CHAPTER II

DESCRIBES THE HIDEOUS APPEARANCE OF A SOUL IN MORTAL
SIN AS REVEALED BY GOD TO SOME ONE: OFFERS A FEW RE-
MARKS ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE: THIS CHAPTER IS USEFUL AS IT
CONTAINS SOME POINTS REQUIRING ATTENTION. AN EXPLAN- ATION OF THE MANSIONS,
1. Effects of mortal sin. 2. It prevents the soul’s gaining merit. 3. The soul compared to a tree. 4. Disorder of the soulin mortal sin. 5. Vision of a sinful soul. 6. Profit of realizing these lessons. 7. Prayer. 8. Beauty of the Castle. 9. Self-knowledge. 10.Gained by meditating on the divine perfections. 11. Advantages of such meditation. 12. Christ should be our model. 13. The devil en- traps beginners. 14. Our strength must come from God. 15. Sin blinds the soul. 16. Worldliness. 17. The world in the cloister. 18. Assaults of the devil. 19. Examples of the devil’s arts. 20. Perfection consists in charity. 21. Indiscreet zeal. 22. Danger of detraction.
1, Berore going farther, I wish you to consider the state to which mortal sin’ brings this magnificent and beautiful castle, this pearl of the East, this tree of life, planted beside the living waters of life*
' Life, ch. xxviii. 31; ch. xl. 15. 7 Ps, i. 3: ‘Et erit tamquam lignum quod plantatum est secus
decursus aquarum,’
12 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [cHAP. If. which symbolize God Himself. No night can be
so dark, no gloom nor blackness can compare to its obscurity. Suffice it to say that the sun in the centre of the soul, which gave it such splendour and beauty, is totally eclipsed, though the spirit is as fitted to enjoy God’s presence as is the crystal to reflect the sun.?
2. While the soul is in mortal sin nothing can profit it; none of its good works merit an eternal reward, since they do not proceed from God as their first principle, and by Him alone is our virtue real virtue. The soul separated from Him is no longer pleasing in His eyes, because by committing a mortal sin, instead of seeking to please God it prefers to gratify the devil, the prince of darkness, and socomes toshare his blackness. I knew a person to whom our Lord revealed the result of a mortal sin¢ and who said she thought no one who realized its effets could ever commit it, but would suffer unimaginable torments to avoid it. This vision made her very desirous for all to grasp this truth, therefore I beg you, my daughters to pray fervently to God for sinners, who live in blindness and do deeds of darkness.
3. In a state of grace the soul is like a well of limpid water, from which flow only streams of clearest crystal. Its works are pleasing both to God and man, rising from the River of Life, beside which it is rooted like a tree. Otherwise it would produce neither leaves nor fruit, for the waters of grace
* Way of Perf. ch. xxxviil. 9.
‘In this as in most other cases when the Saint speaks of ‘a person she knows,’ she means herself. Life, ch. xi. 15.
_ CHAP. 11. FIRST MANSIONS 13
nourish it, keep it from withering from drought, and cause it to bring forth good fruit. But the soul by sinning withdraws from this stream of life, and growing beside a black and fetid pool, can produce nothing but disgusting and unwholesome fruit. Notice that it is not the fountain and the brilliant sun which lose their splendour and beauty, for they are placed in the very centre of the soul and can- not be deprived of their lustre. The soul is like a crystal in the sunshine over which a thick black cloth has been thrown, so that however brightly the sun may shine, the crystal can never reflect it.
4. O souls, redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ, take these things to heart; have mercy on your- selves! If you realize your pitiable condition, how can you refrain from trying to remove the darkness from the crystal of your souls? Remember, if death should take you now, you would never again enjoy the light of this Sun. O Jesus! how sad a sight must be a soul deprived of light! What a terrible state the chambers of this castle are in! How disorderly must be the senses —the inhabitants of the castle—the powers of the soul—its magistrates, governors, and stewards— blind and uncontrolled as they are! In short, as the soil in which the tree is now planted is in the devil’s domain, how can its fruit be anything but evil? A man of great spiritual insight once told me he was not so much surprised at such a soul’s wicked deeds as astonished that it did not commit even worse sins. May God in His mercy keep us from such great evil, for nothing in this life merits the name of evil in comparison with
t4 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [cuap. it.
this, which delivers us over to evil which is eternal.
