Book Review: Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila
Book Review: Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila Trans. & Ed. by
E. Allison Peers NY:Doubleday, 1989
Teresa of Avila was a Carmelite nun living in the 1500s who
wrote the "Interior Castle" (known as "The Mansions" in her
native Spain) at the request of her confessor. A mystic who
communed intimately with God, she had experienced a vision of "a
most beautiful crystal globe, made in the shape of a castle, and
containing seven mansions, in the seventh and innermost of which
was the King of Glory, in the greatest splendour, illuming and
beautifying them all. . . outside the palace limits everything
was foul, dark, and infested with toads, vipers and other
venomous creatures." This castle became Teresa's metaphor for
the soul. "Interior Castle" explores each of the seven mansions
in great detail. Her intended audience were the sisters who made
up her cloistered religious community, however her insights
offer much to the world at large.
Teresa wrote reluctantly and felt that she had little to offer
that had not already been said. She believed that "Our Lord will
be granting me a great favour if a single one of these nuns
should find that my words help her to praise Him a little
better." She focuses on the beauty of the soul and laments that
we spend so much attention on our physical body and so little on
the divine spark that is within.
Teresa focuses on gaining self-knowledge, but not in the way we
in the 21st century interpret that term. For her, self-knowledge
means coming to know the soul within. It means understanding our
dependence on God and gaining humility by acknowledging that we
are nothing without Him. The route to self-knowledge and entry
into the interior castle comes through prayer and meditation. As
one progresses through the mansions, one comes to know and long
for God more and more and to reject the world and its
attractions. Teresa encourages the beginner in prayer "to labour
and be resolute and prepare himself with all possible diligence
to bring his will into conforming with the will of God." She
also offers encouragement: "If, then, you sometimes fall, do not
lose heart or cease striving to make progress, for even out of
your fall God will bring good."
As one makes her way ever deeper into the heart of the castle,
increased spiritual consolations and trials become par for the
course. Many (perhaps even most) do not reach the most inner
mansions in this lifetime. Teresa is quick to point out,
however, that "the Lord gives when He wills and as He wills and
to whom He wills, and as the gifts are His own, this is doing no
injustice to anyone." Indeed she cautions her readers to never
believe that they deserve any gift that the Lord bestows upon
them, nor should we set out to obtain any consolations or
mystical experiences because "the most essential thing is that
we should love God without any motive of self-interest."
Teresa was truly granted amazing gifts of insight and experience
from God. While we may not share in her experience, "Interior
Castle" offers a unique perspective into the divine within each
of us. It offers a portrait of our souls and invites us into a
deeper relationship with God.