Interior Castle

FIRTST MANSIONS

CHAPTER I

While I was today beseeching the Lord, that He would speak through me, because I did not succeed in finding what to say nor how to begin to complete this obedience, it occurred to me that which I will now relate, to begin with some fundamental, which is to consider our soul as a castle all of diamond or very clear crystal, where there are many rooms, as in heaven there are many mansions. If we consider it well, sisters, the soul of the just man is nothing other than a paradise where, says God, he has His delights. Well, what manner of thing do you think will be the room where a King so powerful, so wise, so pure, so full of all good things is delighted? I do not find anything with which to compare the great beauty of the soul and the great capacity, and truly, scarcely can our intellect arrive, sharp as it may be, at understanding it, just as it cannot arrive at considering God, since He Himself says that He created us in His image and likeness. Since this is so, as it is, we need not tire ourselves in wanting to comprehend the beauty of this castle because, though there is the difference from it to God that of the Creator to the creature (since it is a creature) it suffices for His Majesty to say that it is made in His image, and we can scarcely understand the great divinity and beauty of the spirit. Is it not a slight pity and confusion that because of our fault we do not understand ourselves nor know who we are? Would it not be great ignorance, my daughters, if someone were asked who he was and he did not know himself, nor know who was his father, nor his mother, nor from what country? Though this would be great brutishness, it is without comparison greater that which is in us, when we do not endeavor to know what manner of thing we are, but detain ourselves in these bodies and, seemingly, because we have heard it and because the faith tells us, we know that we have souls; but what good things can be in this soul or Who dwells within this soul or the great value of it, seldom do we consider, and so it is regarded as of little importance to endeavor with all care to conserve its beauty. We focus everything on the vulgarity of the setting or enclosure of this castle, which is this body.

Let us consider that this castle has, as I have said, many mansions: some up high, some down low, some on the sides, and in the center and middle of all these has the most principal, which is where the very secret things between God and the soul come to pass. It is necessary that you be aware of this comparison; perhaps God will be pleased and can, through it, give you some understanding of the graces which He is pleased to bestow upon souls, and the differences that there are between them, so far as I had understood this to be possible, for it will be impossible for anyone to understand them all, they are so many, much less one who is as wretched as I. It will be to you a great consolation, when the Lord bestows them on you, to know that it is possible, and when He does not, to praise His great kindness, for just as it does not do us harm to consider the things that are in heaven and what the blessed enjoy, but rather we rejoice and endeavor to attain to what they enjoy, neither will it do us harm to see that it is possible in this exile for so great a God to commune with worms so full of foul odor, and for us to love so good a kindness and so free a mercy. I am certain that, whoever it would harm to understand that it is possible for God to bestow such grace in this exile, will be very lacking in humility and in love of neighbor, for if this is not so, how can we cease to rejoice that God bestows these graces on a brother of ours (since it does not impede Him from bestowing them on us) and that His Majesty should give an understanding of His glory, be it to whomever? Sometimes God bestows such graces only to manifest His glory, as He said of the blind man who He gave sight, when the apostles asked Him if it was for his sins or those of his parents. And so it happens not to make those to whom He grants them holier than those to whom He does not, but that His glory may be known, as we see in Saint Paul and the Magdalen, and that we may praise Him is His creatures. It may be said that such things seem impossible, and that it is good not to scandalize the weak. But less is lost when they do not believe it, than when we cease to make use of those to whom God bestows them, and who will regale themselves and will awaken others to greater love of Him who grants such mercies, His power and majesty being so great. In any case I know that I speak with people who will not have this danger, because they know and believe that God performs even far greater signs of love. I know that whoever would not believe this, will not see it through experience, for it is proper that a price not be set to His works; and so, sisters, never may it happen to those of you who the Lord does not lead by this road.

Well, turning to our beautiful and delightful castle, we must see how we will be able to enter into it. It appears that I speak some absurdity, for if this castle is the spirit, it is clear that one need not enter it, for it is oneself, as it would appear foolish to tell one to enter a room he was already inside. But you must understand that there is much difference between manners of being; that there are many souls who remain in the perimeter of the castle, which is where those who guard it are, and who do not give any thought to entering inside, nor know what there is in that most precious place, nor Who is inside, nor what rooms it has. You have already heard some books of prayer advise that the soul enter inside of it; well this is the same. A short while ago a very learned man told me that the souls that do not have prayer are like a body with palsy or paralysis, that, even though it has feet and hands, cannot command them; that they are thus, that there are souls so sick and accustomed to remaining in exterior things, that there is no remedy, nor does it appear that they can enter inside it, because such already have the custom, to be always associating with the vermin and beasts that are in the rim of the castle, that they are already almost made like them. And though they have such rich natural being and the power of having conversation, with no less than God, there is no remedy. And if these souls do not endeavor to understand and remedy their great misery, they are made and remain statues of salt, for not turning their head inward, just as Lot's wife was for turning hers.