5. This is what we must dread and pray God to | deliver us from, for we are weakness itself, and un- © less He guards the city, in vain shall we labour to — defend it The person of whom I spoke’ said that she had learnt two things from the vision granted her. The first was a great fear of offending God; seeing how terrible were the consequences, she constantly begged Him to preserve her from falling into sin. Secondly, it was a mirror to teach her humility, for she saw that nothing good in us springs from ourselves but comes from the waters of grace near which the soul remains like a tree planted be- side a river, and from that Sun which gives life to our works. She realized this so vividly that on see- ing any good deed performed by herself or by other people she at once turned to God as to its fountain head —without whose help she knew well | we can do nothing—and broke out into songs of | praise to Him. Generally she forgot all about herself and only thought of God when she did any | meritorious action.
6. The time which has been spent in reading or writing on this subject will not have been lost if it has taught us these two truths; for though learned, clever men know them perfeétly, women’s wits are dull and need help in every way. Perhaps this is why our Lord has suggested these comparisons to me; may He give us grace to profit by them!
7. So obscure are these spiritual matters that to
Ps. cxxvi, 1: ‘Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam.’
® Life, ch. xxxviii.§33; ch. xl. 15, 16.
CHAP. IT] FIRST MANSIONS is
explain them an ignorant person like myself must say much that is superfluous, and even alien to the subject before coming to the point. My readers must be patient with me, as I am with myself while writing what I do not understand; indeed, I often take up the paper like a dunce, not knowing what to say, nor how to begin. Doubtless there is need for me to do my best to explain these spiritual subjects to you, for we often hear how beneficial prayer is for our souls; our Constitutions oblige us to pray for so many hours a day, yet tell us nothing of what part we ourselves can take in it and very little of the work God does in the soul by its means.” Jt will be helpful, in setting it before you in various ways, to consider this heavenly edifice within us, so little understood by men, near as they often come to it. Our Lord gave me grace to understand something of such matters when I wrote on them before, yet I think I have greater light now, especially on the more difficult questions. Unfortunately I am too ignorant tc treat of such subjeéts without saying much that is already well known. —
8. Now let us turn at last to our castle with its many mansions. You must not think of a suite of rooms placed in succession, but fix your eyes on the keep, the court inhabited by the King.’ Like the kernel of the palmito,? from which several:rinds
” Life, ch. x. 2 sg. Constitut. 2, 6.
® Way of Perf. ch. xxviii. 1.
®The palmito here referred to is not a palm, but a shrub about four feet high and very dense with leaves, resembling palm leaves. The poorer classes and principally children dig it up by the roots, which they peel of its many layers until a sort of kernel is disclosed, which is
16 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [cunapr. 1.
must be removed before coming to the eatable part, this principal chamber 1s surrounded by many others. However large, magnificent, and spacious you imagine this castle to be, you cannot exagge- rate it; the capacity of the soul is beyond all our understanding, and the Sun within this palace en- lightens every part of it.
g. Asoul which gives itself to prayer, either much _ or little, should on no account be kept within | narrow bounds. Since God has given it such great | dignity, permit it to wander at will through the | rooms of the castle, from the lowest to the highest. | Let it not force itself to remain for very long in | the same mansion, even that of self-knowledge. | Mark well, however, that self-knowledge is indis- : pensable, even for those whom God takes to dwell | in the same mansion with Himself. Nothing else, | however elevated, perfeéts the soul which must. never seek to forget its own nothingness. Let hu-| mility be always at work, like the bee at the honey-_ comb, or all will be lost. But remember, the bee’ leaves its hive to fly in search of flowers and the soul should sometimes cease thinking of itself to rise) in meditation on the grandeur and majesty of its] God. It will learn its own baseness better thus than | by self-contemplation, and will be freer from the! reptiles which enter the first room where self-know-' ledge is acquired. Although it is a great grace from| God to practise self-examination, yet ‘too much is| as bad as too little,’ as they say ; believe me, by God’s, help, we shall advance more by contemplating the
eaten, not without relish, and is somewhat like a filbert in taste. See) St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, bk. ii. ch. xiv. 3. i
" CHAP.I1. | FIRST MANSIONS 7
| Divinity than by keeping our eyes fixed on our-
selves, poor creatures of earth that we are. 10. I donot know whether I have put this clearly;
- self-knowledge is of such consequence that I would
not have you careless of it, though you may be
_ lifted to heaven in prayer, because while on earth — nothing is more needful than humility. Therefore, _ I repeat, not only a good way, but the dest of all © | ways, is to endeavour to enter first by the room where humility is practised, which is far better than
at once rushing on to the others. This isthe right —
- road:—if we know how easy and safe it is to walk
_ by it, why ask for wings with which to fly? Let us
rather try to learn how to advance quickly. I believe © we shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavouring to know God, for, beholding His greatness we are struck by our own baseness, His purity shows our foulness, and by meditating on His humility we find how very far we are from being humble.
