 Welcome to The Commentaries, a podcast series from Tan in which you'll learn how to read and understand history's greatest Catholic works from today's greatest Catholic scholars. In every series of The Commentaries, your expert host will be your personal guide to not just read the book, but to live the book, shining the light of its eternal truths into our modern darkness. Visit tancommentaries.com to get your copy of the book and to subscribe for access to all the great reading plans, new episodes, bonus content, and exclusive deals for listeners of The Commentaries. Welcome back. This is day 20 of the commentary series on St. Teresa of Avalos Interior Castle. I'm Father Timothy Reed from Charlotte, North Carolina, and today we will finish our look at this magnificent book from one of the great masters of the spiritual life. Last time, we began a review of what we've learned from St. Teresa by looking at her basic principles of prayer as well as the distinctions she makes between various types of prayer, and today we're going to look at the various stages of contemplation. As you might recall, the initial stages of contemplation begin in the fourth mansions with what Teresa calls passive recollection. As the name passive implies, this form of recollection is not gained by one striving for it, but rather it comes only when God decides to grant this favor. This is really the difference between meditation and contemplation. Meditation is what we can do by our own power to pray. It involves us using our faculties to reach out to God. Contemplation, on the other hand, is the prayer that God affects within us. It comes to us as a gift from God. With regard to passive recollection, on day nine, I mention that St. Teresa says to imagine one's senses and powers of the souls as the inhabitants of the interior castle, and that after having fled the castle and joined the enemies outside for a while, want to return, but cannot do so by their own power. And yet they are gently drawn back in by God's mercy. She writes in the third chapter on the fourth mansions, the king who holds his court within it, sees their goodwill, and out of his great mercy desires them to return to him. Like a good shepherd, he plays so sweetly on his pipe that although scarcely hearing it, they recognize his call and no longer wander, but return like lost sheep to the mansions. So strong is this pastor's power over his flock that they abandon the worldly cares which misled them and re-enter the castle. Now again, this drawing inward, like a turtle drawing into a shell, doesn't happen through our own meditation of God dwelling within us, which Teresa still says is a very good meditation. This only happens because God gives us the grace. And it's Teresa's belief that God gives this favor to those who have renounced the world, at least in their desires, and whom he desires to call to advance further to a higher life. Now, St. Teresa also discusses the prayer of quiet, which begins in the fourth mansion of the interior castle, which is this little spark of God's true love that he encendles within us. Now, in some places, she also calls the prayer of quiet divine consolations. And here, St. Teresa uses her famous analogy of the two fountains with basins that are filled by different means. With the first basin, the water comes from a distance through many pipes and waterworks. While she says the other basin is built near the source of the spring itself and fills quite noiselessly. If the fountain is plentiful, like the one we speak of after the basin is full, the water overflows in a great stream, which flows continually. No machinery is needed here, nor does the water run through aqueducts. So, while this prayer is not complete union with God, there is an absorption of the will that takes place. And of this analogy, Teresa writes, such is the difference between the two kinds of prayer. The water running through the aqueducts resembles sensible devotion, which is obtained by meditation. We gain it by our thoughts, by meditating on created things, and by the labor of our minds. In short, it is the result of our endeavors, and so makes the commotion I have spoke of while profiting the soul. So that first type of prayer represents the necessary asceticism of the first three mansions. The water of the other basin, symbolizing spiritual delights, comes from its own source, which is God himself. Teresa says that, as usual, when His Majesty wills to bestow on us any supernatural favors, we experience the greatest peace, calm, and sweetness in the inmost depths of our being. I know neither where nor how. Now, this experience of the second trough dilates or expands the heart. As the heavenly water begins to rise from this deep spring within us and that place in our soul where God dwells, it expands our whole interior being and produces ineffable blessings and delights that we can't fabricate or imagine. Ultimately, the spiritual delight is the love of God penetrating one's soul, introducing the soul to the mystical life that it will continue to enjoy if it continues persevering in prayer and moving through the interior castle. But for us to experience spiritual consolations, our will has to be united with God's will. But when we do experience it, its effects within us show us the true value of the prayer. So it's good for us to desire this prayer and understand how we can obtain such a marvelous favor. Now, in explaining how we obtain this prayer of quiet, you'll remember that Saint Teresa insists that humility is the key. We cannot stress this virtue enough when it comes to advancing in prayer and growing in holiness without this ever important virtue, we will struggle into heaven. But with this virtue, we become like our Lord who humbled himself to become one of us. Now, once one