In this retreat experience we will explore Saint Theresa of Avila's classic work The Interior Castle. We will allow Theresa to guide us through the mansions of our own soul, until we come to the seventh and innermost mansion, in which God lives. An emphasis will be given to the actual experience of the challenges, potential stuck places and mystical awakenings that we experience in this interior journey through our own soul to discover God within and beyond us calling us to divine union.
The topics covered in the conferences include:
Who was Theresa of Avila? The overall plan and vision of her book The Interior Castle.
The first three mansions: the interior struggles and blessings of recognizing and letting go of all that hinders our spiritual awakening.
The fourth mansion: The dawning of the more mystical dimensions of our interior journey
The fifth and sixth mansions: The progression from reflective prayer to the prayer of quiet, to the prayer of union.
The seventh mansion: Mystical marriage. As the rain falling into the river becomes the river, we become non-distinct from God who is our life.
Suggested Reading
Peers, Allison, E. (trans) The Interior Castle. Kavanaugh, K. & O. Rodriguez. (trans). The Collectected Works of
St. Theresa of Avila. Myss, Caroline, Entering the Castle.
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