🏰Weekly

The Interior Castle

by St. Teresa of Ávila

St. Teresa of Ávila, Doctor of the Church and Carmelite mystic, describes the soul as a castle with seven mansions. As we journey inward through prayer and virtue, we move closer to the center where God dwells. This devotional guides you through Teresa's profound spiritual wisdom.

The Soul as a Castle

St. Teresa invites us to imagine the soul as a beautiful castle made of a single diamond or crystal, containing many rooms—seven mansions arranged concentrically, with God dwelling in the innermost chamber.

Teresa writes: "I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions."

Most people, Teresa observes, live outside the castle, unaware of its beauty or even that it exists. They are distracted by the world and never enter within.

The door to the castle is prayer. Without prayer, we cannot enter. Without self-knowledge, we cannot progress.

Today, consider: Do you know your own soul? Have you entered the castle through prayer? Or are you still living outside, distracted by lesser things?

📖 Scripture

John 14:2 - "In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?"

🙏 Prayer

Lord, help me to enter the castle of my soul through prayer. Show me the beauty You have placed within me. Draw me ever deeper toward the center where You dwell. Amen.

1 of 7 days

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