St. Teresa and The Mansions, Part II: Mansions 1 -3
Let the Christian be valiant. Let him resolve to go forth to combat with the host of demons, and be convinced that there is no better weapon than the cross." - St. Teresa of Avila
“The Interior Castle” is a vivid metaphor for the soul’s interior journey and transformation as it draws into closer union with God.
“It is no small misfortune and disgrace that, through our own fault, we neither understand our nature nor our origin. It is unspeakably ... foolish to care to learn nothing of our nature except that we possess bodies, and only to realize vaguely that we have souls, because people say so and it is a doctrine of faith. Rarely do we reflect upon what gifts our souls may possess, Who dwells within them, or how extremely precious they are. Therefore, we do little to preserve their beauty; all our care is concentrated on our bodies, which are but the coarse setting of the diamond, or the outer walls of the castle.” - St. Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle
In the First Mansions, the soul undergoes a conversion or awakening and casts off mortal sin.
In the Second Mansions, the soul notices and attacks venial sin.
In the Third Mansion, the soul has fought valiantly and comes to a place of relative order and peace. The soul is now living a good Christian life, but there is a temptation here to stop progress, to pause and enjoy the comfort of the victory. But as we all should know, there is no ‘stopping’ in the spiritual life. If we are not moving forward (or upward, if you prefer) then we will slide backward (or downward). Now that the soul has converted, given up sin, and is practicing virtue, it’s time to conquer its attachments.
The First Mansions
“I thought of the soul as resembling a castle, formed of a single diamond, or a very transparent crystal, and containing many rooms, just as in heaven there are many mansions.”
“Let us imagine that there are many rooms in this castle, of which some are above, some below, others at the side; in the center, in the very midst of them all, is the principal chamber in which God and the soul hold their most secret intercourse.”
“You must not think of a suite of rooms placed in succession, but fix your eyes on the keep, the court inhabited by the King. Like the kernel of the palmito, from which several rinds must be removed before coming to the eatable part, this principal chamber is surrounded by many others. However large, magnificent, and spacious you imagine this castle to be, you cannot exaggerate it; the capacity of the soul is beyond all our understanding, and the Sun within this palace enlightens every part of it.”
“As far as I can understand, the gate by which to enter this castle is prayer and meditation.”
Entrance into the Mansions is a ‘Conversion’ or an ‘Awakening.’ For example, in the case of St. Augustine, he had a great and dramatic conversion experience. But in the case of St. Teresa, she had more of an awakening to her own lukewarmness.
The doorway into the Castle - into the interior of our soul, where God dwells - is through prayer, meditation, and turning away from sin.
We first awaken to the reality of our sinful life or our lukewarmness, and the Lord allows us to see the horror of mortal sin and the reality of how hideous it makes the soul.
St. Teresa emphasizes the importance of self-knowledge and humility; we need to know that without Our Lord we are nothing, and of our great need for His mercy and grace.
Reality of Mortal Sin:
“While the soul is in mortal sin nothing can profit it; none of its good works merit an eternal reward, since they do not proceed from God as their first principle, and by Him alone is our virtue real virtue. The soul separated from Him is no longer pleasing in His eyes, because by committing a mortal sin, instead of seeking to please God, it prefers to gratify the devil, the prince of darkness, and so comes to share his blackness.”
Necessity of Humility:
“Mark well, however, that self-knowledge is indispensable, even for those whom God takes to dwell in the same mansion with Himself. Nothing else, however elevated, perfects the soul, which must never seek to forget its own nothingness.
Let humility be always at work, like the bee at the honeycomb, or all will be lost. But, remember, the bee leaves its hive to fly in search of flowers and the soul should sometimes cease thinking of itself to rise in meditation on the grandeur and majesty of its God.”
“I believe we shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavouring to know God, for, beholding His greatness we are struck by our own baseness, His purity shows our foulness, and by meditating on His humility we find how very far we are from being humble.”
“While on earth nothing is more needful than humility.”
The Devil Has Lost a Soul
Now that a person has converted, turned away from sin, humbled oneself, and begun the spiritual journey into the castle, the devil has lost a soul and will try to get that soul back.
“You must not imagine there are only a few [rooms], but a number of rooms, for souls enter them by many different ways, and always with a good intention. The devil is so angry at this, that he keeps legions of evil spirits hidden in each room to stop the progress of Christians, whom, being ignorant of this, he entraps in a thousand ways. He cannot so easily deceive souls which dwell nearer to the King as he can beginners still absorbed in the world, immersed in its pleasures, and eager for its honors and distinctions.”
“The soul, which though not in a state of mortal sin, is so worldly and preoccupied with earthly riches, honours, and affairs, that as I said, even if it sincerely wishes to enter into itself and enjoy the beauties of the castle, it is prevented by these distractions and seems unable to overcome so many obstacles. It is most important to withdraw from all unnecessary cares and business, as far as compatible with the duties of one’s state of life, in order to enter the second mansion.”
The devil is going to try to distract the soul from progressing further on into the Castle.
