CHAPTER IV Mental Prayer1 The door of entry into this castle is prayer and meditation. Prayer is holding converse. To know God, to know oneself in the light of God: such is the twofold knowledge that constitutes the foundation of the spiritual life,...
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CHAPTER IV Mental Prayer1 The door of entry into this castle is prayer and meditation. Prayer is holding converse. To know God, to know oneself in the light of God: such is the twofold knowledge that constitutes the foundation of the spiritual life, regulates its movement, indicates its progress, assures its perfection. By what means is the soul going to bring itself to its own depths, to be united with God who dwells there? In the first pages of the Interior Castle, Saint Teresa gives the answer: Now let us return to our beautiful and delightful castle and see how we can enter it… As far as I can understand, the door of entry into this castle is prayer and meditation.2 The quotation suggests at once the essential role of prayer in Teresian spirituality. We shall state precisely this role; then explain the definition and the classifications that Saint Teresa gives of prayer. A. Role of prayer in Teresian spirituality "The door of entry into this Castle … is prayer." Teresa is writing i
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