11. Two advantages are gained by this practice. First, it is clear that white looks far whiter when placed near something black, and on the contrary, black never looks so dark as when seen beside something white. Secondly, our understanding and will become more noble and capable of good in every way when we turn from ourselves to God: ia is very injurious never to raise our minds above the_.
“mire of our own faults. I described how murky and fetid are the streams that spring from the source of
a soul in mortal sin.” Thus (although the case is 1 Supra, § 3.
18 THE INTERIOR CASTLE — cuap.u.]
not really the same, God forbid! this is only a |
comparison), while we are continually absorbed in contemplating the weakness of our earthly nature, the springs of our actions will never flow free from the mire of timid, weak, and cowardly thoughts, such as: ‘I wonder whether people are noticing me or not! If I follow this course, will harm come to me? Dare I begin this work? Would it not be presumptuous? Is it right for any one so faulty as myself to speak on sublime spiritual subjects?™ Will not people think too well of me, if I make myself singular? Extremes are bad, even in virtue; sinful as I am I shall only fall the lower. Perhaps I shall fail and be a source of scandal to good people; such a person as I am has no need of peculiarities.’
12. Alas, my daughters, what loss the devil must have caused to many a soul by such thoughts as these! It thinks such ideas and many others of the same sort I could mention arise from humility.
This comes from not understanding our own nature;
self-knowledge becomes so warped that, unless we |
take our thoughts off ourselves, I am not surprised |
that these and many worse fears should threaten |
us. Therefore I maintain, my daughters, that we
ean
should fix our eyes on Christ, our only good, and |
on His saints; there we shall learn true humility, and our minds will be ennobled, so that self-know- ledge will not make us base and cowardly. Although only the first, this mansion contains great riches
‘ and such treasures that if the soul only manage, to |
w Life, ‘ch. vill. 6, X..4, xxiil, 926: Way of Perf. ch. xxxix. 1,
CHAP. 11 | FIRST MANSIONS 19
elude the reptiles dwelling here, it cannot fail to advance farther. Terrible are the wiles and strata- gems the devil uses to hinder people from realizing their weakness and dete¢ting his snares.
13. From personal experience I could give you much information as to what happens in these first mansions. I will only say that you must not imagine there are only a few, but a number of rooms, for souls enter them by many different ways, and always with a good intention. The devil is so angry at this that he keeps legions of evil spirits hidden in each room to stop the progress of Christians, whom, being ignorant of this, he entraps in a thousand ways. He cannot so easily deceive souls which dwell nearer to the King as he can begin- ners still absorbed in the world, immersed in its pleasures, and eager for its honours and distin¢tions. As the vassals of their souls, the senses and powers bestowed on them by God, are weak, such people are easily vanquished, although desirous not to offend God.
14. Those conscious of being in this state must as often as possible have recourse to His Majesty, taking His Blessed Mother and the saints for their advo- ‘cates to do battle for them, because we creatures possess little strength for self-defence. Indeed, in every state of life all our help must come from God; may He in His mercy grant it us, Amen! What a miserable life we lead! As I havespoken more fully in other writings” on the ill that results from ignoring
the need of humility and self-knowledge, I will treat ® Life, ch, xiii. 23. Way of Perf. ch. x. 4. Castle, M. iii. ch, ii, 8. Concep. ch, ii. 20. Const, a1,
20 THE INTERIOR CASTLE CHAP. 11. |
no more about it here, my daughters, although it is of the first importance. God grant that what I have said may be useful to you.
