Timeline:
00:00:00 Opener
00:01:44 Introduction
00:02:34 Interior Castle VI Chapter IX Topic Outline
00:04:34 I. Saint Teresa Introduces the Imaginary VIsion
00:05:13 01. The jewel in the locket.
00:06:27 02. The simile explained.
00:13:45 03. The apparition explained.
00:21:36 II. Attributes of the Imaginary Vision
00:22:05 04. Awe produced by these visions.
00:29:40 05. False and genuine visions.
00:31:02 06. Illusive visions.
00:32:22 III. Effects From an Imaginary Vision
00:32:51 07. Effects of a genuine vision.
00:36:49 08. Conviction left by a genuine vision.
00:48:00 09. Its effects upon the after conduct.
00:53:27 IV. Consulting a Spiritual Director
00:53:56 10. A confessor should be consulted.
01:01:27 11. How to treat visions.
01:05:58 12. Effects of seeing the face of Christ.
01:06:33 V. Reasons for not Seeking Imaginary Visions
01:07:11 13. Reasons why visions are not to be sought.
01:16:11 14. The second reason.
01:16:54 15. The third reason.
01:17:23 16. The fourth reason.
01:23:22 17. The fifth reason.
01:25:12 18. The sixth reason.
01:26:28 19. Additional reasons.
01:28:27 VI. Concluding thoughts.
01:28:53 20. The virtues more meritorious than consolations.
01:35:31 21. Fervent souls desire to serve God for Himself alone.
01:39:35 Conclusion
Listen to the Podcast on Anchor.fm
Watch the Podcast on Spotify
Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts
Watch the Podcast on YouTube
Watch the Podcast on Rumble
Show Notes
The Sixth Mansions Chapter 9 audio mp3 - Discerning Hearts read by Kristin McGreggor
Commentary Notes
I. Teresa introduces the imaginary vision.
1. The jewel in the locket.
2. The simile explained.
He shows it in vision His most sacred Humanity under whatever form He chooses; either as He was during His life on earth or after His resurrection.
Life, ch, vii, 11.
Life, ch, xxix, 4.
Life, ch, vii, 11
11. I was once with a person—it was at the very beginning of my acquaintance with her when our Lord was pleased to show me that these friendships were not good for me: to warn me also, and in my blindness, which was so great, to give me light. Christ stood before me, stern and grave, giving me to understand what in my conduct was offensive to Him. I saw Him with the eyes of the soul more distinctly than I could have seen Him with the eyes of the body. The vision made so deep an impression upon me, that, though it is more than twenty-six years ago,131 I seem to see Him present even now. I was greatly astonished and disturbed, and I resolved not to see that person again.
131 A.D. 1537, when the Saint was twenty-two years old (Bouix). This passage, therefore, must he one of the additions to the second Life; for the first was written in 1562, twenty-five years only after the vision.
Life, ch, xxix, 4.
4. Our Lord showed Himself to me almost always as He is after His resurrection. It was the same in the Host; only at those times when I was in trouble, and when it was His will to strengthen me, did He show His wounds. Sometimes I saw Him on the cross, in the Garden, crowned with thorns,—but that was rarely; sometimes also carrying His cross because of my necessities,—I may say so,—or those of others; but always in His glorified body. Many reproaches and many vexations have I borne while telling this—many suspicions and much persecution also. So certain were they to whom I spoke that I had an evil spirit, that some would have me exorcised. I did not care much for this; but I felt it bitterly when I saw that my confessors were afraid to hear me, or when I knew that they were told of anything about me.
3. The apparition explained.
Life, ch, vii. 11, 12.
11. I was once with a person—it was at the very beginning of my acquaintance with her when our Lord was pleased to show me that these friendships were not good for me: to warn me also, and in my blindness, which was so great, to give me light. Christ stood before me, stern and grave, giving me to understand what in my conduct was offensive to Him. I saw Him with the eyes of the soul more distinctly than I could have seen Him with the eyes of the body. The vision made so deep an impression upon me, that, though it is more than twenty-six years ago, I seem to see Him present even now. I was greatly astonished and disturbed, and I resolved not to see that person again.
