Teresa of Avila - Her Own Words - Instructions on the Prayer of Recollection 1910

7/30/2019 Teresa of Avila - Her Own Words - Instructions on the Prayer of Recollection 1910

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ST. TERESA S OWN WORDS


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St. Teresa s OwnWords :Or, Instructions onThe Prayer of Recollection

Arranged from Chapters 28 and29 of her Way of Perfection forthe use of the Sisters of OurLady of Mount Carmel,

Darlington, byJAMES,

BISHOP OF HEXHAM & NEWCASTLE

RLGISBffiL. MAJ.COLLEGE

LONDON : BURNS 6r OATES \ /NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHIGAGO IBENZIGER BROTHERS 5>CigiO

Coil. Chiisii Regis S.J. ! TO U


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St. Teresa s Own Words.

i.

Nature and Definition of the Prayerof Recollection.IT is called the Prayer of Recollec

tion because in it the soul collects, orgathers together,

all herpowers, andenters into her own interior with God.

I wish I knew how to describe toyou this holy intercourse which, without disturbing in the least her perfectsolitude, is carried on between thesoul and her Divine Spouse andCompanion, the Holy of Holies, andwhich takes place as often as evershe pleases to enter into this interiorparadise in company with her God,and to shut the gate to all the world


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6 St. Teresa sOwnWordsbesides. I say, as often as she pleases ;for you must understand that this isnot altogether a supernatural thing,but is quite within our own power,and we can do it whenever we chose ;I mean, of course, with God s help,for without this we can do nothing atall, not so much as have a single goodthought. For you must observe thatthis recollection is not a suspension ofthe powers of the soul, but only ashutting them up, as it were, withinourselves.

II.

The Truth or Foundation on which thePrayer of Recollection rests.

You know that God is everywhere(therefore He is in our interior.) Nowit is clear that wherever the King is,there the Court is too ; therefore,wherever God is, there is heaven ;and you can readily, believe thatwherever this Divine Majesty is, allglory is with Him. Then consider


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St. Teresa sOwnWords 7what St. Augustine says : that he"

sought God in many places, andfound Him at last within himself."It is, then, of the utmost importance

to bear this truth in mind, that ourLord is within us, and that we oughtto strive to be there with him.On a certain occasion, when I wasassisting at the Divine Office with therest of the Sisters, I became, on asudden, thus recollected within myself: and here my own soul was presented before me, and it seemed tome to resemble a bright mirror, inwhich there was no darkness norshadow, either behind or on eitherside, or above or below but all clearand resplendent ; and in the midst ofit there appeared Christ our Lord, inthe form under which I am accustomedto see Him. It seemed to me that HisImage was shining forth from everypart of my soul, as though reflectedin the mirror ; and then, by a wonderful communication of love, which Iknow not how to describe, this samemirror of my soul seemed to be reproduced and again represented, in a


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8 St.Teresa sOwnWordswondrous manner, within the Form ofmy Divine Redeemer.[Again], on a certain occasion, it wasshown to me that my soul was like asponge in the midst of the ocean ofthe Divinity, and that it drank in thisheavenly substance, so as, in a manner,to embrace within it the Three DivinePersons. But, at the same time, Iwas admonished that though I hadthe Divinity within my soul, yet Imyself was much more contained inHim than He in me. Thus, whilst Ibeheld, as it were, hidden within methe Three Divine Persons, I saw thatThey, at the same time, communicatedThemselves to all created

things,without ceasing for an instant toabide in me.On another occasion I was madeto understand this truth with greatclearness that all things are seenin God, and that He contains everything within Himself. I do notknow how to describe this ; but it hasremained deeply impressed upon mymind, and is one of the greatestfavours our Lord has ever granted me,


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St. Teresa sOwnWords 9and one that has filled me, more thanany other, with confusion at the remembrance of my sins. If it hadpleased our Lord to let me see thisbefore I had sinned, or if others, whooffend Him, could only have seen it,I believe that neither they nor I wouldhave ever had the boldness to commitsin. No words that I can use canconvey any idea of this sublime truth.The only notion I can give of it isthis :/J beheld the Divinity like a mostbrilliant diamond, far greater than thewhole world, and containing everythingwithin itself ; and in this diamond wasreflected, as it were, everything thatis done here below.] Wonderful itwas, indeed, to behold in so short atime, within this glorious mirror,such a multitude of things assembledtogether ! But to see represented inthis pure and unsullied brightnesssuch foul abominations as my sinswas a spectacle that fills me with thedeepest sorrow whenever I call it tomind. In truth, when I reflect upon it,I know not how I can bear thethought ; and at the time when I beheld


