ST TERESA OF AVILA
St. Teresa of Avila, a very important patron saint of mine, was born Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada on March 28, 1515, in Avila, Spain. Her father, Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda, was twice married. He had three children with his first wife. His second wife was Beatriz Davila y Ahumada, who gave him nine more children. Teresa was the third of these nine.
Teresa entered the Carmel of the Incarnation, in Avila, 1n 1536. She stayed there until August 24, 1562. It was then that she founded St. Joseph's, the first of very many new monasteries she was to found.
I. INTERIOR CASTLE:
First Mansion: (Chapter One:) necessity of self-knowledge. Can only be found by seeking knowledge of God. Each kind of knowledge deepens the other. These kinds of knowledge, when legitimately understood, lead to humility, which Teresa counsels as the most absolutely necessary virtue.
She sees the soul as comparable to a castle made of a brilliant jewel. Man's soul is characterized by extreme beauty and dignity. God delights in the soul of a righteous man. Prayer is absolutely and unavoidably necessary for admission into this castle. Teresa presupposes that she is speaking to only those who pray. By prayer she means mental as well as merely vocal prayer, since prayer in which the lips merely move and the mind and soul are not cognizant of who is speaking and Whom he is speaking to is not legitimate prayer but mere multiplication of words.
Because of man's imperfect nature, Teresa claims that he is often incapable of truly appreciating the castle's nature. It is, however, good that he is there.
(Chapter Two:) In mortal sin, according to St. Teresa, the soul falls into such abysmal nightmarish darkness that although He is still there in the soul's center, the soul derives no profit whatsoever from God's company. None of the soul's good works will be fruitful. A true understanding of the soul's nature, beauty and relationship to God will prompt him to confess and repent his sins. Not to do so would infallibly lead to eternal damnation. To meditate constantly on this, says St. Teresa, leads to true self-understanding and humility. This is because the soul is made aware that all its virtue can only come from God. Vincible ignorance and a heightened sense of awareness of others' faults are quite common among the pitfalls in this castle.
Teresa entered the Carmel of the Incarnation, in Avila, 1n 1536. She stayed there until August 24, 1562. It was then that she founded St. Joseph's, the first of very many new monasteries she was to found.
I. INTERIOR CASTLE:
First Mansion: (Chapter One:) necessity of self-knowledge. Can only be found by seeking knowledge of God. Each kind of knowledge deepens the other. These kinds of knowledge, when legitimately understood, lead to humility, which Teresa counsels as the most absolutely necessary virtue.
She sees the soul as comparable to a castle made of a brilliant jewel. Man's soul is characterized by extreme beauty and dignity. God delights in the soul of a righteous man. Prayer is absolutely and unavoidably necessary for admission into this castle. Teresa presupposes that she is speaking to only those who pray. By prayer she means mental as well as merely vocal prayer, since prayer in which the lips merely move and the mind and soul are not cognizant of who is speaking and Whom he is speaking to is not legitimate prayer but mere multiplication of words.
Because of man's imperfect nature, Teresa claims that he is often incapable of truly appreciating the castle's nature. It is, however, good that he is there.
(Chapter Two:) In mortal sin, according to St. Teresa, the soul falls into such abysmal nightmarish darkness that although He is still there in the soul's center, the soul derives no profit whatsoever from God's company. None of the soul's good works will be fruitful. A true understanding of the soul's nature, beauty and relationship to God will prompt him to confess and repent his sins. Not to do so would infallibly lead to eternal damnation. To meditate constantly on this, says St. Teresa, leads to true self-understanding and humility. This is because the soul is made aware that all its virtue can only come from God. Vincible ignorance and a heightened sense of awareness of others' faults are quite common among the pitfalls in this castle.
posted by iamthewalrus at 10:26 AM
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