St. Teresa of Ávila: The Journey Through Prayer to Divine Union

Introduction

St. Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) is one of the most influential mystics and spiritual teachers in Christianity. She was a Spanish nun of the Order of Carmelites, a reformer, and Doctor of the Church. St. Teresa has helped many souls by sharing her insights into prayer and the process of spiritual ascent. Her writings on contemplative prayer, the ascetic life, and mysticism can be found today in both books and online resources, and they are just as significant and life-changing as they were more than four centuries ago .

The Four Waters: Teresa’s Map of Prayer

Teresa’s teaching about prayer is contained in her autobiography where she uses four types of water to represent the four different levels of prayer. Watering a garden is a good analogy for what St. Teresa describes.The analogy gives us an accurate picture of how the depth of our relationship with God through prayer develops as we are filled with God’s grace.

The first type of water is taken from a well and requires great effort. It takes great effort for us to draw water from the well; therefore, the first type of prayer requires that we actively engage our minds with our wills, focusing our thoughts upon the life of Christ as well as the stories in Scripture that tell us about Him. While the first type of prayer requires effort, it is also foundational to our prayer life and essential for our spiritual journey.

The second type of water is taken from a waterwheel that moves downhill into aqueducts. Because this type of water flows downhill, we do not need to put in as much effort. Watering a garden using the second type of water represents the prayer of tranquility, where God takes over our prayer and we do not need to do very much any longer. At this point in our spiritual journey, the intellect becomes less of a factor, and we rest in God’s presence. Although this is a time when we can experience quietness and two paths are present, our minds may still wander; however, our will remains anchored in God’s presence.

The third type of water flows from a brook or spring. While watering the garden is easy with the third type of water, St. Teresa writes about what is known as the prayer of union. The third type of water represents an intermediate step towards the fourth type of water; when we reach the prayer of union, we do not experience ourselves as we did prior to that experience. At the prayer of union, we become so lost in God that we are no longer aware of ourselves in the same way as we were before. At that point, we are not able to discern between being awake or being asleep, present or absent, alive or dead. St. Teresa writes about her own experience with these experiences and found them very difficult to articulate, often resorting to paradoxes.

The fourth type of water flows down from heaven, and it is God’s work alone. Watering the garden with this type of water signifies the peak of our prayer life: the mystical marriage. The peak of our prayer life occurs when the soul reaches its point of intimate contact with God, resulting in transformation. The soul at this stage is almost continuously aware of God, even while performing the daily duties of life.

The Interior Castle: Rooms of the Soul

In her most important work, The Interior Castle, Teresa gives us another means of looking at our spiritual journey. She compares our souls to a castle made of diamonds or crystal. Within that castle there are seven rooms or levels; God is in the middle of this castle and is filling every level of our souls with light and beauty during our journey.

When we begin our journey through prayer, we are at the outer rooms of the castle where most people are. Most people are very distracted by worldly concerns and have very little awareness of the divine light inside of them. In the outer rooms of the castle, we experience difficulties with prayer; dryness, sadness, and a tendency to be overwhelmed with the love of God.

As we progress through the second, third and fourth rooms of the castle, we experience an increase in our ability to pray. The second and third rooms of our castle have both consolation and difficulty, but when we start to walk through the dry seasons, we will be benefited by the ability to experience God in a new and different way; at times God will draw away from us His feelings of positive energy and test our love for Him.

The fourth mansion marks a crucial transition. Here, supernatural prayer begins—what Teresa calls infused contemplation. The soul no longer produces these experiences through its own efforts; God grants them as pure gift. The prayer of quiet often characterizes this stage, along with experiences of spiritual sweetness that are distinct from emotional feelings.

In the fifth mansion, the prayer of union predominates. Teresa uses the metaphor of a silkworm that must die to become a butterfly. The soul experiences a kind of death to self, emerging transformed through intimate contact with God. These experiences are brief but profoundly transformative, leaving the soul with new desires to serve God and neighbor.