12. It did me much harm that I did not then know it was possible to see anything otherwise than with the eyes of the body;132 so did Satan too, in that he helped me to think so: he made me understand it to be impossible, and suggested that I had imagined the vision—that it might be Satan himself—and other suppositions of that kind. For all this, the impression remained with me that the vision was from God, and not an imagination; but, as it was not to my liking, I forced myself to lie to myself; and as I did not dare to discuss the matter with any one, and as great importunity was used, I went back to my former conversation with the same person, and with others also, at different times; for I was assured that there was no harm in seeing such a person, and that I gained, instead of losing, reputation by doing so. I spent many years in this pestilent amusement; for it never appeared to me, when I was engaged in it, to be so bad as it really was, though at times I saw clearly it was not good. But no one caused me the same distraction which that person did of whom I am speaking; and that was because I had a great affection for her.
II. Attributes of the imaginary vision.
4. Awe produced by this vision.
If when Thou comest here in such a friendly way to hold converse with Thy bride the sight of Thee causes us such fear, what will it be, O daughters, when with that stern voice He says: "Depart, accursed of My Father"?
Matthew XXV 41
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (ESV)
I sincerely assure you that, wicked as I am, I have never feared the torments of hell.
She describes the time she left the nunnery because of the depth of her illness and her brother looked after her.
Reference Life ch iii 7-8.
7. The struggle lasted three months. I used to press this reason against myself: The trials and sufferings of living as a nun cannot be greater than those of purgatory, and I have well deserved to be in hell. It is not much to spend the rest of my life as if I were in purgatory, and then go straight to Heaven—which was what I desired. I was more influenced by servile fear, I think, than by love, to enter religion.
8. The devil put before me that I could not endure the trials of the religious life, because of my delicate nature. I defended myself against him by alleging the trials which Christ endured, and that it was not much for me to suffer something for His sake; besides, He would help me to bear it. I must have thought so, but I do not remember this consideration. I endured many temptations during these days. I was subject to fainting-fits, attended with fever,—for my health was always weak. I had become by this time fond of good books, and that gave me life. I read the Epistles of St. Jerome, which filled me with so much courage, that I resolved to tell my father of my purpose,—which was almost like taking the habit; for I was so jealous of my word, that I would never, for any consideration, recede from a promise when once my word had been given.
5. False and genuine visions.
6. Illusive visions.
III. Effects from an imaginary vision.
7. Effects of a genuine vision.
Acts ix. 3, 4.
Acts 9:3-4(6)
3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” (ESV)
8. Conviction left by a genuine vision.
these apprehensions, but (as I said in speaking of other matters)365
Castle, M. vi. ch. iii. 12.
12. I have often spoken on this subject elsewhere,198 because, my sisters, if we fail in this I know that all is lost: please God this may never be our case. If you possess fraternal charity, I assure you that you will certainly obtain the union I have described. If you are conscious that you are wanting in this charity, although you may feel devotion and sweetness and a short absorption in the prayer of quiet (which makes you think you have attained to union with God), believe me you have not yet reached it. Beg our Lord to grant you perfect love for your neighbour, and leave the rest to Him. He will give you more than you know how to desire if you constrain yourselves and strive with all your power to gain it, forcing your will as far as possible to comply in all things with your sisters’ wishes although you may sometimes forfeit your own rights by so doing. Forget your self-interests for theirs, how ever much nature may rebel; when opportunity occurs take some burden upon yourself to ease your neighbour of it. Do not fancy it will cost you nothing and that you will find it all done for you: think what the love He bore for us cost our Spouse, Who to free us from death, Himself suffered the most painful death of all—the death of the Cross.
In fact, the more severe the assault,366 the more certain
is she that the evil one could never have produced the great benefits
Way of Perf ch, xl. 4.
