 This is Dan and Stephanie Burke with divine intimacy radio your radio Haven of rest your hermit hermitage of the heart your monastery of the mind Where we lift our hearts and minds to heaven and talk about and draw from the wisdom of the saints to help us to be holy and to Make progress in the interior life to be spiritually healthy all that good stuff And today we're talking about something that's coming that I'm pretty excited about. Yeah I'm excited about it. Why are you excited about it because you're my husband? I love you. I love your work I love the mission. I love that people will be Affected for good I mean People are gonna be helped by this, you know, why else would we do it? Nobody makes money off of books Well, and I don't like writing Writing is very penitential But I we are doing this show to tell you about a very exciting Project that I've been working on now for a while more than a year. I think and That is it's called the devil in the castle spiritual warfare and the progress of the soul in St. Teresa of Avila's interior castle. So Basically, the idea is that And it's what Teresa represents. So the interior castle was her most mature work that she wrote And in it she describes all these different stages of spiritual growth from the most beginning the the castle analogy is beautiful in the sense best illustrated I think by Carcassonne in France because you have this outer wall all the way around the city Which we would maybe call the kingdom of God So you come into the outer wall through baptism, right? And then there's an end and then the actually outer walls actually are two There's two outer walls one right after the other So there's a wall and then a space and then another wall and then you enter the kingdom So maybe the second wall door is Confirmation as an example Then if you travel a little way into Carcassonne, you will find the interior castle and that interior castle then has another another door and Teresa of Avila described. So what is it like? What are the demonic forces like at every stage we come in? But she begins with the outer court of the castle, right? So she begins with you know What happens when somebody begins to approach the castle, which is really what we would call authentic discipleship or Really what it means to be in a real relationship with Jesus because it begins where you start with Daily mental prayer and the exam and that sort of thing becoming aware of who you are and who God is and then She takes you through these seven mansions. She calls them and In them there are rooms each mansion has all kinds of rooms in this gigantic castle In the center of the castle is the king of kings and lord of lords and that's where we're reaching for When we reach that center point we know union with God We know we become saints and of course those who understand Catholic spiritual theology and theology in general know We're all called to be saints So this journey wait, it's not just for nuns and religious increase Wait, wait, wait. This is new. Yeah to a lot of people to a lot of people. Unfortunately. That's I think yeah anyway so Yeah, we're all called to be saints and the only kind of people in heaven are saints and If you don't say yes to God and live in accordance with that reality Until you die you will not be a saint. Not only will you not be a saint, but you're you're gonna go the other direction So what she's describing is how the enemy works at each stage in the spiritual life So she describes it in every mansion specific kinds of temptations sometimes she describes General temptations that are true in all of the mansions and temptations as they relate to the mystical phenomenon and to prayer and to you know our person And so the book is all about that It's gonna be published by Sophia Institute press. We're excited about that and If you would like to get advanced notice of when it comes out, it's not quite yet ready I've had a first draft working with an editor now. It even could be in the winter of 2022 Depending. Wow. Yeah, it depends how much work I can get done this year So if you but regardless if you'd like to be on the first of the list to know And to get information about that and we'll we'll also do an advanced launch team like we did with spiritual warfare and discernment of spirits where people get an advanced copy of the book that review it and stuff Uh-huh. Yeah, awesome. Send it send it a text to 833 820 5466 that's 833 820 5466 text castle C-A-S-T-L-E right castle. All right. So I just had a curiosity stuff when you heard that general description Is there anything I should have covered more we can go into the introduction of the book, which I think is fascinating Yeah, no, I I just think I I love The interior castle which is is the book that's referencing the castle, you know That it comes from that work of hers and I just think it's a beautiful visual I think I was thinking for those that are listening that must be really helpful for them to think about oh this outer wall This inner wall, you know that courtyard the inner castle of the king, you know, it's just such a beautiful Visual for us and we can engage our holy imaginations To understand this journey that we're on and what the goal is and how we want to draw near to the king of kings the Lord of lords And he wants to welcome us to the heavenly banquet. So it's beautiful. I love cool So I'm gonna read from you from the introduction and just sort of get your reaction I know we've talked about this a little bit, but I think it's pretty powerful. So here's here's how it goes She turns cold and tensed as the eyes of two demons meet hers The holy nun knelt to receive communion only to come face to face with the emissaries of hell And this is a direct quote from her They are hideous with horns that seem to encompass the throat of the poor priest I don't know about you when I