15. You must notice that the light which comes from the King’s palace hardly shines at all in these first mansions; although not so gloomy and black as the soul in mortal sin, yet they are in semi- darkness, and their inhabitants see scarcely anything. I cannot explain myself; I do not mean that this is the fault of the mansions themselves, but that the number of snakes, vipers, and venomous reptiles from outside the castle prevent souls entering them from seeing the light. They resemble a person entering a chamber full of brilliant sunshine, with eyes clogged and half closed with dust. Though the room itself is light, he cannot see because of his self-imposed impediment. In the same way, these fierce and wild beasts blind the eyes of the beginner, so that he sees nothing but them.
16. Such, it appears to me, is the soul which, though not in a state of mortal sin, is so worldly and preoccupied with earthly riches, honours, and affairs, that as I said, even if it sincerely wishes to enter into itself and enjoy the beauties of the castle, it is prevented by these distractions and seems », unable to overcome so many obstacles. It is most
_ Important to withdraw from all unnecessary cares / and business, so far as compatible with the duties of one’s state of life, in order to enter the second mansion. This is so essential, that unless done immediately I think it impossible for any one ever to reach the principal room, or even to remain
CHAP. II. | FIRST MANSIONS a4
where he is without great risk of losing what is already gained; otherwise, although he is inside the castle, he will find it impossible to avoid being bitten some time or other by some of the very venomous creatures surrounding him.
17. What then would become of a religious like ourselves, my daughters, if, after having escaped from all these impediments, and having entered much farther into the more secret mansions, she should, by her own fault return to all this turmoil. Through her sins, many other people on whom God had bestowed great graces would culpably relapse into their wretched state. In our convents we are free from these exterior evils; please God our minds may be as free from them, and may He deliver us from such ills.
18. Do not trouble yourselves, my daughters, with cares in which you are not concerned. You must notice that the struggle with the demons continues through nearly all the mansions of this castle. True, in some of them, the guards, which, as I ex- plained, are the powers of the soul, have strength for the combat, but we must be keenly on the watch against the devil’s arts, lest he deceive us in the form of an angel of light. He creeps in gradu- ally, in numberless ways, and does us much harm, though we do not discover it until too late."
1g. As I said elsewhere,” he works like a file, secretly and silently wearing its way: I will give you some examples to show how he begins his wiles.
18 Life, ch. xxxi. 23.
6 No doubt the Saint often used this excellent comparison in her yerbal instructions, but it occurs nowhere else in her writings,
22 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [cuap. 11.
For instance: a nun has such a longing for penance as to feel no peace unless she is tormenting herself in some way.’ This is good in itself; but suppose that the Prioress has forbidden her to practise any mortifications without special leave, and the sister thinking that in such a meritorious cause she may venture to disobey, secretly leads such a life that she loses her health and cannot even fulfil the re- quirements of her rule—you see how this show of good ends. Another nun is very zealous about re- ligious perfection ; this is quite right, but may cause her to think every small fault she sees in her sisters a serious crime, and to watch constantly whether they do anything wrong, that she may run to the Prioress to accuse them of it. At the same time, may be she never notices her own shortcomings because of her great zeal about other people’s religious observance, while perhaps her sisters, not seeing her intention but only knowing of the watch she keeps on them, do not take her behaviour in good part.
20. The devil’s chief aim hereis to cool the charity and lessen the mutual affection of the nuns, which would injure them seriously. Be sure, my daughters, that true perfection consists in the love of God and our neighbour, and the better we keep both these commandments, the more perfect we shall be. The sole object of our Rule and Constitutions is to help us to observe these two laws.
