St.Teresa of Avila Interior Castle online!

[Lisa4Catholics]

I am so excited!! I have the book but this is worth discussing and reflecting on here anyone want to go for it? catholictreasury.info/InteriorCastle/ic5.htm

I am sure that anyone who finds it harmful to realize that it is possible for God to grant such favours during this our exile must be greatly lacking in humility and in love of his neighbour; for otherwise how could we help rejoicing that God should grant these favours to one of our brethren when this in no way hinders Him from granting them to ourselves, and that His Majesty should bestow an understanding of His greatness upon anyone soever? Sometimes He will do this only to manifest His power, as He said of the blind man to whom He gave his sight, when the Apostles asked Him if he were suffering for his own sins or for the sins of his parents.[23] He grants these favours, then, not because those who receive them are holier than those who do not, but in order that His greatness may be made known, as we see in the case of Saint Paul and the Magdalen, and in order that we may praise Him in His creatures.
Any reflections?:yup:

 

[Lisa4Catholics]

Please tell me that on a Catholic forum someone would like to discuss the works of a Doctor of the Church:ehh:

 

[jimmy]

Lisa4Catholics:

I am so excited!! I have the book but this is worth discussing and reflecting on here anyone want to go for it? catholictreasury.info/InteriorCastle/ic5.htm

I am sure that anyone who finds it harmful to realize that it is possible for God to grant such favours during this our exile must be greatly lacking in humility and in love of his neighbour; for otherwise how could we help rejoicing that God should grant these favours to one of our brethren when this in no way hinders Him from granting them to ourselves, and that His Majesty should bestow an understanding of His greatness upon anyone soever? Sometimes He will do this only to manifest His power, as He said of the blind man to whom He gave his sight, when the Apostles asked Him if he were suffering for his own sins or for the sins of his parents.[23] He grants these favours, then, not because those who receive them are holier than those who do not, but in order that His greatness may be made known, as we see in the case of Saint Paul and the Magdalen, and in order that we may praise Him in His creatures.
Any reflections?:yup:

That library of books is pretty good. You can also get “Interior Castle” and other works here.

 

[Lisa4Catholics]

jimmy:

That library of books is pretty good. You can also get “Interior Castle” and other works here.

Thanks for the link Jimmy Okay I will start the reflection,it looks to me like the lack of humility she speaks of is the pride of thinking you are to evil for God to work through therefore trying to limit what God can do.

 

[Lisa4Catholics]

Okay any reflections on this?

Before passing on, I want you to consider what will be the state of this castle, so beautiful and resplendent this Orient pearl, this tree of life, planted in the living waters of life[28] – namely, in God – when the soul falls into a mortal sin. No thicker darkness exists, and there is nothing dark and black which is not much less so than this. You need know only one thing about it – that, although the Sun Himself, Who has given it all its splendour and beauty, is still there in the centre of the soul, it is as if He were not there for any participation which the soul has in Him, though it is as capable of enjoying Him as is the crystal of reflecting the sun. While in a state like this the soul will find profit in nothing, and hence, being as it is in mortal sin, none of the good works it may do will be of any avail[29] to win it glory; for they will not have their origin in that First Principle, which is God, through Whom alone our virtue is true virtue. And, since this soul has separated itself from Him, it cannot be pleasing in His eyes; for, after all, the intention of a person who commits a mortal sin is not to please Him but to give pleasure to the devil; and, as the devil is darkness itself, the poor soul becomes darkness itself likewise.

 

[DBT]

Hi Lisa -

It’s been less than 1 hour from your original post . . . patience!

I know there are a lot of St. Teresa fans around here . . . I’m sure they’ll jump on board soon enough. Why don’t you go ahead and continue to lead the way . . .

Dave.

BTW, it’s good to see new faces on the Carmelite threads!

 

[Lisa4Catholics]

DBT:

Hi Lisa -

It’s been less than 1 hour from your original post . . . patience!