first heard that I'm going whoa. Whoa. Wait. What are you talking about here? The demons encompassed the throat of the priests or it seemed to anyway as She recounts the story she avert her eyes from the demons and stares intently at the Eucharist And then she goes on and I beheld my Lord in that great majesty of which I have spoken Held in the hands of that priest. So the Lord was holding the Eucharist while priest was holding I'm sorry. The priest was holding the Eucharist while the demons were wrapped around the priest, right? and In the host he was about to give me it was plain that those hands Were of a sinner and I felt that the soul of the priest was in mortal sin. So she had an Interior Revelation if you will does that make sense, right? What must it be? Oh my Lord to look upon thy beauty amid shapes so hideous The two devils were so frightened and cowered in cowed in thy presence though. They were so there That they seemed as if they would willingly have run away hats thou but given them leave So troubled was I by the vision that I knew not how I could go to communion. I Was also in great fear for I thought if the vision was from God that his majesty would not have allowed me to see it To see the evil state of that soul So she's going to communion the priest has her is is giving her the blood the the blessed sacrament She and he has demons wrapped around his neck essentially and She's just musing on this the demons are cowering They're there and they won't leave but they're sort of affected by the Lord in the Eucharist, right imagine all that She then reveals the Lord's direction to her. She goes on our Lord himself told me to pray for that priest So there this is where we get to the why why did the Lord reveal this? It's because he's asking her to intercede for this priest that he that he had allowed this that God had allowed Teresa to see it that she might understand the power of the words of consecration and How God failed not to be present right right despite the sinful Nature of the soul of that priest right which was an incredible revelation, right the sinful condition not the nature, right? Right. Yeah, this sinful condition, right And then she goes on however wicked the priest might be who uttered them and that I might see his great goodness That's God's great goodness and what he left himself in that he left himself in the very hands of his enemy, right? So she's calling the priest in the sense his enemy though Not in essence but certainly in the state of his soul at the time Yeah, she goes on for my good and for the good of all I understood clearly how the priests are under greater obligation to be holier than other persons is not The priests are under greater obligation to be more holy than other persons, right? That should make a lot of priests and seminarians and bishops and cardinals tremble I think right if were they to really muse on that. Yeah, and so that's why we've got to pray for them Yes, more we need to pray a lot for all of our priests part of our Community part of our charism of our community is praying for priests is praying for priests and we do that and we even participate with Foundation appropriate for priests Kathleen Beckman's right organization to organize Groups and parishes to pray for their priests. Yeah, and not to go too far off topic But it's related is that we we believe in this so much that We we provide formation in 28 diocese For men going into the seminary. Yeah, the Abilah Institute the Abilah Institute. So it really important work We need holy priests. Yeah We need holy priests. It's important. Amen and What a horrible thing it is to receive she goes on and what a horrible thing it is to receive this Moli most holy sacrament unworthily So it's interesting That she jumps to that So she's watching the scene. She's watching this priest suffering. He's in mortal sin The Lord does not withhold himself Even though the priest is is in sin, so it's interesting, right? It's reaffirming a doc. She's learning a doctrine experientially that St. Augustine Clearly articulated in his treatise against the Donatis early in in his life and I think third or fourth century but basically he said that the The state of the soul of the priest does not have any effect on the veracity of the sacraments, right? Right. Our state does in the terms of how we receive and if we're properly Disposed right through in the state of grace to receive and she's making a great point here That's connected, right? So it's not corrupted by the state of the soul of the priest But if we go forward in a state of mortal sin, then we eat and drink damnation as first Corinthians said Right, so she's getting that clarity also in this mystical encounter So we're going to go to a break in a second If you're interested in getting copy this book and being the first on the list go to our text to 1-833-820-5466 That's 833-820-5466 and test text the word castle and And then give us your information and we will get you on the list when we come back from the break We'll continue to talk about this pretty horrific revelation of Saint Teresa of Avila regarding this pre-suffering and the Eucharist and These challenges related to the progress of the soul and spiritual warfare as we grow ever more deeply in union with God So we'll be right back. Okay Okay For those who are watching live online as well if you have any questions We'd be happy to answer those for you on spiritual warfare in progress of the soul Yeah, and while we're taking just a second. We want to remind everybody to Make sure you follow the spiritual direction.com page Yeah on in all of our social media Make sure you sign up for emails and such because the shadow banning is real and we're seeing that across a number of ministries So make sure that you follow us so that you don't miss any of this important content Yep, very good Okay, and