21. Indiscreet zeal about others must not be in- dulged in; it may do us much harm; let each one
look to herself, However, as I have spoken fully ” Way of Perf. ch. X53 xxxix. 43 Rel, ili, 12,
CHAP. 11. ] FIRST MANSIONS 24
on this subject elsewhere, * I will not enlarge on it here, and will only beg you to remember the ne- cessity of this mutual affection. Our souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people’s if we are always criticizing trivial actions which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through ignorance of their motives. See how much it costs to attain perfection ! Sometimes the devil tempts nuns in this way about the Prior- ess, which is still more dangerous. Great prudence is then required, for if she disobeys the Rule or Constitutions the matter must not always be over- looked, but should be mentioned to her;” if, after this, she does not amend, the Superior of the Order should be informed of it. It is true charity to speak in this case, as it would be if we saw our sisters commit a grave fault; to keep silence for fear that speech would be a temptation against charity, would be that very temptation itself.”
22. However, I must warn you seriously not to talk to each other about such things, lest the devil deceive you. He would gain greatly by your doing so, because it would lead to the habit of detraction; rather, as I said, state the matter to those whose duty it is to remedy it. Thank God,. our custom
6 The Saint must frequently have spoken on the subject, but she never treated it more fully than in this place. The Way of Perf. ch. xli. 7. Life, ch. xill. 11, 14 599. Visitation of convents.
Way of Perfection, ch. ii. 3. Visit. 20-22, 34, 36.
8 Tt is terrible to think what harm a Prioress can do! For although the Sisters witness things that scandalize them (of which there are plenty here), yet they think it would be sinning against obedience to see any harm in them.’ (Letter to Father Gracian, written at Malagon, at the beginning of December, 1579. Letters, Vol. III).
5
24 THE INTERIOR CASTLE [cnap. 1.
here of keeping almost perpetual silence gives little opportunity for such conversation: still, it is well to stand ever on our guard.
THE SECOND MANSIONS
ONLY CHAPTER
TREATS OF THE GREAT IMPORTANCE OF PERSEVERANCE IN
ORDER TO ENTER THE LAST MANSIONS, AND OF THE FIERCE
WAR THE DEVIL WAGES AGAINST US. HOW ESSENTIAL IT IS TO
TAKE THE RIGHT PATH FROM THE VERY COMMENCEMENT OF
OUR JOURNEY. A METHOD OF ACTION WHICH HAS PROVED VERY EFFICACIOUS.
1. Souls in the second mansions. 2. Their state. 3. Their sufferings. 4. They cannot get rid of their imperfections. 5. How God calls these souls. 6. Perseverance is essential. 7. Temptations of the devil. 8. Delusion of earthly joys. 9. God alone to be loved. 10. Reasons for continuing the journey. 11. Warfare of the devil. 12. Importance of choice of friends. 13. Valour required. 14. Presumption of expecting spiritual consolations at first. 15. In the Cross is strength. 16. Our falls should raise us higher. 17. Confidence and perseverance. 18. Recollection. 19.Why we must practise prayer. 20. Meditation kindles love.
1. Now let us consider which are the souls that
enter the second mansions, and what they do there.
I do not wish to enlarge on this subject, having
already treated it very fully elsewhere,’ for I could
not avoid repeating myself, as my memory is very bad. If I could state my ideas in another form they would not weary you, for we never tire of reading books on this subje¢t, numerous as they are.
Life, ch, xi-xiii. Way of Perf. ch. XX-Xxix.
-
26 THE INTERIOR CASTLE
2. In this part of the castle are found souls which have begun to praétise prayer; they realize the importance of their not remaining in the first man- sions, yet often lack determination to quit their present condition by avoiding occasions of sin, which is a very perilous state to be in.
3. However, it is a great grace that thev should sometimes make good their escape from the vipers and poisonous creatures around them and should understand the need of avoiding them. In some way these souls suffer a great deal more than those in the first mansions, although not in such danger, as they begin to understand their peril and there are great hopes of their entering farther into the castle. I say that they suffer a great deal more, for those in an earlier stage are like deaf-mutes and are not so distressed at being unable to speak, while the others, who can hear but cannot talk, find it much harder. At the same time, it is better not to be deaf, and a decided advantage to hear what is said to us.
