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THE DOOR TO THIS CASTLE
IS PRAYER
(once this is open, the mystery of God lies ahead)
FIRST THREE PLACES
(active and achievable by human effort and ordinary grace)
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The First Dwelling Places - the most outer rooms, the true light is dim here, with many distractions
prevent a seeking of the light; people within these dwelling places are good and pray on occassion, but are in need (as all
are) of self-knoweldge and the 'beauty' of grace and the 'ugliness' of sin
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The Second Dwelling Places - this is the place where the goal of conforming to God's will is
central; the people within these rooms have begun intentionally the practice of prayer and are invited to this through outside
sources (books, sermons, friend, etc..)
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The Third Dwelling Places - those who are in these dwelling places will not be denied entrance
to the final dwelling place if they were to ask for it; the people within these places seek to live a life worthy of God's
love through charity, humility, service and reflection; they also may use various ascetical practices; a shaking of their
wealth, power or status in the world could be troublesome and shake their faith
LAST FOUR PLACES
(focus on mystical and passive components)
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The Fourth Dwelling Places - infused prayer; contemplative prayer with a time of rememberance,
but a rememberance not brought about by the human mind, but the prayer of quiet - analogy: the filling of two water holes
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The Fifth Dwelling Places - characterized by the prayer of union; love is not idle; all human
faculties are suspended and the presence of God is overwhelming - analogy: the silkworm
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The Sixth Dwelling Places - characterized by mystical phenomena; spiritual bethrothal takes place
here; woundings of love, raptures, visions, ecstasy - analogy: the flight of the butterfly (extending the silkworm analogy)
There are no closed doors between the sixth and seventh dwelling places
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The Seventh Dwelling Places - in the previous dwelling places the soul was blind and unknowing
of what was happening, in the seventh dwelling place the soul is allowed to see and understand; entrance to these dwelling
places begins with a vision of the Trinity and the grace of spiritual marriage takes place here - analogy: death of the butterfly
(extending the silkworm analogy
Information
for this page was taken from: Kavanaugh, Kieran. "Introduction" The Interior Castle by Teresa of
Avila. The Classics of Western Spirituality. New York, NY: Paulist Press. 1979. See
pp. 19-29 for futher information.
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