your mark gets that go. This is Dan Stephanie Burke. Welcome back to divine intimacy radio your radio Haven of Wraths We are giving you a sneak peek today into a book that I am writing called the devil in the castle spiritual warfare in the progress of the soul in Saint Teresa of Avila's interior castle and If you want to get an advanced Connection to that book and know about it first and become part of the launch team Which means you'll get an advanced copy of the book Send a text to 833 820 5466 that's 833 820 5466 and then text the word castle and We'll get you on that list. Okay. So we started with the vid We're still talking about this vision of Saint Teresa as she's going to communion She sees demons wrapped around the neck of a priest is in mortal sin She recognizes how much we need to pray for priests and we really need to do that She recognizes how vital it is that she approached the sacrament in a state of grace She notes also that the demons are trembling even though they don't leave at the at the Eucharist Not interesting, but we know that reality even in Assisting in the realm of exorcism and that sort of thing that that just because you receive the Eucharist and Just because you're you're essentially in a state of grace doesn't necessarily it helps But it doesn't preclude the possibility of a deeper kind of spiritual warfare. Yeah, yeah, of course So there's so many messages and understandings in just this one vision I mean she's a doctor of the church, but so many things were being confirmed that that a priest The state of the soul of the priest doesn't affect The the sacrament itself it is still valid and the Lord is still present in his mercy because I you know I think we can all understand How how could any of us stand before the face of God except by his mercy and the grace that he's provided through his sacrament So praise God praise God for his mercy. Amen. Amen. So she goes on So and what a horrible thing it is to to receive this most holy sacrament unworthily and how great is the devil's dominion over a soul and mortal sin How great is the devil's dominion over the soul and mortal sin? So she's revealing of course that when we commit a mortal sin it can cause in this case Possession right right right Possession oppression, you know all of those things and it's interesting. I was thinking as you were reading about this is that that priest with these demons on him pressing on him pressing on his throat, right and I was thinking about the correlation between that and deliverance ministry rather whether it's exorcism or What, you know, we participate in which is you know lay deliverance kind of ministry of helping those that are possessed or or just need I mean sorry oppressed Or carry the burdens of woundedness and brokenness and there's this Fascinating thing is that when people are delivered through whatever, you know Method it is or or path gift When it's over they feel a lightness You know like chains have been broken chains have fallen The demons are gone. They're not carrying this pressure this heaviness. You can watch it. You can see it Yeah, it's amazing somebody's countenance. It's remarkable and you know It was helping a woman not too long ago and the difference in her countenance when she was done It was the difference between somebody burdened and almost been over to being just liberated light joy The peace and goodness interface was just extraordinary and the Lord will never he will never abandon us we just keep coming to him with whatever we're carrying and he will set us free and and It's just remarkable to hear her see it and then to understand that reality. Yeah, I can't imagine what it would be like to see To experience that during mass, right, you know, I mean you're seeing you're actually seeing demons Yeah, well it talks about her interior recollection, right? So she's so interiorly recollected to the Lord through her prayer Through the way that she lives her life and her devotion and her holiness that she didn't start, you know She didn't startle. She didn't flee. She didn't run But rather she stayed with the Lord and watched what was being revealed to her learning those lessons absorbing and And thinking about them and then writing about them. God be praised when you're pointing out What a sanctified life can give you in terms of peace even in the face of something as horrifying as Seeing demons during a mass, you know, the other thing that struck me about writing this book is You know, some people have accused us of talking about the devil too much and all of that What struck me is we don't we're pretty proportional to what she does Because at every stage of when she talks about the interior castle at every stage no matter what it is She brings up different kinds of deceptions and different works of the enemy or where is the enemy in this and that sort of thing So of course we talk about the Lord more in a sense When we talk about the enemy we're saying not that way this way, it's it's you know, two sides of the same coin in a sense But it was encouraging to me to realize that we weren't overdoing it in my view Oh, no, and I think you know, we have to understand Who our enemy is so that we can combat him and stave him off if we don't recognize Who the enemy is then there's this lulling to sleep, you know this this veil of darkness that can settle in on our souls our minds our hearts our lives and Pretty much we can slide off and find ourselves 20 years down the road going What just happened right and and I've been on this trajectory the wrong direction for 20 years God be praised. He's waking me up now But I need to get on the right path and I need to you know fight this battle But if you don't know who the enemy is and and how to recognize him and see him and understand how he's working in your life How can you possibly battle it, you know? So