4. These souls hear our Lord calling them, for as they approach nearer to where His Majesty dwells He proves a loving Neighbour, though they may still be engaged in the amusements and business, the pleasures and vanities of this world. While in this state we continually fall into sin and rise again, for the creatures among whom we dwell are so venomous, so vicious, and so dangerous, that it is almost impossible to avoid being tripped up by them. Yet such are the pity and compassion of this Lord of ours, so desirous is He that we should |
SECOND MANSIONS 247
seek Him and enjoy His company, that in one way or another He never ceases calling us to Him. So sweet is His voice, that the poor soul is disconsolate at being unable to follow His bidding at once, and therefore, as I said, suffers more than if it could not hear Him.
5. I do not mean that divine communications and inspirations received in this mansion are the same as those I shali describe later on; God here speaks to souls through words uttered by pious people, by sermons or good books, and in many other such ways. Sometimes He calis souls by means of sick- ness or troubles, or by some truth He teaches them during prayer, for tepid as they may be in seeking Him, yet God holds them very dear.
6. Do not think lightly, sisters, of this first grace, ,
nor be downcast if you have not responded imme- diately to our Lord’s voice, for His Majesty is willing to wait for us many a day and even many a year, especially when He sees perseverance and good desires in our hearts. Perseverance ts the first
essential; with this we are sure to profit greatly. |
However, the devils now fiercely assault the soul in a thousand different ways: it suffers more than ever, because formerly it was mute and deaf, or at least could hear very little, and offered but feeble resistance, like one who has almost lost all hope of victory.
. Here, however, the understanding being more vigilant and the powers more on the alert, we can- not avoid hearing the fighting and cannonading around us. For now the devils set on us the reptiles, that is to say, thoughts about the world and its joys
1
28 HE INTERIOR CASTLE
which they piéture as unending; they remind us of the high esteem men held us in, of our friends and relations; they tell us how the penances which souls in this mansion always begin to wish to per- form would injure our health: in fine, the evil spirits place a thousand impediments in the way.
8. O Jesus! What turmoil the devils cause in the poor soul! How unhappy it feels, not knowing whether to go forward or to return to the first mansion ! On the other hand, reason shows it the delusion of overrating worldly things, while faith teaches what alone can satisfy its cravings. Memory reminds the soul how all earthly joys end, recalling the death of those who lived at ease; how some died suddenly and were soon forgotten, how others once so prosperous, are now buried beneath the ground and men pass by the graves where they lie, the prey of worms,” while the mind recalls many other such incidents.
g. The will inclines to love Our Lord and longs to make some return to Him Who is so amiable, and Who has given so many proofs of His love, especially by His constant presence with the soul, which this faithful Lover never quits, ever accom- panying it and giving it life and being. The under-
«How many thinking to live long, have been deceived and unex- pectedly have been snatched away! How often thou hast heard that such a one was slain by the sword; another drowned; another falling from on high, broke his neck; this man died at the table; that other came to his death while he was at play. ... Thus death is the end of all; and man’s life passeth suddenly like a shadow’ (Imitation, bk. 1. ch. xxiii. 7). The edition of the Imitation known to St. Teresa under the title of Contemptus Mundi was translated by Luis de Granada, printed
at Seville in 1536, at Lisbon in 1542, and at Alcala in 1548. See Life, ch. xxxix. 21, note,
SECOND MANSIONS 29
standing aids by showing that however many years life might last, no one could ever wish for a better friend than God; that the world is full of falsehood, and that the worldly pleasures pictured by the devil to the mind were but troubles and cares and annoyances in disguise.
10. Reason convinces the soul that as outside its interior castle are found neither peace nor security, it should cease to seek another home abroad, its own being full of riches that it can enjoy at will. Besides, it is not every one who, like itself, possesses all he needs within his own dwelling, and above all, such a Host, Who will give it all it can desire, unless like the prodigal son, it chooses to go astray and feed with the swine? Surely these arguments are strong enough to defeat the devil’s wiles! But, O my God, how the force of worldly habits and the example of others who practise them ruin everything ! Our faith is so dead that we trust less to its teaching than to what is visible, though, | indeed, we see that worldly lives bring nothing but , unhappiness. All this results from those venomous thoughts I described, which, unless we are very --caretul, will deform the soul as the sting of a viper
poisons and swells the body.
