. 7; fear of, lost, VI. vii. 4; torments of, milder than those
of the last Judgment, VI. ix. 4
Human praise and blame alike troublesome, VI. i. 7-11
Humanity, sacred of our Lord, meditation on, VI. vii. 6-19; vision of, VI.
ix. 2; VII.
Humility, effect of supernatural favours, VI. iii. 25; v. 5, ix. 9; false,
I. ii. II, 12; always necessary, I. ii. 9, 10, 12; III. i. 13, 15, ii. 3, 8;
IV. ii. 8; from vision of a soul in mortal sin, I. ii. 5; want of I. 15;
III. ii. 12; humility and truth, VI. x. 6
Hysteria, see Melancholia
Ignatius of Loyola, St., V. iv. 4
Ignorance, injurious, IV. i. 9, 13; of a priest, V. i. 7, 9
Imagination, IV. i. 8-10, iii. 13; VI. i. 1; difference between it and
visions, VI. ix. 5, 6; locutions proceeding from, VI. iii. 16, 17
Imitation of Christ, I. i. 8; II. i. 8; V. i. 3, iii. 3; VII. iv. 7, 12
Impulses, VI. ii. 12, xi. per totem.
Incense, spiritual, IV. ii. 6; VI. ii. 14
Inebriation, spiritual, VI. iv. 18, 19, vi. 15
Insecurity, III. i. 3
Intellectual locutions, VI. iii. 19-24
Interior Castle, see Castle Isabel of Jesus, VI. xi. 8
Jacob, VI. iv. 6
Jerome, St., VI. ix. 4
Jesus, I. ii. 4; ever our guide, VI. vii. 7, 8; our model, I. ii. 12; His
Passion, V. ii. VI. vii. 8, 9
Jewels, V. i. 2; VI. iv. 9, v. 13, ix. I.
John of Avila, Blessed, VI. ix. 11 n.
John of the Cross, St., I. i. 2, 4; IV. I, 3, iii. 3, 6; V. i. 6, 9; VI. ii.
3, 14, iii. 5, 7 sqq., iv. 21, v. 2, vii. 8, 10, viii. 3. ix. 20 xi. 4, 6;
VII. i. 13, ii. 13
Jonas, prophet, V. iii. 6. 14
Jordan, river, VI. vi. 3
Josue, VI. iii. 27
Joy at seeing locutions fulfilled, VI. iii. 13
Jubilation, I. ii. 5; VI. vi. 11-1 5
Judas, V. iii. 2, iv. 5
Judgment, last, VI. ix. 4
Kernel of palmito, I. ii. 8
Kiss of the Bridegroom, VII. iii. 12
Lazarus, V. iii. 5
Leon, Fray Luis de, III. i. 3; VII. ii. 7
Liberty of spirit, I. ii. 9
Light, I. ii. 15; supernatural, VI. v. 8
Likeness of Christ, VI. ix. 11
Lizards, V. i. 5
Locutions, VI. iii. per totum; 'Be not troubled,' ib. 7; VI. iv. 21; 'It is
I,' VI. iii. 8, viii. 3, 4; 'Be at peace,' VI. iii. 8; VII. ii. 2; 'To care
for God's affairs,' VII. 11. I, iii. 1
Loss of highly favoured souls, IV. iii. 10
Lot's wife, I. i. 8
Love of enemies, VI. i. 12; of God, IV. i. 7; V. iii. 7, 8; of neighbour, V.
iii. 7, 8
Ludolf of Saxony, VI. ix. 4
Lutherans, VII. iv. conclusion
Mansions, I. i. 2, 4, ii. 4, 8, 15; VII. iv. conclusion
Martha, VII. i. 14, iv. 17
Martin, St., VI. vi. 6
Mary, Blessed Virgin, our help, I. ii. 14; meditation on, VI. vii. 8;
sufferings of, VII. iv. 7
Mary Magdalen, St., I. i. 5; VI. vii. 5, xi. 1 2; VII. i. 14, ii. 9, iv.
i6-20
Matrimony, spiritual, VII. I, 7, ii. per totum; difference between, and
Espousals, VII. ii. 2; effects of, VII. iv. 10 sqq.; in this state soul free
from sin, VII. iv. 3; and confirmed in grace, VII. ii. 13
Meditation, VI. vii. 11-13
Melancholia, (hysteria), III. i 9; IV. ii. 1, 2; VI. i. 15, iii. 2, 3, vi.