But to come to what we are chiefly treating of now—the deceptions and illusions practised against contemplatives by the devil—such souls have no little love; for had they not a great deal they would not be contemplatives, and so their love shows itself plainly and in many ways. Being a great fire, it cannot fail to give out a very bright light. If they have not much love, they should proceed with many misgivings and realize that they have great cause for fear; and they should try to find out what is wrong with them, say their prayers, walk in humility and beseech the Lord not to lead them into temptation, into which, I fear, they will certainly fall unless they bear this sign. But if they walk humbly and strive to discover the truth and do as their confessor bids them and tell him the plain truth, then the Lord is faithful, and, as has been said, by using the very means with which he had thought to give them death, the devil will give them life, with however many fantasies and illusions he tries to deceive them. If they submit to the teaching of the Church, they need not fear; whatever fantasies and illusions the devil may invent, he will at once betray his presence.
9. Its effects upon the after conduct.
IV. Consulting a spiritual director
10. A confessor should be consulted.
do not mean in declaring your sins that is evident enough—but in giving him an account
of your prayer.
Life, ch. xxvi. 5.
5. One of my confessors, to whom I went in the beginning, advised me once, now that my spiritual state was known to be the work of God, to keep silence, and not speak of these things to any one, on the ground that it was safer to keep these graces secret. To me, the advice seemed good, because I felt it so much whenever I had to speak of them to my confessor;381 I was also so ashamed of myself, that I felt it more keenly at times to speak of them than I should have done in confessing grave sins, particularly when the graces I had to reveal were great. I thought they did not believe 222me, and that they were laughing at me. I felt it so much,—for I look on this as an irreverent treatment of the marvels of God,—that I was glad to be silent. I learned then that I had been ill-advised by that confessor, because I ought never to hide anything from my confessor; for I should find great security if I told everything; and if I did otherwise, I might at any time fall into delusions.
Life, ch. xxviii. 21.
21. It was a providence of God that he was willing to stand by me and hear my confession. But he was so great a servant of God, that he would have exposed 246himself to anything for His sake. So he told me that if I did not offend God, nor swerve from the instructions he gave me, there was no fear I should be deserted by him. He encouraged me always, and quieted me. He bade me never to conceal anything from him; and I never did.421 He used to say that, so long as I did this, the devil, if it were the devil, could not hurt me; on the contrary, out of that evil which Satan wished to do me, our Lord would bring forth good. He laboured with all his might to make me perfect. As I was very much afraid myself, I obeyed him in everything, though imperfectly. He had much to suffer on my account during three years of trouble and more, because he heard my confession all that time; for in the great persecutions that fell upon me, and the many harsh judgments of me which our Lord permitted,—many of which I did not deserve,—everything was carried to him, and he was found fault with because of me,—he being all the while utterly blameless.
11. How to treat visions.
A great theologian once said that he should not trouble himself though the devil, who is
a clever painter, should present before his eyes the living image of Christ,
This was Father Dominic Bañez. Found. ch. viii. 3. Life, ch. xxix. 6, 7 and note.
Life, ch. xxix. 6, 7
6. This father (Father Dominic Bañez) began by putting me in the way of greater perfection. He used to say to me, that I ought to leave nothing undone that I might be wholly pleasing unto God. He was, however, very prudent and very gentle at the same time; for my soul was not at all strong, but rather very weak, especially as to giving up certain friendships, though I did not offend God by them: there was much natural affection in them, and I thought it would be an act of ingratitude if I broke them off. And so, as I did not offend God, I asked him if I must be ungrateful. He told me to lay the matter before God for a few days, and recite the hymn, "Veni, Creator," that God might enlighten me as to the better course. One day, having prayed for some time, and implored our Lord to help me to please 204Him in all things, I began the hymn; and as I was saying it, I fell into a trance—so suddenly, that I was, as it were, carried out of myself. I could have no doubt about it, for it was most plain.