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io St. Teresa sOwnWordsit, I was so covered with confusion thatI did not know which way to turn.Now it seems to me that this visionmay be of much profit to those whoare practising this Prayer of Recollection, to teach them to consider our Lordin the interior of their own souls ; for,to repeat what I have so often saidbefore, this consideration fixes theattention far better, and is far moreprofitable, than to represent Him inany other way. If, instead of this, wedirect our thoughts to God in heaven,or if, in fine, we turn to any spot beyondourselves, we do but weary our mindsand distract our souls, and, after all,lose much of the fruit of our labour.

[In another place,^ the Saint says] :The soul of the just man is nothingless than a paradise, in which Godfinds His delight. And what sort ofan abode must that be in which aKing so powerful, so wise, so brightand stainless, so rich in every good,delights to dwell !

I can find nothing to which I cancompare the great beauty and immense

* Castle of the Soul, chap. i.


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St. Teresa sOwnWords 1 1capacity of a soul. And, indeed, sinceGod has made our souls, as He tells us,to His own image and likeness, it is notto be expected that our minds, howevergifted, should be able to understandthe beauty of a soul, any more than wecan understand God himself. To tryto do so would be labour in vain ;for though there be an immensedifference between the Soul and God

the soul being a creature and Godher Creator still, since His DivineMajesty has made the soul to His ownimage, how great must be its dignity,how surpassing its beauty !

It is a sad pity, and a shame as well,that we do not know ourselves andwhat we are. Would it not be thoughtstrange ignorance if, when a man wereasked his name or the name of hisfather or mother, or the land of hisbirth, he should know nothing about it?But it is a stupidity greater than thisbeyond comparison to be ignorant ofwhat we are ourselves to knownothing about it, beyond a generalnotion that we are living in a body, andthat we have a soul; and to think but


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12 St. Teresa sOwnWordslittle of the goods this soul may possess,or Him who dwells within it, and of itsexceeding value ; and, hence, to takesuch little pains to preserve its beauty.

O, that I could teach this truth tothose who commit so many foul andshameful sins, that so they might remember that they are not hidden norout of sight when they do such things !For, since we are in the immediatepresence of His Divine Majesty, Heclearly beholds whatever we do ; andyet we presume to behave with suchinsulting irreverence before His eyes !I saw how richly hell is deserved forany one single mortal sin ; for it is anevil, great beyond all comprehension,to commit such things in the veryPresence of such a Majesty, and it isimpossible for any one to understandhow opposed they are to His adorablepurity.

I was given to understand that,when a soul is in mortal sin, thismirror [see page 6] is, as it were,covered with a thick cloud, andbecomes so black that the image ofour Lord can neither be represented


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St. Teresa sOwnWords 1 3nor seen in it, although He is stillpresent within the soul, giving her lifeand being. And when a soul is inheresy, it is as though the mirror wereshattered to pieces, which is far worsethan being darkened and obscured.But there is a great difference betweenseeing all this and expressing it inwords ; for it is very difficult todescribe. However, it has been ofgreat advantage to me, and has mademe think with a deep sorrow upon thetime when, by my sins, I so obscuredmy soul that I could see my DivineMaster there no more.

In how clear a light does it displayHis infinite mercy, that He shouldbear with us although, knowing thistruth, we still offend Him! And ifthe mere sight of what I have described filled my soul with such consternation, I cannot but reflect howterrible the Day of Judgment will bewhen this Sovereign Majesty willreveal Himself to our eyes, and weshall see clearly the sins whereby wehave offended Him.Good God ! into what blindness had


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14 St. Teresa sOwnWordsI fallen when I sinned against Thee !Many a time have I trembled withterror while writing these lines. Andno wonder ! The wonder rather isthat I should not die at once when Icall to mind the things that I haveseen, and look upon the life I haveled. Blessed be He for evermorewho has borne with me so long !