enters into the fifth mansions, pure contemplation takes root. The first stage of which is called the prayer of union. So this is a union that passes quickly, but in which all of the faculties are unable to function. So, whereas the prayer in the fourth mansions is like a drowsiness, Teresa says, because the soul seems to slumber being neither quite asleep nor wholly awake. In the fifth mansions, the soul is asleep, both to the world and to itself. Now the hallmark of the prayer of union is that it leaves the soul with a certitude that it was in God and God was in it. Now, if a person does not have this absolute certitude, then they did not experience this full union of the soul with God. Now, again, keep in mind that the prayer of union, this is not something that we can accomplish, but that God must do. God must bring the soul to this union, just like the bride in the Song of Songs was brought into the wine cellar, which is the soul's center. We must, however, dispose ourselves for this grace through our love and self-surrender. And while God causes this union, we must still strive to keep our wills fixed on His will. Virtuously makes it a point to discuss the necessity of striving to do good works, and not simply focus on our prayer if we really want to advance through the interior castle. Once again, we have to remember, my friends, the importance of striving for virtue. And virtue isn't something that comes to us automatically because we're praying. We have to act virtuously if we want to have virtue. So for example, the virtue of charity will only grow within us if we are acting charitably, if we are doing charitable things like the corporal and the spiritual works of mercy. Now in moving into the sixth mansions, one moves to what we call spiritual betrothal, sort of the engagement before marriage. And at this point, the soul wants no other spouse. And yet our Lord plays a little coy. As St. Teresa puts it, he disregards the soul's desires for its speediest spousals, wishing that these longings should become still more vehement, and that this good, which far excels all of the benefits, should be purchased at some cost to itself. So in other words, what Teresa is telling us here is that the soul must endure many trials before God's going to allow it to enter the seventh mansions. Now you might remember that the six mansions, this is the longest section of the entire book. And so this is where St. Teresa describes all the various forms of ecstasy and spiritual phenomenon that we covered in the course of five of our podcasts. And this is also a place where Teresa discusses spiritual warfare at length. The upshot on the spiritual betrothal that we find in the six mansions is that Teresa says the soul is left with a greater perception of God's greatness, greater self-knowledge and humility, and contempt for earthly things, accepting those things consecrated to the service of God. Now that takes us up into the seventh mansions where the soul experiences spiritual marriage. And so here, the soul reaches the very summon of contemplation. Here, God reveals himself to the soul in the mystery of his trinity. The soul married to him comes to understand each person of the trinity distinctly, but that they are still of one substance, one power, one knowledge, one God alone. Now counterintuitively, rather than being completely inebriated, Teresa says the soul in the seventh mansions is far more active than before in all the concerns God's service. And the soul is even more attentive to not offending God in any way. Indeed, at this point, the soul's only concern is with how to please God more and how or where it will show him the love that it bears him. Ultimately, though, St. Teresa says, this is the end and the 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 favors come from God. So here we are at the very end, what Teresa tells us. All of this movement through the interior castle is so that we might do good works. Well, my friends, that concludes our podcast for day 20. And it concludes this series. It's been a pleasure being with you on this spiritual journey and I hope you found all we've discussed here helpful in your own prayer life. Moreover, it's my prayer that reading through the interior castle and learning about what awaits the soul brave enough to make the journey through it has inspired you to take your prayer life more seriously. You know, getting to heaven is not easy. And without an intense personal prayer life that helps us grow in virtue, we cannot count on making it there when we die. If you don't already have a regular routine of daily prayer, now is the time to start. And while I heartily encourage you to pray your favorite prayers and devotions, I also encourage you to make some time just to be alone and to be quiet with God in prayer, because prayer is really more about listening than it is about talking. And I promise you that if you persevere in daily mental prayer, you'll begin making your way through your own interior castle in no time. I also encourage you to stay close to St. Teresa of Avalon as you begin or continue your daily prayer life. You know, I am confident that this saint has a very high place in heaven. And I know from my own personal experience that she is ever willing to help us with our prayer if we just ask her. St. Teresa of Avalon is especially helpful in helping us overcome the temptations to abandon our prayer when we get distracted or discouraged and so don't neglect to call upon her. And now for the last time, let us pray with St. Teresa. Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices. Amen. May God bless you and may St. Teresa intercede for you. This has been an episode of The Commentaries, a podcast brought to you by Tan. 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