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A 6 page essay that examines the various stages of spiritual development detailed by Saint Teresa of Avila in her 1577 book The Interior Castle. In this volume, St. Teresa recorded her immense insight into the process of spiritual maturation in an account that took the form of a complex allegory entitled. Teresa pictures the soul as a castle that contains multiple dwelling places. She details seven of these dwelling places in a manner that parallels the process of spiritual maturation that she observed within herself. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khintcas.rtf
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that took the form of a complex allegory entitled The Interior Castle. Teresa pictures the soul as a castle that contains multiple dwelling places. She details seven of these dwelling
places in a manner that parallels the process of spiritual maturation that she observed within herself. However, in her epilogue, Teresa emphasizes that there are many more than seven dwelling
places within in soul, that there are others "below and above and to the sides, with lovely gardens and fountains and labyrinths, such delightful things that you would want to
be dissolved in praises of the great god who created the soul in His own image and likeness" (196). As this suggests, Teresa pictures the spiritual life of the castle
as a highly complex, yet worthwhile journey. The gate of entry to the castle is through prayer, which provides the door that opens up the mystery of God. At
the center of the castle is Gods dwelling place, the Kings chamber. In the first dwelling places, little of the light from the Kings royal chamber can be seen (45).
There are too many things in these areas that serve to entice and distract souls, and thereby prevent them from taking the time to search for the light.
These souls are so preoccupied with "worldly things and so absorbed in possessions, honor or business affairs...that even though as a matter of fact it would want to see and
enjoy its beauty these things do not allow it" (45). From this metaphorically dark beginning, Teresa describes how the soul moves on toward the center of the castle as
the individual gains in self-knowledge and humility. In the second dwelling places, Teresa describes how there are rooms set apart for those who have managed to take the first
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