III.

Method and Practice of the Prayerof Recollection.

And now we must see how we canenter into this beautiful and delightfuldwelling. It may, perhaps, seemfoolish to talk of entering into it ; for,if this dwelling be our own souls, wecannot enter into what is, in fact,ourselves, just as it would be folly totell a person to enter a room when hewas inside it already. But we mustunderstand that there are more waysthan one of being inside our souls.There are many, indeed, who do no


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St. Teresa sOwnWords i 5more than, like a troop of guards,walk round this castle of their souls,and never care to enter it at all, andknow nothing about what it contains.Now the gate whereby we have toenter this precious dwelling of oursouls is by prayer and consideration.I do not say mental prayer only, butvocal as well, provided it be accompanied with consideration or attentionof the mind ; since, without this, itwould not be prayer. For if a persondoes not think who it is that he isspeaking to, or what he is asking, orwho he is that is praying, or to whomhe prays, I certainly do not call thata prayer, how much soever the manmay move his lips.^

i. Well, then, you must begin byfixing this truth in your minds : thatthere is within you a palace of surpassing splendour, whose whole structure is composed of gold and mostprecious stones such, indeed, as isfitting for the great King who resideswithin it ; and that the beauty of yourown soul is, in part, the cause why

* Castle of the Sottl, chap. i.


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1 6 St. Teresa sOwnWordsthis palace is so beautiful. For itis most true that no

buildingcan

be compared, in beauty and magnificence, with a soul that is pure andfilled with virtues ; and the higherthese virtues are, the larger and moreresplendent are the jewels that adornher interior dwelling. And in themidst of this palace dwells the greatKing who deigns to be your constantguest, and here He sits upon a throneof priceless value, and this throne isin your own heart.

2. But here comes the great pointof all. We, on our part, must, with afull and hearty determination, makeover to Him entirely this interiorpalace, that so He may find no difficulty in dealing with it just as withHis own property, turning out andputting in whatever He pleases. Hehas made this an essential conditionto the bargain, and certainly HisDivine Majesty is quite in the rightto do so. Let us not, then, refuse Himwhat He asks. At the same time Hedoes not force our wills, but He willdeign to receive as much as we choose


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St. Teresa sOwnWords 1 7to give Him ; only remember,,.// willnevej-_give Himself entirely to us untilwe have given ourselves entirely toTTirn. This is as certain as any thing-can be, and so important too, that itis for this reason I so often put you inmind of it. Without this He neverworks those effects in the soul whichHe does when she is entirely His,without any reserve or obstacle. Nor,indeed, do I well see how He can, forHe is a special friend to order andpropriety. So that if we fill thispalace with all sorts of rabble, andinstead of ornament, disfigure it withtrifles and worthless trinkets, how is itpossible that our Lord can dwell therewith all His Court? I am sure it isas much as we can expect if He staysthere ever so short a time, in themidst of such confusion.

3. I beseech you, for the love ofGod, to make no account of earthlyfavours. Let each one try to do herduty, and if her Superior gives nosign of approbation of her conduct,let her rest assured that our Lord willapprove and repay her well. Did we


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1 8 St. Teresa sOwnWordscome into the world to seek ourreward in this life ? Let our thoughtsbe ever fixed upon the things thatlast, and let us make no account ofthe things here below, for they do notlast even for the short space of ourlives.Give no place to thoughts of whatothers may think of you, for thoughthey may seem but a slight matter atfirst, yet by degrees they will cometo give you much disquiet. Banishthem, therefore, at once, rememberingthat your kingdom is not of this world,and that all visible things will verysoon have an end. Endeavour to riseabove this, and be content that menshould continue to think as they do ;remain humble and despised, and beglad to remain so, for the love of yourLord who dwells within you.