I know there are a lot of St. Teresa fans around here . . . I’m sure they’ll jump on board soon enough. Why don’t you go ahead and continue to lead the way . . .

Dave.

BTW, it’s good to see new faces on the Carmelite threads!

Thanks Dave patience is not a virtue of mine,I need to work on it Glad to be here

 

[DBT]

Lisa4Catholics:

He grants these favours, then, not because those who receive them are holier than those who do not, but in order that His greatness may be made known, as we see in the case of Saint Paul and the Magdalen, and in order that we may praise Him in His creatures.

One of the things I love about St. Teresa is that she makes it very clear that “spiritual favors” should never be considered a sign of our “worthiness” in God’s eyes. Spiritual favors (discussed in greater detail in her discussion of the 4th mansions and beyond) are sometimes granted to the “biggest sinners” among us simply as a means to show us His mercy.

And conversly, those “most holy” are sometimes never granted these kind of consolations at all . . . for as wonderful as they are, they are not required for our salvation.

Dave.

 

[DBT]

Lisa4Catholics:

I am sure that anyone who finds it harmful to realize that it is possible for God to grant such favours during this our exile must be greatly lacking in humility and in love of his neighbour; for otherwise how could we help rejoicing that God should grant these favours to one of our brethren when this in no way hinders Him from granting them to ourselves, and that His Majesty should bestow an understanding of His greatness upon anyone soever?

Another thing I love about St. Teresa is that these mansions are open to everyone . . . and the things she describes in Interior Castle are probably much more common than most of us would think. All committed Catholic Christians can probably see themselves somewhere in her first 3 mansions. And many more than we might think move into other mansions.

My personal belief is that St. Teresa says the gift of contemplation is a possibility open to all - assuming, of course, that we lay the appropriate foundations she describes so wonderfully in the first 3 mansions.

Dave.

 

[jimmy]

Thanks Dave patience is not a virtue of mine,I need to work on it Glad to be here

Lisa, if you give me about a month I will be able to respond. First I have to read St John of The Cross, current The Ascent. Then maybe St Teresa.

 

[Lisa4Catholics]

Dave I agree these gifts are for Gods glory and not ours and a sign of his mercy and love for us in our most miserable state and gives us gifts which we neither deserve or merit.A personal reflection is the wonder of Gods mercy and how important it is not to write anyone off.

 

[Lisa4Catholics]

jimmy:

Lisa, if you give me about a month I will be able to respond. First I have to read St John of The Cross, current The Ascent. Then maybe St Teresa.

Thanks Jimmy I am looking foward to it I haven’t read that yet but I have read The Dark night of the Soul

 

[Zooey]

I have bookmarked both sites…I love St Teresa. I am reading her life again. But I want to get in on this!..Can I catch my braeth first?? I have been trying to find something like this (with no luck), & it just up & appears…
One of the things I love most about her is that she has a sense of humor about herself…and that she is so excited to have the chance to share with others. I can just hear her, ya know, words tumbling out, one after another…
Looking forward to the discussion!!

 

[jimmy]

Zooey:

I have bookmarked both sites…I love St Teresa. I am reading her life again. But I want to get in on this!..Can I catch my braeth first?? I have been trying to find something like this (with no luck), & it just up & appears…
One of the things I love most about her is that she has a sense of humor about herself…and that she is so excited to have the chance to share with others. I can just hear her, ya know, words tumbling out, one after another…
Looking forward to the discussion!!

Do you mean you have been trying to find a site with online (Catholic) books? If so there are many of them. I could give you some links if you need.

 

[ames61]

jimmy:

Do you mean you have been trying to find a site with online (Catholic) books? If so there are many of them. I could give you some links if you need.

You mean sites with the books actually online? Yes absolutely!

I’ve just started reading her autobiography, so I can’t contribute much. Mostly what I’ve been struck with her and other saints, is their acceptance of gifts in humility, rather than the denial of gifts which we often do in false humility. So it would seem that when we deny these lesser gifts, rather than to take ownership of them as a gift from God, then we may deny ourselves the possiblity of receiving future gifts. The same would apply in acknowledging the gifts of others, or failure to do so in envy.

