‘THE INTERIOR CASTLE OR THE MANSIONS’ by Saint Teresa of Avila – ‘THE FIRST MANSIONS’; Chapter I;…
[Saint Teresa of Avila XVI Century AD; Avila, Crown of Castile, Spanish Monarchy/Alba de Tormes, Crown of Castile, Spanish Monarchy; Aged 67; Virgin; Doctor of the Church; Mystic; Writer; Reformer]
“CHAPTER I ~ THIS CHAPTER TREATS OF THE BEAUTY AND DIGNITY OF OUR SOULS AND MAKES A COMPARISON TO EXPLAIN THIS. THE ADVANTAGE OF KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING THIS AND THE FAVOURS GOD GRANTS TO US IS SHOWN, AND HOW PRAYER IS THE GATE OF THE SPIRITUAL CASTLE.
1. WHILE I was begging our Lord to-day to speak for me, since I knew not what to say nor how to commence this work which obedience has laid upon me, an idea occurred to me which I will explain, and which will serve as a foundation for that I am about to write.
2. I thought of the soul as resembling a castle, formed of a single diamond or a very transparent crystal, and containing many rooms, just as in heaven there are many mansions. If we reflect, sisters, we shall see that the soul of the just man is but a paradise, in which, God tells us …More
"5. I feel sure that vexation at thinking that during our life on earth God can bestow these graces on the souls of others shows a want of humility and charity for one’s neighbour, for why should we not feel glad at a brother’s receiving divine favours which do not deprive us of our own share? Should we not rather rejoice at His Majesty’s thus manifesting His greatness wherever He chooses?"
"Sometimes our Lord acts thus solely for the sake of showing His power, as He declared when the Apostles questioned whether the blind man whom He cured had been suffering for his own or his parents’ sins. God does not bestow these favours on certain souls because they are more holy than others who do not receive them, but to manifest His greatness, as in the case of St. Paul and St. Mary Magdalen, and that we may glorify Him in His creatures."