7. This was the first time that our Lord bestowed on me the grace of ecstasy. I heard these words: "I will not have thee converse with men, but with angels." This made me wonder very much; for the commotion of my spirit was great, and these words were uttered in the very depth of my soul. They made me afraid,—though, on the other hand, they gave me great comfort, which, when I had lost the fear,—caused, I believe, by the strangeness of the visitation,—remained with me.
12. Effects of seeing the face of Christ.
V. Reasons for not seeking to have imaginary visions.
13. Reasons why visions are not to be sought.
13. Many other advantages result; but as I have written elsewhere371 at length about the...
Life, ch. xxviii. 13, 4.
Life xxviii 4-6
4. On one of the feasts of St. Paul,407 when I was at Mass, there stood before me the most Sacred Humanity,408 as painters represent Him after the resurrection, in great beauty and majesty, as I particularly described it to you, my father, when you had insisted on it. It was painful enough to have to write about it, for I could not describe it without doing great violence to myself. But I described it as well as I could, and there is no reason why I should now recur to it. One thing, however, I have to say: if in heaven itself there were nothing else to delight our eyes but the great beauty of glorified bodies, that would be an excessive bliss, particularly the vision of the Humanity of Jesus Christ our Lord. If here below, where His Majesty shows Himself to us according to the measure which our wretchedness can bear, it is so great, what must it be there, where the fruition of it is complete!
5. This vision, though imaginary, I never saw with my bodily eyes, nor, indeed, any other, but only with the eyes of the soul. Those who understand these things better than I do, say that the intellectual vision is more perfect than this; and this, the imaginary vision, much more perfect than those 238visions which are seen by the bodily eyes. The latter kind of visions, they say, is the lowest; and it is by these that the devil can most delude us.409 I did not know it then; for I wished, when this grace had been granted me, that it had been so in such a way that I could see it with my bodily eyes, in order that my confessor might not say to me that I indulged in fancies.
6. After the vision was over, it happened that I too imagined—the thought came at once—I had fancied these things; so I was distressed, because I had spoken of them to my confessor, thinking that I might have been deceiving him. There was another lamentation: I went to my confessor, and told him of my doubts. He would ask me whether I told him the truth so far as I knew it; or, if not, had I intended to deceive him? I would reply, that I told the truth; for, to the best of my belief, I did not lie, nor did I mean anything of the kind; neither would I tell a lie for the whole world.410 This he knew well enough; and, accordingly, he contrived to quiet me; and I felt so much the going to him with these doubts, that I cannot tell how Satan could have put it into my head that I invented those things for the purpose of tormenting myself.
Saint Teresa comments on her experience with this vision from Life xxviii 4-6, in note 13 of Life.
13. Here it is plain, O my Jesus, how slight is the power of all the devils in comparison with Thine, and how he who is pleasing unto Thee is able to tread all hell under his feet. Here we see why the devils trembled when Thou didst go down to Limbus, and why they might have longed for a thousand hells still lower, that they might escape from Thy terrible Majesty. I see that it is Thy will the soul should feel the greatness of Thy Majesty, and the power of Thy most Sacred Humanity, united with Thy Divinity. Here, too, we see what the day of judgment will be, when we shall behold the King in His Majesty, and in the rigour of His justice against the wicked. Here we learn true humility, imprinted in the soul by the sight of its own wretchedness, of which now it cannot be ignorant. Here, also, is confusion of face, and true repentance for sins; for though the soul sees that our Lord shows how He loves it, yet it knows not where to go, and so is utterly dissolved.
14. The second reason.
15. Third reason.
16. Fourth reason.
16. Fourthly: it would be very presumptuous of me to choose a way for myself without knowing
what is good for me.
Life, ch. xxv. 20; xxvii. 3.
