Loitering in the restrooms of the interior castle

St. Therese of Avila is one of the doctors of the Catholic Church because of her teachings about the mystical life. In her classic, Interior Castle, describes spiritual growth as moving from mansion to mansion to eventually reach the courts of the God.

Each mansion signifies a situation:
1st: In the state of grace but surrounded by sin. Starting a program to grow in perfection.
2nd: Embarking in religious practices e.g. prayer to advance.
3rd: Living an exemplary life of love governed by reason (so none of that sentimental or lustful desire).
4th: Starting to surrender personal plans and programs to God’s activities
5th: Something like a betrothal where there is “incipient” union in which the soul prepares itself to receive gifts from God.
6th: Something like being “lovers” where the soul is torn between enjoying favors from God and afflictions from outside.
7th: A clarity in prayer culminating in a spiritual marriage with God.

I got lost in the fifth room and will probably lollygag around the restrooms there if I do not do more with my prayer life. Since I am living in the real world of politics, taxes, groceries and timesheets, I doubt if I really can have that serious of a prayer life with the incipient union – whatever that is. I seriously doubt if that is demanded from my state of life. Nonetheless, this is still everyman’s pilgrimage – whether one strides quickly or moseys along. The very language of the upper mansions is so romantic, syrupy and sweet that it is hard to relate to but is something to look forward to. I guess experience will make things intuitive. Lord knows how ineffable these realities are so, St. Therese must have had a heck of time trying to come up with a narrative or description.

One can always read the source and commentaries. I guess it’s a start – like reading about the warmth and light produced by fire. But it is best to actually see and touch the fire at the same time.

Bottom line, there’s a great frontier to explore out there - space for spiritual growth. St. Theresa provides a map or method of going through this morass of the unknown. And it is by prayer.

One enters the first mansion by mental prayer or meditation where one withdraws from without and concentrates on the devout observance of the passion of Christ and penitence.

The second level is the “prayer of quiet” where the human “will” is lost in that of God by virtue of a charismatic, supernatural state given of God, while the other faculties, such as memory, reason, and imagination, are still susceptible to distraction. Despite the interruptions, there is more stillness than the first mansion.

The third level is called "devotion of union" and consists of being is ecstasy. That’s different from taking that street drug because the high comes from the Most High. Reason is absorbed in God even if the memory and imagination wanders around a bit. The intellect and will kind of rests peacefully and blissfully in a conscious rapture of the love of God. I guess it is like being in a trance having your heart and breathing stop – well almost as you behold something so awesome that you just get caught in the moment and your jaw drops while drooling uncontrollably. (St. Therese didn’t put it that way but I don’t get her flowery language much.)

I have to cut and paste the fourth levels and beyond just because. If you get it, I salute you. Here goes. “The fourth is the "devotion of ecstasy or rapture," a passive state, in which the consciousness of being in the body disappears. Sense activity ceases; memory and imagination are also absorbed in God or intoxicated. Body and spirit are in the throes of a sweet, happy pain, alternating between a fearful fiery glow, a complete impotence and unconsciousness, and a spell of strangulation, intermitted sometimes by such an ecstatic flight that the body is literally lifted into space. This after half an hour is followed by a reactionary relaxation of a few hours in a swoon-like weakness, attended by a negation of all the faculties in the union with God. From this the subject awakens in tears; it is the climax of mystical experience, productive of the trance. (Indeed, she was said to have been observed levitating during Mass on more than one occasion.)”

There it is and it is what it is. Once you or I get there, then it will make sense. For now, we’ll clumsily make our way through the castle. When things start getting weird - in nice way then it will be time to get a spiritual director for coaching. Sometimes the devil gets in the act to mess with our heads. It’s worth the journey and the journey is just as fun.  Or we may choose to loiter around the restrooms of the interior castle and get nowhere until time is over.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Castillo_Interior for overview
http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/interior_castle/index.php Interior Castle by St Teresa of Jesus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_of_Ávila#Writings Writings of St. Teresa

When the honey from the honeymoon is gone - in spiritual romance and any other relationships.

(pic from Crescat )

Even in religious life, the romance (spiritual) can disappear.  Prayer becomes dry and hard.  The inspirations don't flow.  There are no feelings of devotion.  The path is no longer scenic with flowers blooming and birds and butterflies on every branch.  It is more like the dessert or the inner city skid row.

This is actually a good thing.  It's yucky but it is a sign of progress in the prayer life.  It is counter-intuitive but all the masters of spiritual life e.g. St. Ignatius of Loyola or St. Theresa of Avila write about this stage of prayer beyond the beginnings.  It is not time to pack it up but to go at it no matter how boring.  When St. Theresa was at this stage, she used to shake the hour glass to make the time go faster and be done with the prescribed hour of mental prayer.  That's not how to go at it;  that's how it feels though.  Afterwards, one graduates into contemplative prayer.  That's better than Nirvana or any kind of "high" because one "sees" God.  Words fail to describe the experience; it's ineffable.  People go into ecstasy.  But before we start levitating, we need to go through the yucky and boring stage - generally.  Some saints, like Bl. Teresa of Calcutta appears to have gotten stuck in this stage.  Bummer.  Imagine that, no spiritual consolations at all, just drudgery.  It happens.  But it is not a bad thing.

The measure of holiness is not how luscious, awesome or gratifying our prayer lives have become.  Sanctity is measured by our love for God and that is even greater when we persist through the hard times.  It is like loving a spouse with cancer - balding, skin and bones, blood-shot eyes.  Love is love if one remains after the honey from the honeymoon is gone.  That is holiness.

Cartoon from Fr. Z's blog entry.

Mental prayer - drab at first but awesome later

Last night, I managed to get a half-way decent mental prayer – or meditation.  I went to my blog site & clicked on the Mass Readings.  I just listened to them because it was too drab to read.

 Because I’m the priest of my domestic church, I need to get a jump start of spiritual juice every day.  Otherwise, I’ll slide into selfishness, vice & sin and end up yelling at the kids & resenting my wife.

 So, I struggle to make something out of this exercise.  After listening to the word & nothing’s flowing, I resort to techniques. 

 The first technique, called Ignatian, works when one is in a thinking mode.  One mulls over the reading & what the Lord might be saying.  Then one responds first with words, then with actions.

 The other way, called Sulpician, lends itself to feelings.  One tries to feel what the Lord is feeling & uses this in conversing with the Lord & then doing something about it.

 Then I intercede for my wife & kids.  That’s what priests do – become a go-between God & man.

 It does not have to take a long time,  The Salesians do 30 minutes, the Dominicans an hour & the Carmelites, 2 hours.  Maybe we can start with 5 minutes & bring it up to 15 minutes.

 It works for me so I thought I’d share.