Do you think in today’s society, so competitive, so “what have you done lately?” there is even more of a tendency to deny the gifts of others?

DBT:

One of the things I love about St. Teresa is that she makes it very clear that “spiritual favors” should never be considered a sign of our “worthiness” in God’s eyes. Spiritual favors (discussed in greater detail in her discussion of the 4th mansions and beyond) are sometimes granted to the “biggest sinners” among us simply as a means to show us His mercy.

W/r/t Spiritual favors granted to sinners. Could this sometimes be construed as an “invitation” to that sinner (or maybe those around him) to “follow me”?

Any other information you guys want to toss out there would be much appreciated!

 

[CARose]

I don’t have time to get to this properly right now, but I’d also be interested in following this thread. St. Teresa is deep.

Did you know she was an extrovert. Not what one first expects from someone who lived in cloister, and yet I heard that to live in cloister requires that one be extremely good at communicating with others. You can’t go into cloister to escape the world, that’s not what it’s all about, as you are living in very close community with a family of others.

Well, good luck with the thread, I expect to be back.

CARose

 

[jimmy]

ames61:

You mean sites with the books actually online? Yes absolutely!

I’ve just started reading her autobiography, so I can’t contribute much. Mostly what I’ve been struck with her and other saints, is their acceptance of gifts in humility, rather than the denial of gifts which we often do in false humility. So it would seem that when we deny these lesser gifts, rather than to take ownership of them as a gift from God, then we may deny ourselves the possiblity of receiving future gifts. The same would apply in acknowledging the gifts of others, or failure to do so in envy.

Do you think in today’s society, so competitive, so “what have you done lately?” there is even more of a tendency to deny the gifts of others?

W/r/t Spiritual favors granted to sinners. Could this sometimes be construed as an “invitation” to that sinner (or maybe those around him) to “follow me”?

Any other information you guys want to toss out there would be much appreciated!

Here is a site that has St. Teresa’s books among many other authors. It is pretty comprehensive.

Catholic Books

 

[DBT]

ames61:

W/r/t Spiritual favors granted to sinners. Could this sometimes be construed as an “invitation” to that sinner (or maybe those around him) to “follow me”?

Any other information you guys want to toss out there would be much appreciated!

Yes, this is how I meant what I said. I think in *some cases * a spiritual favor or special insight into one’s own weaknesses and sins can be the basis for a profound . . . even radical conversion.

I know it was for me. My life changed completely in a single momement . . . 9/17/02 at 8:30am to be precise I will never forget that moment . . . and I have been “following” Him as you say the best I can ever since.

And what I love about St. Teresa is that she explains all this better (in my opinion) than anyone else. However, this one little point I’m making in this post is just one tiny sliver of what she has to say about the spiritual life. Interior Castle is truely a wonderful “road map” that one can spend his or her entire life following. It is her invitation to live the Gospel in a very pure, no corner cutting way.

Dave.

 

[DBT]

Clarification to the last post:

When I say “some cases” it’s because this is not the normal way, according to my understanding of St. Teresa, that one is brought to contemplation.

What she describes in the first 3 mansions is more of a slow and gradual purification and growth in holiness and the virtues that occurs over a long period of time. Often one is brought to the point of contemplation without even being aware of it. This is in contrast to the sharp whack over the head I was talking about in the last post.

 

[Zooey]

jimmy:

Do you mean you have been trying to find a site with online (Catholic) books? If so there are many of them. I could give you some links if you need.

Yes, especially St Teresa. And other Carmelite saints. I am still reading & re-reading my ancient Allison peers paperbacks of Teresa Of Avila & John of the Cross…(Good translations, but getting a bit unreadable from being read, & being written in, underlined highlighted, etc, etc…)…
Links would be great. I have all ready decided that I am soon going to have to break down & buy new ones eventually. But I want to read online for now.