One of the best ways the devil deceives beginners is by what St. Teresa calls “indiscreet zeal.” It is dangerous because it appears good. New converts are generally on fire with great zeal, but they sometimes misdirect this zeal and take on too much. It is a trick of the devil to get a soul to take on too much, an amount that cannot be sustained (too many prayers per day, too much penance, etc.). One risk is that one will inevitably fail in their resolutions, become discouraged, and give up. Another risk is that they will damage their health by too much penance and then they can’t fulfill their duties.
Another great danger of “indiscreet zeal” is being overly preoccupied with the sins of others and judging them for it, becoming a sort of ‘virtue police.’ While they notice every small fault in others, they fail to notice and correct their own faults.
Indiscreet zeal:
“Another nun is very zealous about religious perfection; this is very right, but may cause her to think every small fault she sees in her sisters a serious crime, and to watch constantly whether they do anything wrong, that she may run to the Prioress to accuse them of it. At the same time she never notices her own short-comings because of her great zeal about other people’s religious observance!”
“The devil’s chief aim here is to cool the charity and lessen the mutual affection of the nuns, which would injure them seriously. Be sure, my daughters, that true perfection consists in the love of God and our neighbor, and the better we keep both these commandments, the more perfect shall we be.”
“Indiscreet zeal about others must not be indulged in; it may do us much harm; let each one look to herself. Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people’s if we are always criticizing trivial actions which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through ignorance of their motives.”
The Second Mansions
In the Second Mansions, the struggle against sin continues- not against mortal sin now, but the soul notices and attacks venial sin. The chief means of doing this, according to St. Teresa, is to avoid near occasions of sin.
“Now let us consider which are the souls that enter the second mansions, and what they do there. In this part of the castle are found souls which have begun to practise prayer; they realize the importance of their not remaining in the first mansions, yet often lack determination to quit their present condition by avoiding occasions of sin, which is a very perilous state to be in.”
We hear Our Lord calling us deeper into the Castle, but we are still caught up in the vanities of the world:
“These souls hear Our Lord calling them, for as they approach nearer to where His Majesty dwells He proves a loving Neighbor, though they may still be engaged in the amusements and business, the pleasures and vanities of this world. While in this state we continually fall into sin and rise again, for the creatures amongst whom we dwell are so venomous, so vicious, and so dangerous, that it is almost impossible to avoid being tripped up by them. Yet such are the pity and compassion of this Lord of ours, so desirous is He that we should seek Him and enjoy His company, that He never ceases calling us to Him.”
Thank God for this grace of calling us and being patient with us! Perseverance is essential, as the devil will continue to assault us with distractions:
“Do not think lightly of this first grace, nor be downcast if you have not responded immediately to Our Lord’s voice, for His Majesty is willing to wait for us many a day and even many a year, especially when He sees perseverance and good desires in our hearts. Perseverance is the first essential; with this we are sure to profit greatly. However, the devils now fiercely assault the soul in a thousand different ways.”
The soul knows what it needs to do but it resists, being pulled in by the distractions of the world:
“Reason convinces the soul that outside its interior castle are found neither peace nor security, it should cease to seek another home abroad, its own being full of riches that it can enjoy at will.”
“But, O my God, how the force of worldly habits, and the example of others who practise them, ruin everything! Our faith is so dead that we trust less to its teaching than to what is visible, though we see that worldly lives bring nothing but unhappiness. All this results from those venomous thoughts I described, which, unless we are very careful, will deform the soul.”
Here, the soul must be diligent about avoiding the near occasions of sin by avoiding places, people and things that she knows will lead her into sin. Instead, one should surround herself with others who are also striving for a virtuous life, especially those who are further advanced:
“It is of the utmost importance for the beginner to associate with those who lead a spiritual life, and not only with those in the same mansion as herself, but with others who have travelled farther into the castle, who will aid her greatly and draw her to join them.”
And resist the temptation to turn back:
“By the Blood which our Lord shed for us, I implore those who have not yet begun to enter into themselves, to stop this warfare; I beg those already started in the right path, not to let the combat turn them back from it. Let them reflect that a relapse is worse than a fall, and see what ruin it would bring. They should confide in God’s mercy, trusting nothing in themselves; then they will see how His Majesty will lead them from one mansion to another.”
Summary of the First and Second Mansions
This is spiritual warfare; this is the great battle to eradicate vice; first mortal, then venial. But the devil doesn’t give up the soul without a fight, and in these two mansions he threatens and pesters the soul persistently. His tactics can vary from soul to soul, but his chief aim is to distract the soul by diverting its attention away from the goal.
1. He will get you involved in seeking anything other than your goal, which is union with God. Stay focused! The best weapon we have here is avoiding our near occasions of sin (the people, places and things that inevitably lead us into sin).
2. The devil will also try to lead us away through dryness and aridity. To combat this, we have to show up for prayer no matter what, even when we feel distracted and weak. We have to strive to be faithful to daily prayer despite how we feel. Prayer is not about our feelings, but about willing what God wills.
3. Perseverance is essential. Right now, the spiritual battle is a messy struggle as we deny our will in order to follow Christ, but peace and order are coming. St. Teresa tells us to trust in the blood of Jesus.