11. When this happens, great care is evidently needed to cure it, and only God’s signal mercy prevents its resulting in death. Indeed, the soul passes through severe trials at this time, especially when the devil perceives from a person’s character and behaviour that she is likely to make very great
3 St, Luke xv. 16: ‘Et cupiebat implere ventrem suum de siliquis quas porci manducabant,’
30 THE INTERIOR CASTLE
progress, for then all hell will league together to force her to turn back. O my Lord! what need there is here that, by Thy mercy, Thou shouldst prevent the soul from being deluded into forsaking , the good begun! Enlighten it to see that its wel- } \\ fare consists in perseverance in the right way, and
= the . ie
“in withdrawing from bad company.
12. It is of the utmost importance for the beginner to associate with those who lead a spiritual life,* and not only with those in the same mansion as herself, but with others who have travelled farther into the castle, who will aid her greatly and draw her to join them. The soul should firmly resolve never to submit to defeat, for if the devil sees it staunchly determined to lose life and comfort and all that he can offer rather than return to the first mansion, he will the sooner leave it alone.
13. Let the Christian be valiant; let him not be like those who lay down to drink from the brook when they went to battle (I do not remember when).’ Let him resolve to go forth to combat with the host of demons, and be convinced that there is no better weapon than the cross. I have already said,° yet it is of such importance that I re- peat it here: let no one think on starting of the reward to be reaped: this would be a very ignoble way of commencing such a large and stately build- ing. If built on sand it would soon fall down.’ Souls
4 Life, ch. vil. 33-373; Xvi. 12; xxx. 6. Way of Perfection, ch. vi. 1; Vii. 4.
* With Gedeon. Jud. vii. §: ‘Qui lingua lambuerint aquas, sicut solent canes lambere, separabis eos seorsum.’
erie, ch.ixts 10:
"St, Matt. vii. 26, 27: ‘Qui aedificavitdomum suam super arenam,.,
SECOND MANSIONS 31
who aéted thus would continually suffer from dis- couragement and temptations, for in these mansions no manna rains;®* farther on, the soul is pleased with all that comes because it desires nothing but what God wills.
14. What a farce itis! Here are we, with a thou- sand obstacles, drawbacks, and imperfections within ourselves, our virtues so newly born that they have scarcely the strength to act (and God grant that they exist at all!) yet we are not ashamed to expect sweetness in prayer and to complain of feeling dryness.’
15. Do not act thus, sisters; embrace the cross your Spouse bore on His shoulders; know that your mottoshould be: ‘ Most happy she whosuffers most if it be for Christ !’* All else should be looked upon as secondary: if our Lord grants it, render Him grateful thanks. You may imagine you would be resolute in enduring external trials if God gave
ou interior consolations: His Majesty knows best what is good for us; it is not for us to advise Him how to treat us, for He has the right to tell us that we know not what we ask." Remember, it is of the greatest importance —_the sole aim of one beginning to practise prayer should be to endure trials, and to resolve and strive to the utmost of her power to conform her own will to the will of
et fuit ruina illius magna.’
® Ps, Ixxvii. 24: ‘Pluit illis manna ad manducandum.’ Way of Perf. ch. x. 4.
OEiiee chy Xil.n5-
10 Way of Perf. ch. xvii. 63 XXili. I.
St, Matt, xx. 22. ‘Nescitis quid petatis,’
32 THE INTERIOR CASTLE
God. Be certain that in this consists all the greatest perfection to be attained in the spiritual life, as I will explain later. She who practises this most perfectly will receive from God the highest reward and is the farthest advanced on the right road. Do not imagine that we have need of a cabalistic formula or any other occult or mysterious thing to attain it—our whole welfare consists in doing the will of God. If we start with the false principle of wishing God to follow our will and to lead us in the way we think best, upon what firm foundation can this spiritual edifice rest?