this is Dan and Stephanie Burke. We're talking about and divine intimacy radio We're talking about the devil in the castle, which is a book that I'm working on now and god willing will finish soon The subtitle is spiritual warfare and the progress of the soul and saint tree survival is interior castle If you want to get on the advanced team Meaning you'll get Special in you'll get a advanced copy digital copy of the book. We'll do a webinar for you we'll give some other free resources and But you want to be the first Send a text message to 833 820 5466 833 820 5466 and text the The words of the text should be castle c-a-s-t-l-e And we'll get you on the list. It's going to be published of course by sophia institute press Who's just doing an amazing job in their publications all right So she goes on to another experience encounter with the demonic which is quite disturbing So in this one she says at another time. I had a vision of a different kind which frightened me to the core I was in a place where a certain person died And as I understood it lived a very bad life for many years been ill for a few years When the body she goes on to say When the body had been wrapped in the winding sheet I saw it laid hold of by a multitude of devils who seemed to toss it to and fro And also to treat it with great cruelty. I was terrified at the site for they dragged it about with great hooks But when I saw it carried to the grave with all the respect and ceremony and Common to all I began to think of the goodness of god who would not allow that person to be dishonored But who would have the fact of his being of this of his being his enemy his enemy concealed I was almost out of my senses at the site the whole funeral service I did not see one of the evil spirits afterward when the body was about to be laid in the grave So a multitude of them were waiting to receive the body That I was beside myself and it required no slight courage to to avoid betraying her distress I thought of the treatment she says which that soul would receive when the devils had such power over the wretched body Would to god that all who live mortal sin might see what I saw It was a fearful sight And it would and it would go I believe a great way toward making them lead better lives One sentence that you Forwent. I just I missed it. You skipped right. Oh, sorry was that it that the person died Without going to confession They had not been given the grace of confession. I miss that that's a right because and it's interesting I think the enemy just went. Ah, just skip that sentence. Keep going. Yeah, you know Because it was just a little shortness and you passed right over it. That's interesting So That that shows us, you know the condition of this soul Not in a state of grace dies Still honored by friends and family a bunch of ceremonious, you know Going on to get this person buried but right as they're being lowered lowered into the grave The enemy is there in a multitude To receive the body and carry it off What a horrific thing you just sort of softened that right you said There's nothing wrong with what you said, but I wanted, you know, go back to what you said The enemy is there to carry the body off Hordes of demons hordes of demons right right to do with what they want I mean she does it at other times describe The horror of how they treat A person in health, you know the condition and I think we've we've read and seen other saints how they've spoken about These visions of how the enemy How satan and his minions will treat the body of the of the of the soul That has left and it's just it's just horrific. We need to be in a state of grace Yeah, and I think you know one. I think some people think that They'll just fix it sometime later As if they know when they're going to die. Yeah, I mean there's a lot here, too Right as if they know when that car is going to cross that Dividing line and hit them head on as if they know when they're going to have a heart attack that they don't recover from And if they know, you know all of these things and that's really foolish Right right people who live like this are really taking their souls into their hands and You know hell is eternal and the torment is eternal Right and one of the things that therese is trying to do as she takes you through the castle is say Here's how the enemy keeps you from god Here's how he hinders you at this stage This is the beginning. This is the introduction to the book. What next episode we'll talk about The devils in the uh in the outer court of the castle, right? So they're you know, so even if you're a christian even if you're don't kick puppies And you're a good you're a good good person in quotes and you you think well of yourself That doesn't protect you from this battle and you need to understand the battle So that's why I wrote the book if you want to get on the advanced team and on the launch team Send a text message to 833 820 5466 833 820 5466 and text the word castle And you'll be able to do that and then uh, you'll get you'll get that and other good stuff from us to help you Fight the battle spiritually and as well if you want to learn and take free courses We're going through spiritual combat by scoopoly right now as well as studying many things out There are many free courses out at an apostoli va.org right spiritual direction.com used to subscribe to I mean if you're really looking to grow There's we there's no there's nothing we can't do for you in terms of formation in spiritual spiritual life Yeah, so please come out and follow us and until next time may the god of peace may you uh, Sorry, I'll try that again May the god of peace make you perfect in holiness May he preserve you whole and entire spirit soul and body irreproachable at the coming of our lord Jesus christ amen amen any questions. No, okay. All right. Thanks. Okay. Thanks everybody