10 Our Lord Jesus Christ, praying for His Apostles, (I cannot remember the reference), asked that they might be made one with the Father and with Himself; as Jesus Christ our Lord is in the Father and the Father in Him!414414St. John xvii. 2 I: ‘Ut omnes unum sint, sicut tu Pater in me, et ego in te, ut et ipsi in nobis unum sint.’ I do not know how love could be greater than this! Let none draw back from entering here, for His Majesty also said: ‘Not only for them do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in Me’;415415St. John xvii. 20: ‘Non pro eis autem rogo tantum, sed et pro eis, qui credituri sunt per verbum eorum in me.’ and He declared: ‘I am in them.’416416St. John xvii. 2 3: ‘Ego in eis.’
11. God help me! how true these words are, and how clearly are they understood by the soul which in this state of prayer finds them fulfilled in itself! So should we all but for our own fault, for the words of Jesus Christ, our King and our Lord, cannot fail. It is we who fail by not disposing ourselves fitly, nor removing all that can obstruct this light,275so that we do not behold ourselves in this mirror wherein our image is engraved.417417 This idea is expressed in St. Teresa’s poem: Alma, buscarte has en Mi’ (Poem 10, Minor Works). Such is the power of love, O soul,To paint thee in my heartNo craftsman with such artWhate’er his skill might be, could thereThine image thus impart!’Twas love that gave thee life—Then, fair one, if thou beLost to thyself, thou’lt seeThy portrait in my bosom stamped—Soul, seek thyself in Me.
12. To return to what I was saying. God places the soul in His own mansion which is in the very centre of the soul itself. They say the empyreal heavens, in which our Lord dwells, do not revolve with the rest: so the accustomed movements of the faculties and imagination do not appear to take place in any way that can injure the soul or disturb its peace.
13. Do I seem to imply that after God has brought the soul thus far it is certain to be saved and cannot fall into sin again?418418 In a letter dated May 1581, addressed to Don Alonso Velasquez, then bishop of Osma, St. Teresa writes as follows:
’She [herself] has received such an assurance of coming one day to the fruition of God that she almost imagines she has already come into possession of Him, without, however, the joy that will accompany it. She is in the same position as one who by legal contract has received a splendid property which will become his, and whose fruit he will enjoy at a given date. Until then he only holds the title-deeds, without being able to take possession of the property. Nevertheless my soul would not like to come immediately into the possession of God, for it does not believe that it has deserved such a grace. It only desires to continue in His service, even at the cost of terrible sufferings. It would not mind thus serving Him to the end of the world, after having received such a pledge.’ St. John of the Cross, in treating of this subject (Spir. Cant. stanza xxii. 3) says: ‘I believe that no soul ever attains to this state without being confirmed in grace in it.’ See also Ribera, in the Acta Ss. p. 554, circa finem. I do not mean this: whenever 276 I say that the soul seems in security, I must be understood to imply for as long as His Majesty thus holds it in His care and it does not offend Him. At any rate I know for certain that though such a person realizes the high state she is in and has remained in it for several years, she does not consider herself safe, but is more careful than ever to avoid committing the least offence against God. As I shall explain later on, she is most anxious to serve Him and feels a constant pain and confusion at seeing how little she can do for Him compared with all she ought.’ This is no light cross but a severe mortification, for the harder the penances she can perform, the better is she pleased. Her greatest penance is to be deprived by God of health and strength to perform any. I told you elsewhere what keen pain this caused her, but now it grieves her far more. This must be because she is like a tree grafted on a stock growing near a stream which makes it greener and more fruitful.419419Ps. i. 3: ‘Et erit tamquam lignum quod plantatum est secus decursus aquarum, quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo.’ Why marvel at the longings of this soul whose spirit has truly become one with the celestial water I described?
14. To return to what I wrote about. It is not intended that the powers, senses and passions should continually enjoy this peace. The soul does so, indeed, but in the other mansions there are still times of struggle, suffering, and fatigue, though as a general rule, peace is not lost by them. This ‘centre of the soul’ or ‘spirit’ is so hard to describe 277or even to believe in, that I think, sisters, my inability to explain my meaning saves your being tempted to disbelieve me; it is difficult to understand how there can be crosses and sufferings and yet peace in the soul.
15. Let me give you one or two comparisons—God grant they may be of use; if not, I know that what I say is true. A king resides in his palace; many wars and disasters take place in his kingdom but he remains on his throne. In the same way, though tumults and wild beasts rage with great uproar in the other mansions, yet nothing of this enters the seventh mansions, nor drives the soul from it. Although the mind regrets these troubles, they do not disturb it nor rob it of its peace, for the passions are too subdued to dare to enter here where they would only suffer still further defeat. Though the whole body is in pain, yet the head, if it be sound, does not suffer with it. I smile at these comparisons—they do not please me—but I can find no others. Think what you will about it—I have told you the truth.
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Source: Interior Castle (CCEL)