“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.”
St. Teresa of Ávila (1515-1622) was a Spanish nun and
mystic known for her teachings on contemplation and austerity.
She led the Carmelite Reform, promoting stronger
adherence to religious practice in the Carmelite mendicant
order of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1588, she wrote
The Interior Castle in response to a vision she had about the
human soul containing seven mansions. This major text in
Catholic theology explores one’s spiritual journey with God
and continues to be a meditative source for Catholics today.
In The Interior Castle, St. Teresa envisions the human soul as a
series of mansions. The palace of mansions is a divine place
to be, so rich in beauty that its true splendor is not fully comprehensible
to humans. We cannot grasp the true magnificence
of the castle because it is made by God and filled with
His presence. Through the metaphor of the interior castle,
St. Teresa suggests that our souls are beautiful and vast, imbued
with God’s light. God is always close, contained inside
each of our own bodies. Even if we cannot fully grasp the
sublime within us, God is present in every soul. As the Bible
teaches, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and
that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16, ESV).
St. Teresa describes how the palace of seven mansions is
arranged concentrically in the soul, such that entry to one
mansion is gained only by passing through its antecedent.
At the center of the interior castle is the seventh mansion,
the most sacred dwelling.The mansions are organized above
and around the seventh mansion in the form of a crystal.
St. Teresa’s meditation on the interior palace is fixed upon
the idea that the seventh mansion is the ultimate destination
of our spiritual journey on earth. In this mansion, we
live in greatest harmony with God. The seventh mansion “is
the principal chamber in which God and the soul hold their
most secret intercourse” as in “a second heaven” on earth.
Before one can gain access to the seventh mansion, however,
one must enter each of the preceding six mansions in order. Not
everyone finds a way into the castle; some remain outside of
the palace walls, distracted by temporal affairs of the world. It
is through prayer and meditation that we shift our focus to God
and His teachings and thereby gain entry to the interior castle.
Once within the divine palace of one’s soul, one commences
the spiritual journey to grow closer to God. The first two mansions
constitute the purgative stage of this process, in which the
journeyer actively prays to God and relinquishes sin to follow
his Word. Time is spent in the rooms of self-knowledge and
humility, two pillars of St. Teresa’s teachings essential to one’s
relationship with God. Though individuals may still struggle
to release worldly attachments to fully appreciate the sanctity
of the castle, they grow closer to God in this stage. Entrance to
the second mansion marks greater learning about God’s teachings
such as the importance of prayer and abstinence from sin.
The spiritual journey becomes more contemplative as one
enters into stronger communication with God through divine
prayer after leaving the second mansion. The journeyer
inhabits the third and fourth mansions in the illuminative
stage, learning to become God-fearing and selfless in
order to eventually develop a deeper relationship with God.
Finally, the pilgrim reaches the unitive stage, traveling
through mansions five through seven. One practices the
Prayer of union and of quiet in the fifth mansion, beginning
to relinquish ephemeral affairs of the world and experience
wonder at God’s kingdom. In the sixth mansion, the
soul may undergo suffering out of increased desire to enter
the final mansion. Those who surpass this inner struggle
with persistent faith gain access to the seventh mansion
to completely unite with God. In this mansion, as in heaven,
God alone dwells. One may thus experience “a second
heaven” on earth, witnessing great truth and revelation.
At the beginning of her book St. Teresa states, “ 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.” She envisions
the soul as a crystal capable of reflecting God’s light, truth,
and beauty. However, the temptation to sin may cause the
crystal to blacken so that it can no longer shine. St. Teresa
states that one can clean the diamond by asking God for His
forgiveness. The soul need not stay dimmed; one can turn
to God’s light just as one can progress through the mansions
of the interior castle through prayer and intention.
Kristen Marchetti is a sophomore at Brown studying History of Art and
Architecture and Visual Art.
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