As far as I can understand, the door to enter in this castle is prayer and contemplation; I do not say more mental than vocal, for, if it be prayer, it must be with contemplation, because that which does not notice with whom it speaks, and what it asks for, and who it is who asks, and whom, I do not call prayer, although the lips may move much. Sometimes one may pray though this care not be taken, rather having taken others; but, whoever would have the custom of speaking with the majesty of God as he would speak to his slave, and does not look if he speaks badly, but says that which comes to his mouth and he has memorized, by saying it other times, I do not regard as praying, nor God grant that any Christian pray in such a manner. Between us, sisters, I hope in His Majesty that none of you will, because of the custom that is here of treating of interior things, which is sufficiently good to prevent falling into such brutishness.

Let us not speak more of these crippled souls, who, if the Lord does not come to command to rise, as He did to the man who was by the pool for thirty years, have fully bad fortune and great danger, but of other souls, who finally enter into the castle, because, although they are very engrossed in the world, have good desires and at some point, although extremely late, commend themselves to Our Lord, and consider who they are, although not very carefully. At some point in a month they recite prayers with their minds full of a thousand business affairs, as is ordinary for them, because they are so attached to them, for where their treasure is, there is their heart. However, sometimes they mananage to empty themselves, and it is a great thing when they obtain self-knowledge and see that they do not go the right way to reach the door. Finally, they enter into the first rooms of the lower floors, but so many vermin enter with them, that they neither let them see the beauty of the castle nor be at peace. Still, they do much in having entered.

It appears to you, daughters, that this is impertinent, since by the goodness of the Lord you are not one of these. But you must have patience, because I do not know how to give an understanding of how I have understood some interior things of prayer by any other way, and may it please the Lord that I succeed in saying something, for that which I would want to give you an understanding of is very difficult, if you have not had personal experience; if you have, you will see that one cannot do less than touch on that which, please God, does not touch us, by His mercy.

CHAPTER II

Before moving forward I want to tell you to consider what it will be like to see this most resplendent and beautiful castle, this pearl of the orient, this tree of life that is planted in the living waters of life, namely God, when it falls into a mortal sin. There is no darkness more gloomy nor anything so dark and black that this does not far exceed. You do not want to know more but that, with the Sun Himself who gave it so much splendor and beauty still being in the center of his soul, it is as if He were not there for the soul to participate in Him, though it is as capable of enjoying His Majesty as is the crystal of reflecting in it the sun. Nothing avails it, and from this it follows that all the good works that it might do, being thusly in mortal sin, are of no fruit for achieving glory, because, not proceeding from that principle, which is God, from whence our virtue is virtue, and being separated from Him, it cannot be agreeable to His eyes. Since, in the end, the intent of whoever commits a mortal sin is not to please Him but to give pleasure to the demon, as he is darkness itself, so the poor soul becomes darkness itself.

I know of a person to whom Our Lord wanted to show what a soul was like when it sinned mortally. That person says that it appears to her, that if people understood this, it would not be possible for anyone to sin, and one would put oneself to greater labors than can be imagined, in order to flee the occasions. And thus she was very anxious that all understood this, and so I might give it to you, sisters, to beg God much for those who are in this state, all made a darkness, as are their works. For just as from a very clear spring flows nothing but very clear streamlets, so it is with the soul that is in grace, from whence its works come to be so agreeable to the eyes of God and of men, because they proceed from this spring of life, wherein the soul is as a tree planted. It would not have the freshness and fruit, if it did not proceed from this spring, which sustains it and makes it not dry up and which gives good fruit. So it is with the soul which through its own fault separates itself from this spring and plants itself in other water, most black and of very foul odor: all that which runs from it is the same misery and filth. It should be considered here that the spring and that resplendent sun, which is in the center of the soul, do not lose their splendor and beauty, that they are always within it and nothing can take away their beauty. Yet if one were to put on a crystal that is in the sun a very black cloth, it is clear that, although the sun may shine on it, its brightness will not affect the crystal.

Oh souls redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, understand and have shame for yourselves! How is it possible that, understanding this, you do not endeavor to take away this tar from this crystal? See that if your life is ended, you will never enjoy this light. Oh Jesus, how sad it is to see a soul departed from it! In what a state the poor rooms of the castle remain! How disturbed are the senses, which are the people living in it! And the faculties, which are the wardens and stewards and butlers: with what blindness, with what bad government! Finally, as the tree which is the demon is planted there, what fruit can it give? I heard once from a spiritual man that he was not astonished at things that one who is in mortal sin might do, but what he did not do. May God, by His mercy, free us from such great evil, for there is nothing while we live that so merits this name of evil, but this, since it brings on eternal, never-ending evils. This is, daughters, of what we must walk in fear and what we must ask God in our prayers; for if He guards not the city, in vain will we work, since we are vanity itself.