7, 15
Memento, VI. iv. 14
Mendoza, Don Alvaro de, VII. iii. 4
Moses, VI. iv. 7
Mount Carmel, see Carmel
Music, VII. iii. 10
Mysteries, revealed during raptures, VI. iv. 10, 12, 13
Noe's Ark, VII. iii. 12
Nuptials, spiritual, see Matrimony
Obedience, preface, p. 3 5; I. i. 1; III. i. 4, ii. 18
Obligations, of a soul enraptured, VI. v. 4; on account of intellectual
visions, VI. viii. 8
Odour, supernatural, VI. ii. 14
Olive branch, VII. iii. 12
Padranos, Fr. Juan de, VI. viii. 3
Palace, God likened to, VI. x. 3; VII. ii. 15
Palmito, I. ii. 8
Passion of Christ, V. ii. 13; becomes the property of the soul, VI. v. 6;
meditation on, VI. vii. 8, 9, 13-15
Paul, St., I. i. 5; III. i. 13; VI. vii. 5, ix. 7; VII. i. 8, ii. 6, iv. 7;
(hermit) VI. v. 9
Peace, II. i. 16; following upon Spiritual Matrimony, VII. ii. 10, 13, iii.
9, 13; 'Peace be with you,' V. i. 10; VII. ii. 2
Penances, indiscreet, I. ii. 19.; too discreet, III. ii. 9
Perfection, true, I. ii. 20
Perfume, IV. ii. 6; VI. ii. 14
Perseverance, II. i. 17, 18; III. i. 1
Peter, St., III. i. 13; VI. vii. 5; VII. iv. 8
Phoenix, VI. iv. 3
Philippus a Ss. Trinitate, IV. i. 3, ii. 8, iii. 1; V. i. 8, iii. 4, iv. 3;
VI. i. 18, iv. 3 sqq., v. 2, 10, vi. 11
Pictures, holy, VII. iii. 10
Pilate, VI. x. 5
Prayer, St. Teresa's writings on, Preface, p. 36; books on, I. i. 8; IV.
iii. 4, 5; no difference between vocal and mental, I. i 9; talking
inconsiderately to God is not prayer, I. i. 9; need of guidance in, I. ii.
7; II. i. 18; perseverance in, II. i. 19; prayer and mortification a great
work, VII. iv. 22
Preparation for prayer of Union, V. ii. 4, 5
Presence, spiritual of our Lord, VI. viii. 2-6; VII. iii. 5, 7; of Saints,
ib. 7; of the Blessed Trinity, VII. i. 9-13
Presence chamber, God's, VII. i. 3, 7
Prioress, advice to, IV. iii. 12; VI. iii. 2, vii. 16, viii. 11, 12
Prophecies, VI. iii. 11, 12
Purgatory, VI. xi. 6
Quiet, prayer of, IV. iii. 7; different from prayer of Union, V. i. 5. See
also Consolations, divine
Raptures, VI. iv. per totum; effects of, VI. vi. i; false, IV. iii. 11; VI.
iv. 22; rare in Seventh Mansion, VII. iii. 10 Recollection, prayer of, IV.
iii. 1, 3, 4; different from prayer of Quiet, IV. iii. 7
Reptiles, I. i. 11, II. ii. 15; II. i. 16; IV. i. 3; VII. ii. 15, iv, 1
River of living waters, I. ii. 1, 3
Sacrament, Blessed, V. i. 9
Samaritan woman, VI. xi. 5
Saul, king, V. iii. 2; VI. ix. 18
Schram, Dom, VI. iii. 10; viii. 10
Search for God, VI. vii. 11
Secrecy of raptures, VI. iv. 20, 21, viii. 12
Security, III. i. 1, 2
Self-knowledge, I. ii. 9-11; IV. i.
13; V. iv. 8; VI. V. 12
Senses, I, ii. 4; IV. iii. 1; VI, iv. 17
Sepulchre, V. i. 10
Sermons, V. ii. 3; VII. 10
Seville, III. ii. 10
Siena, St. Catharine of; VI. v. 2
Silkworm, likeness of, V. ii. 1-6; 5
Sin, mortal, I. ii. 1-3; committed under the very eyes of God, VI. x. 2, 3
Sinners in prison, VII. i. 4, 5
Slaves of Christ, VII. iv. 12; of our neighbour, VII. iv. 13
Sleep of the soul in prayer of Union, V. i. 3
Solitude, desire of, VI. vi. 1, 2
Solomon, III. i. 6; VII. iii. 9, IV. 4
Sorrow for sins increasing with graces, VI. vii. 1-5
Soul likened to a castle, I. i, 2; to a crystal, I. ii. 3; to a garden, I.
i. 2; to a ship, VI. v. 3; dignity of, I. i. 3; a soul that does not pray is
lame, I. i. 8; soul in mortal sin, I. ii. 1-5; VII. i. 4-6; the soul and its
faculties, VII. i. 15, 16
Spark from the fire of God, VI. ii. 6, 7
Standstill in virtue, V. iv. 10
Struggles, interior, II. i. 9, 10
Sufferings, bodily, VI. i. 13, 14
Sun, source of light, I. ii. I, 3-5, 8
Sweetness in prayer, (sensible devotion), IV. i. 4-7, ii. 4.