16. Let us endeavour to do our best: beware of the poisonous reptiles—that is to say, the bad thoughts and aridities which are often permitted by God to assail and torment us so that we cannot repel them. Indeed, perchance we feel their sting! He allows this to teach us to be more on our guard in the future and to see whether we grieve much at offending Him. Therefore if you occasionally lapse into sin, do not lose heart and cease trying to advance, for God will draw good even out of our falls, like the merchant who sells theriac, who first - takes poison, then the theriac, to prove the power of his elixir.” This combat would suffice to teach us to amend our habits if we realized our failings in no other way, and would show us the injury we receive from a life of dissipation. Can any evil be greater than that we find at home? What peace can we hope to find elsewhere, if we have none
° Way of Perf. ch. xvi. 2. Found. ch. v. 2, 3. Life, ch. iv. 11 3 xi. 20,
** A drug greatly in vogue until recent times. It was composed of all the essences supposed to contain life-giving and life-preserving qualities of animals and plants,
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within us? What friends or kindred can be so close and intimate as the powers of our soul, which, whether we will or no, must ever bear us company? ‘These seem to wage war on us as if they knew the harm our vices had wrought them. ‘Peace, peace be unto you,’ my sisters, as our Lord said, and many a time proclaimed to His Apostles. Believe me, if we neither possess nor strive to obtain this peace at home, we shall never find it abroad.
17. By the blood which our Lord shed for us, I implore those who have not yet begun to enter into themselves, to stop this warfare: I beg those already started in the right path not to let the combat turn them back from it. Let them refle& that a relapse is worse than a fall, and see what ruin it would bring. They should confide in God’s mercy, trust- ing nothing in themselves; then they will see how His Majesty will lead them from one mansion to another, and will set them in a place where these wild beasts can no more touch or annoy them, but will be entirely at their mercy and merely objects of ridicule, Then, even in this life, they will enjoy a far greater happiness than they are able even to desire.
18. As I said at the beginning of this work, I have explained elsewhere’ how you should be- have when the devil thus disturbs you. I also told you that the habit of recolleétion is not to be gained’ by force of arms, but with calmness, which will | enable you to practise it for a longer space of time.”®
4 St, Luke xxiv. 36 St. John xx. 19. 6 Life, ch. xi. and xix. 8. Way of Perfection. ch, xxiii, 3. 6 Way of Perf. ch. xix, 3,
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I will say no more now, except that I think it very helpful for those of you who are beginners to con- _ sult persons experienced in such matters, lest you | imagine that you are injuring yourselves by leaving | your prayer to perform any necessary duties. This \is not the case; our Lord will direét such things to our profit, although we may have no one to counsel us.” The only remedy for having given up a habit of recollection is to recommence it, other- wise the soul will continue to lose it more and more every day, and God grant it may realize its danger.
19. You may think that if it is so very injurious to desist, it would have been better never to have begun, and to have remained outside the castle. But as I began by saying, and as God Himself declares: ‘He that loves danger shall perish by it,’™ and the door by which we must enter this castle is
prayer. Remember, we must get to heaven, and it
would be madness to think we could do so without
sometimes retiring into our souls so as to know
ourselves, or thinking of our failings and of what
‘ we owe to God, or frequently imploring His mercy. Our Lord also says, ‘ No man cometh to the Father but by me’ (I am not sure whether this quotation is correct, but I think so), and, ‘He that seeth me seeth the Father also.’*
20. If we never look up at Him and refle& on
what we owe Him for having died for us, I do not
understand how we can know Him, or perform ” Way of Perf. ch. xxiii. 3. * Ecclus. iii, 27: ‘Qui amat periculum, in illo peribit.’ St. John xiv. 6: ‘Nemo venit ad Patrem, nisi per me.’ St. John xiv. 9: ‘Qui vidit me, vidit et Patrem,’
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good deeds in His service. What value is there in faith without works? and what are they worth if they are not united to the merits of Jesus Christ, our only good? What would incite us to love our Lord unless we thought of Him? May He give us grace to understand how much we cost Him; that ‘the servant is not above his lord’™; that we must toil for Him if we would enjoy His glory; and that prayer sea necessity to prevent us from con- stantly falling into temptation.”
*! St. Matt. x. 24: ‘Nec servus super dominum suum,’ ** St. Matt. xxvi. 41: ‘Orate ut non intretis in tentationem.’
THE THIRD MANSIONS