That person said that she had taken two things from the grace that God had granted her: the one, a very great fear of offending Him, for which reason she would always be beseeching Him not to let her fall, seeing such terrible harms; the second, a mirror for humility, seeing how whatever good we may do does not proceed from us, but from that spring where that tree of our souls is planted and from that sun which gives heat to our works. She says that this was represented to her so clearly that, in doing some good deed or seeing one be done, she betook herself to its Source and understood how without this aid we could do nothing; and from here she proceeded then to praise God and, ordinarily, not to remember herself in the good thing she did. It would not be time lost, sisters, that which you now spend in reading this nor I in writing it, if we remain with these two things, which the learned and enlightened know very well, but our stupidity as women makes it necessary to learn. Thus, fortunately, the Lord wants similar comparisons to come to our notice. May He be pleased of His goodness to give us grace for it!

These interior things are so elusive to understand that one with as little learning as I will be forced to say many superfluous and foolish things in order to say something relevant. It is necessary that whoever reads it have patience, as I have patience when writing about that which I know not, for sometimes I take the paper, like a silly thing, and neither do I know what to say nor how to begin. I well understand that it is important for you that I explain interior things as I may be able, for we always hear how good prayer is, and our Constitutions oblige us to pray so many hours, yet they do not explain to us more than what we ourselves have to do; of things that the Lord works in one's soul, they explain little; I speak of supernatural things. As I am speaking and explaining in many ways, it will be to us much consolation to consider this celestial interior artifice, so little understood by mortals, though many may go through it. And although the Lord has explained something concerning other things of which I have written, I think that I had not understood some as I do now, especially of the most difficult. The trouble is that to arrive at them, as I have said, I will have to say many well known things, for it cannot be less due to my crude intellect.

Well let us turn now to our castle of many mansions. You must not understand these mansions as one following the other as in a row, but put your eyes on the center, which is the room or palace where the King is, and consider it as a palmetto which, to arrive at that which is for eating, has many rinds which enclose all that is savory. Just so, here, around this room are many others, and above the same, for one must always consider the things of the soul as having plenitude and breadth and grandeur. This does not exaggerate anything, for its capacity is much greater than we can consider, and this Sun which is in this palace communicates itself to every part of it. This is very important to any soul which has prayer, little or much: that he not corner nor squeeze it; let it move through the mansions, above and below and to the sides, for God gives it such great dignity, it does not confine itself to stay long in any one room, unless it is in the room of self-knowledge, which, given how necessary this is (see that you understand me), even to those whom the Lord has in the same mansion that he is in, that never, regardless how raised it may be, does the soul fulfill it [i.e. does self-knowledge cease to be necessary], nor will it be able although it may so desire. Humility always labors like the bee in the beehive on the honey: without this everything is lost. But we consider that the bee does not cease to fly away to bring flowers: so with the soul in self-knowledge. Believe me, and fly sometimes to consider the glory and majesty of your God. Here you will find your baseness better than in yourself and freer from the vermin where they enter in the first rooms, that is, self-knowledge. For although, as I say, it is completely the mercy of God which is exercised in this, too much is as bad as too little, they are accustomed to say. And believe me that with the virtue of God we will work much better virtue than when very tied to our own land.

I know not if I have explained well, for this is something so important for us to be familiar with, that I would not want there to be any relaxation in it, no matter how raised you are in the heavens, since, while we are in this world, there is nothing that might be more important for us than humility. And so I turn to say that it is very good and very good again to try to enter first in the room where this is treated of, rather than flying to the others, because this is the road. And if we can go on the sure and even road, why must we desire wings to fly? Rather may you seek how to achieve more by walking. And it appears to me that we never completely know ourselves, if we do not endeavor to know God. Looking at His purity we see our filthiness; considering His humility we see how far we are from being humble. There are two things to be gained from this: the first, it is clear that a white thing appears much whiter against the black, and to the contrary the black against the white; the second is that our intellect and will become nobler and more prepared for all that is good, dealing with, in addition to itself, God. And if we never leave our slime of miseries it is very inconvenient. Just as we said of those who are in mortal sin, how black and malodorous are their currents, so here (although they are not like those; God free us, this is only a comparison): stuck always in the misery of our world, the current will never leave from the slime of fears, of pusillanimity and cowardice, from checking: "Are they looking at me or not?" "If I go on this road will evil befall me?" "Will I dare to begin that work?" "Will it be arrogance?" "Is it good that such a miserable person engage in something so lofty as prayer?" "Will they think better of me, if I do not go the way of everyone else? for extremes are not good, although they be in virtue, and as I am such a sinner, if I fail I will have farther to fall; perhaps I will not go forward, and I will do harm to the good; anyway, one like me does not need particulars."

Oh, help me God, daughters, how many souls must the demon have made to lose much in this way!