Life ch. xxv. 20
20. In this distress, I quitted the church,369 and entered an oratory. I had not been to Communion for many days, nor had I been alone, which was all my comfort. I had no one to speak to, for every one was against me. Some, I thought, made a mock of me when I spoke to them of my prayer, as if I were a person under delusions of the imagination; others warned my confessor to be on his guard against me; and some said it was clear the whole was an operation of Satan. My confessor, though he agreed with them for the sake of trying me, as I understood afterwards, always comforted me: and he alone did so. He told me that, if I did not offend God, my prayer, even if it was the work of Satan, could do me no harm; that I should be delivered from it. He bade me pray much to God: he himself, and all his penitents, and many others did so earnestly; I, too, with all my might, and as many as I knew to be servants of God, prayed that His Majesty would be pleased to lead me by another way. This lasted, I think, about two years; and this was the subject of my continual prayer to our Lord.
Life, ch. xxvii. 3.
3. At the end of two years spent in prayer by myself and others for this end, namely, that our Lord would either lead me by another way, or show the truth of this,—for now the locutions of our Lord were extremely frequent,—this happened to me. I was in prayer one day,—it was the feast of the glorious St. Peter,—when I saw Christ close by me, or, to speak more correctly, felt Him; for I saw nothing with the eyes of the body, nothing with the eyes of the soul. He seemed to me to be close beside me; and I saw, too, as I believe, that it was He who was speaking to me. As I was utterly ignorant that such a vision was possible, I was extremely afraid at first, and did nothing but weep; however, when He spoke to me but one word to reassure me, I recovered myself, and was, as usual, calm and comforted, without any fear whatever. Jesus Christ seemed to be by my side continually, and, as the vision was not imaginary, I saw no form; but I had a most distinct feeling that He was always on my right hand, a witness of all I did; and never at any time, if I was but slightly recollected, or not too much distracted, could I be ignorant of His near presence.
17. Fifth reason.
18. Sixth reason.
19. Additional reasons.
VI. Concluding thoughts
20. The virtues more meritorious than consolations.
I was acquainted with some one, indeed with two people (of whom one was a man), on whom our Lord had
bestowed some of these gifts.
Life, ch. xl (40). 27. She herself was one, and the other, no doubt, was St. John of the Cross.
26. I was in prayer one night, when it was time to go to sleep. I was in very great pain, and my usual sickness was coming on.614 I saw myself so great a slave to myself, and, on the other hand, the spirit asked for time for itself. I was so much distressed that I began to weep exceedingly, and to be very sorry. This has happened to me not once only, but, as I am saying, very often; and it seems to make me weary of myself, so that at the time I hold myself literally in abhorrence. Habitually, however, I know that I do not hate myself, and I never fail to take that which I see to be necessary for me. May our Lord grant that I do not take more than is necessary!—I am afraid I do.
27. When I was thus distressed, our Lord appeared unto me. He comforted me greatly, and told me I must do this for His love, and bear it; my life was necessary now. And so, I believe, I have never known real pain since I resolved to serve my Lord and my Consoler with all my strength; for though he would leave me to suffer a little, yet He would console 395me in such a way that I am doing nothing when I long for troubles. And it seems to me there is nothing worth living for but this, and suffering is what I most heartily pray to God for. I say to Him sometimes, with my whole heart: "O Lord, either to die or to suffer! I ask of Thee nothing else for myself." It is a comfort to me to hear the clock strike, because I seem to have come a little nearer to the vision of God, in that another hour of my life has passed away.
21. Fervent souls desire to serve God for Himself alone.
Supplemental References on the Interior Castle
Interior Castle: The Classic Text with Spiritual Commentary - My favorite reference.
Fire Within: Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and the Gospel on Prayer -excellent reference!
Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer - Dan Burke great book!
The Essential Teresa of Avila - Interior Castle, Life, Way of Perfection in Modern English!!!
Cosmology and Demonology in Genesis 1-11: The Serpent, Divine Council, and Regional Spirits
Till Next Time
We're almost through the Sixth Mansions! How have you been enjoying it so far?
Leave a comment!
God Bless,
Rev. Mike