Tears, IV. i. 4, 6; V. ii. 9; VI. vi. 6, 9
Temptations, advantages of, IV. i. 3; particularly fierce before Espousals,
V. iv. 4, 7
Teresa, St., consoled by Christ, VI. v. 6; cures a melancholy nun, IV. iii.
12; desires death, VI. vii. 3; desires others to serve God better, V. iii.
2; her experience in spiritual matters, V. i. 7, iv. 4; feels no pain during
ecstasies, IV. i. 11; feels presence of our Lord, VI. viii. 2-5; of the
Saints, ib. 7; former mistakes, VI. vii. 18, 19; suffers from headaches,
Preface, pp. 35, 36; IV. i. 10; never suffered from hysteria, IV. ii. 2;
locutions, vide sub voce; has more light now than formerly, I. ii. 7; IV. i.
i, ii. 6; praises God for favours bestowed on others, III. ii. 16; profits
by vision of a soul in mortal sin, I. ii. 1, 2, 5, VII. i. 4; by heavenly
visions, VII. i. 14; her raptures, vide sub voce; readiness to suffer, VI.
xi, 10; self-disparagement, Preface, p. 37; I. ii. 7; III. i. 4, 5, 7;
submits her writings to the judgment of the Church, Preface, p. 36; VII. iv.
conclusion; suffers at the sight of sin, V. ii. 13; transverberation, VI.
xi. 2, 4, 8; is troubled by turmoil of thoughts, IV. 18; troubles she went
through, VI, i. 5-27; vi. 1, viii. 12; her visions, VI. ix. 20; VII. 1; of
the Blessed Trinity, VII. i. 9 sqq; wound of love, VI. ii. 9; writings,
Preface, p. 36; I. ii. 6, 7; V. iv. 12
Theriac, II. i. 16
Thomas Aquinas, St., V. i. 6; VI. v. 8
Toledo, St. Joseph's convent at, Preface, p. 36
Tortoise, IV. iii. 4.
Trance, false, IV. iii. 11, 12; VI. iv. 22; at Easter, VI. xi. 8
Transverberation, VI. xi. 2, 4, 8
Tree of life, I. ii. I, 3
Trinity, Blessed, feast of, Preface, p. 36; vision of, VII. i. 9; presence
of, VII. i. 9-13
Troubles preceding perfect union, VI. i. 3-20
Understanding, IV. i. 8
Union, prayer of; different from prayer of Quiet, V. i. 5; leads to
Espousals, V. iv. 2; with vanities of the world, V. i. 6, 7; with the Will
of God, V. iii. 5-8
Ursula, St., V. iv. 4
Velasquez, Don Alonso, VII, 13
Virtues, real and imaginary, V. iii. 9, 10
Visions, corporal, St. Teresa never saw one, VI. ix. 3; imaginary, VI. iv.
6, v. 9, ix, per totem; intellectual, VI. iv. 10, 11; v. 9; viii. per totem;
x, per totum; not to be sought or wished for, VI. ix. 13-19; of a soul in
mortal sin. I. ii. 2, 5
Watchfulness, III. i. 2; V. iv. 8, 9
Water, spiritual, I. ii, 3; IV. ii. 3, 4, 8; iii. 8; VI. v. 3; xi, 5; VII.
ii. 8, 13
Wax, soul likened to, V. ii, 11, 12; wax candles, VII. ii. 5
Will of God, union with, V. iii. 4, 5; VI. xi. 5
Works, good, II. i. 20; III. i, 12, 14, ii. 1 5; V. iii. 11; VI, i. 24; VII.
iv. 17-24
World, persons in the, III. i. 8, 9; ii. 4, 5
Worldliness, I. ii, i 6, 17; II. i, 7
Wound of love, VI. ii. 2-12; xi. 2-4, 10-12
Zeal, indiscreet, I. ii. 19, 21; III. ii. 19
Zebedee, sons of; VI, xi. 12
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