The Third Mansions
“As for those who, by the mercy of God, have vanquished in these combats and persevered until they reached the third mansions, what can we say to them but “Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord”? We may well call these souls blessed, for, as far as we can tell, unless they turn back on their course they are on the safe road to salvation.”
“God has shown them no small favour, but a very great one, in enabling them to pass through the first difficulties. Thanks to His mercy I believe there are many such people in the world: they are very desirous not to offend His Majesty even by venial sins, they love penance and spend hours in meditation, they employ their time well, exercise themselves in works of charity to their neighbours, are well-ordered in their conversation and dress, and those who own a household govern it well.”
Here, in the Third Mansions, the soul has reached a place of relative peace, compared to the intense spiritual struggle of the previous Mansions. As St. Teresa said, “they have persevered” and “vanquished the combat.” The greatest part of the struggle is over. These souls hate sin and avoid it; they use their time well; they exercise charity; they pray and do penance; their lives are well-ordered.
However, souls in these Mansions are not yet perfect, for they still have many attachments to the world.
Worldly Attachments
They are generally still attached to the world in the form of social standing and economic stability; that is, they still care what others think of them, still desire to maintain good worldly positions and reputations, and still be attached to financial security.
There is a greater “letting go” that these souls must do, a greater abandonment to God. They still need to grow in detachment by giving up their attachment to comfort.
Affection For Sin
Even after a Christian has turned away from sin in the first two mansions, they can still retain an attachment to sin because they haven’t given up the affection for it. Even though they gave up sin, they remember it with fondness and nostalgia.
It is like St. Francis de Sales humorous story of a man who has been forbidden by a doctor to eat melons for the sake of his health, but the man still insists on looking at, smelling, and touching the melons, even though he can’t eat them. He remembers them with fondness and still has an affection for them.
What Stops Progress?
If we think of the spiritual life in terms of St. John of the Cross’ ascent of the mountain, the third Mansion could be seen a beautiful plateau. We struggled up the first part of the mountain, and now we find a place to rest. There is a temptation to think we’ve ‘arrived,’ but in reality, there is more mountain to climb, more progress to make.
“All things obstruct us while prudence rules our actions; we are afraid of everything and therefore fear to make progress. For the love of God, let us exert ourselves, and leave our reason and our fears in His hands, paying no attention to the weaknesses of nature which might slow us.”
In other words, there is a certain amount of ‘fear’ in going further; we’ve made so much progress already and we are comfortable where we are. This is like “too much prudence,” where we fail to progress because we practice too much restraint. We don’t want to be too seen as too “radical” by others
“It is the want of [extreme humility], I believe, that stops people’s progress.”
I think what she means by this statement is that we forget that we depend entirely on God for everything, and we begin to see our progress and our financial stability and our comfortable life as our own doing. We are pleased with our accomplishments and want to rest secure in them, rather than resting secure in God alone and trusting Him completely. We have a false sense of security in ourselves and our own efforts.
What is the Remedy?
“Souls who by God’s mercy are brought so far (which, as I said, is no small mercy, for they are likely to ascend still higher) will be greatly benefited by practicing prompt obedience. Even if they are not in the religious state, it would be well if they, like certain other people, were to take a director, so as never to follow their own will, which is the cause of most of our ills. They should not choose one of their own turn of mind (as the saying goes), who is over-prudent in his actions, but should select one thoroughly detached from worldly things; it is very helpful to consult a person who has learnt and can teach this.”
“Let us look at our own faults, and not at other people’s. People who are extremely correct themselves are often shocked at everything they see; however, we might often learn a great deal that is essential from the very persons whom we censure. Our exterior comportment and manners may be better — this is well enough, but not of the first importance. We ought not to insist on every one following in our foot steps, nor to take upon ourselves to give instructions in spirituality when, perhaps, we do not even know what it is. Zeal for the good of souls, though given us by God, may often lead us astray, sisters; it is best to keep our rule, which bids us to live in silence and hope.”
Summary of Dangers and Remedies
Lack of progress is from trying to “serve two masters,” We are held back by too much balance and moderation because we are afraid of being “too radical.” There is a real danger of becoming lukewarm here. There needs to be a greater “letting go” into the hands of God and not relying so much on ourselves. We have to strip ourselves of our attachments. There may be idols here which we’ve constructed, and God needs to break them down. This is a purifying process and can be painful.
Be prompt to obey God. True devotion is being willing to obey promptly and diligently. Being quick to obey will move progress along. If possible, put yourself under the care of a good and worthy spiritual director who will guide your soul, not one who will just tell you what you want to hear.
Look at yourself and not at others. When we are doing well, we tend to notice the faults of others even more. But we should look at our own faults and make effort to correct ourselves and continue cultivating virtue.
Nothing so darkens our gaze on God, nothing so weakens our desire for God, nothing so lessens our striving for God, nothing so deafens our hearing for God, as a single inordinate attachment.” -Dom Eugene Boylan, Difficulties in Mental Prayer
To be continued…