Cast your eyes upon yourselves,and not upon others, and look intoyour own interior in the manner Ihave described, and there you willfind your Heavenly Master, who willnever desert you. And the lessexternal consolation you find, the


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St.Teresa sOwnWords 1 9greater will be the tenderness withwhich He will treat you. He is mosttender and compassionate, and neverabandons those who are afflicted anddespised, if they will but trust in Himalone. Hence the Royal Prophet says"that the Lord is with those who arein affliction." I )o you believe this, ornot ? _If_ you do so, why do youtorment yourselves ?O, God of my heart, if we only knewThee

trulyand indeed, nothing in theworld could distress or trouble us, forThou art liberal beyond expression tothose who wish to put their trust inThee. Believe me, it is a great point

to understand this truth, and to seethat all favours and honours herebelow are nothing but deceit whenthey turn away the soul from thisinterior recollection. Good God ! whoshall be able to teach you to understand this truth as you ought ? Certainly not I ; for though no one ismore bound to understand it than Iam, still I have not yet learnt it as itought to be learnt.

4. We should try to disengage our-


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2O St. Teresa sOwnWordsselves, as far as may be, from exterioroccupations, that we may occupy ourselves more easily with God in ourown interior.

5. And even when engaged withthese occupations, we should oftenturn our thoughts within ourselves, ifit be only for a single moment. Themere act of calling to mind what aCompanion we have within us, is ofgreat importance.

6. We must try to use our externalsenses so as to promote the interestsof our interior. For example, if wespeak to any one, let us call to mindthat there is One with whom we mayconverse in the interior of our souls.If we hear others speak of us, let usremember that there is One to whomwe may listen, who speaks to us farmore clearly and intimately. Shutyourselves up within this little heavenof your souls, where He ever dwellswho made both the heaven within themand the earth without, and accustomyourselves to take off your eyes, and towithdraw from those

things by whichyour external senses are distracted.


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St. Teresa sOwn Words 217. But, above all things, I want to

impress upon you that, when we arespeaking to Him we should look atHim and remain in His presence, andnot turn our backs upon him ; for itseems to me that this is just what we doif, while we are speaking to Him, weare thinking of a thousand absurdities.The whole mischief lies here, that wedo not fully understand how near Heis to us, but represent Him as far away.And far enough off indeed He wouldbe if we had to go to heaven to seeHim. O God, is there, then, so littlebeauty in Thy countenance that it isnot worth looking at when Thou artso near us ? When we speak to menwe think they are not listening to usif we do not see that their eyes areupon us ; and shall we be so blind asnot to see that Thou art looking uponus when we are speaking to Thee ?How, then, can we know whetherThou hast heard what we have said toThee ? It is, then, of no small importance for a distracted soul tounderstand this truth, and to see that,in order to speak to her Eternal


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22 St. Teresa sOwnWordsFather, and to enjoy His company,there is no need of going up toheaven, or of raising her voice, asthough He were afar off. No ; however low we speak, so near He is thatHe is sure to hear us ; nor is thereany need of wings to fly and seekHim. Nothing more is required thanto place ourselves in solitude, to lookat Him within ourselves, and be careful not to turn our eyes away from soamiable a Guest to collect all ourexternal senses together, to turn themwithin ourselves, and to give themsomething to occupy them there.

Let us be convinced that, if weplease, we need never be separatedfrom His sweet company. And let usthink over with sorrow how, time aftertime, we have left our Father in Hisdwelling alone and forgotten thisFather on whose tender support weentirely depend. Let us do this, ifwe can, many times in the day ; ifnot so often, at least now and then ;but whether seldom or often, if we dobut try we shall find the fruit of itsooner or later.


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St. Teresa sOwnWords 2 3Speak to Him as to a father, askHim favours as from a father ; let us

tell Him all our troubles, and beg ofHim to relieve us, all the while bearing in mind that we are not worthy tobe His children. Treat with Him aswith your father, your brother, yourLord, and your spouse sometimes inone way, sometimes in another, forHe will teach you what you must doto please Him. Do not act foolishly(with levity) towards Him ; but askHim with confidence to keep thepromises He has made you, and, asHe is your Spouse, beg Him to treatyou as such. He will soon becomeso familiar with us as to understandus, as they say, by signs ; so that ifwe have to say a number of " OurFathers," He will let us know thatHe has heard us by the time we havegot through a single one. He isalways very glad to lessen our labours ;so that if, during a whole hour, wewere to say but one "Our Father,"yet, provided we (a) bear in mind thatwe are with Him, and (

Teresa of Avila - Her Own Words - Instructions on the Prayer of Recollection 1910

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