The sixth mansion brings both the greatest sufferings and the most extraordinary graces. Teresa herself spent many years here, experiencing visions, locutions, raptures, and ecstasies alongside intense spiritual and physical trials. She describes being wounded by divine love, experiencing a pain so sweet that one desires it never to end. The famous vision of the seraph piercing her heart with a flaming arrow occurred during this stage.

The seventh mansion represents spiritual marriage, the permanent state of transforming union with God. Unlike the temporary unions of earlier stages, this represents a settled condition where the soul lives in constant, peaceful awareness of God’s presence. Teresa describes it as the butterfly finally coming to rest after its anxious flights. Paradoxically, those in this stage often appear most ordinary outwardly, going about daily tasks with remarkable peace and effectiveness.

Meditation on Christ’s Humanity

Through the various stages Teresa emphasized the necessity of Christ’s humanity as a subject for meditation, noting the frequency of her thought about Him: “I was never without being able to contemplate Him,” remarking that to meditate on Him as though He were incorporeal was an error. This conviction arose from her own experience, not only because she had previously been advised to forgo any physical representations of Christ in order to advance in contemplation but also because she later expressed deep regret over this recommendation.

Christ, according to Teresa, is the route, the entry point, and the companion for the entire course, instead of a point of departure. She suggested meditating on scenes from the Gospels, such as Christ in Gethsemane, at the pillar, and on the cross. In addition, she encouraged simply being present with Him as one would be present to a close friend, communicating directly through the heart without the need of elaborate formulas or techniques.

This devotion to Christ as the center of love provided a solidly grounded and orthodox expression of Teresa’s mystical experience. She repeatedly emphasized that all of her greatest mystical experiences were oriented toward the Incarnate Son of God, and so rejected any notion of being absorbed in a divine essence; she adamantly believed that Christian Mysticism is about relationships, that it is the uncreated Trinity mediated through Christ.

The Nature of Contemplation

Teresa distinguished quite markedly between acquired contemplation (the outcome of one’s own meditative practice) and infused contemplation (a supernatural prayer from God). This distinction is critical to the understanding of spiritual life. Infused contemplation cannot be produced by any technique or system; one can only create the disposition to receive it through the practice of vocal prayer, meditation, and virtuous acts.

To Teresa, contemplation is not the attainment of some sort of empty or blank state; it instead occurs when the will of the soul becomes captivated by the love of God. The mind may quiet, thoughts may cease, but the reason for this is that the soul is burning with love, rather than any kind of mental technique. For this reason, Teresa defined contemplation as loving attentiveness to God, usually devoid of word or thought, but still bearing the characteristics of tranquility and growing love.

When one fully engages with God in a contemplative manner, the action that comes forth will be an overflowing of that relationship. Those who experience union with God become more active and effective in serving their brothers and sisters. Teresa frequently emphasized the need for the two walks of Martha and Mary to function in unison. The act of serving God as one moves in a contemplative manner strengthens the soul in its work for the Kingdom, and thus, the outer product of this union is manifested in all good works.

Mystical Phenomena: Visions, Locutions, and Raptures

Throughout her life, Teresa was privileged to experience many mystical phenomena, and she wrote with great clarity and understanding of these experiences. She categorized these mystical visions in three different ways: corporeal, imaginative, and intellectual. Teresa regarded intellectual visions as the most reliable and authentic, but she admitted that they were also the most difficult to articulate.

One of Teresa’s best-known visions was that of a seraphim piercing her heart repeatedly with a golden spear which was aflame with divine love. The physical agony was overwhelming and yet, she was overwhelmed with a great pleasurable sweetness, and she had the desire for the experience never to cease. The beauty of Bernini’s sculpture, “The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa,” is a great affirmation of the contrasting elements in her mystical experience—pain and pleasure, wound and healing, death and life—all coalescing.

Teresa received numerous locutions or divine words instructing her either audibly, or through her imagination, or through direct communication of her soul. She was very skilled at discerning what constituted true locutions, in that authentic locutions produce peace, humility, and light, and these true locutions were both irresistible and efficacious. Teresa stated that when listening to false locutions, the result was that they cause anxiety, pride, and confusion.

In the sixth mansion of her Interior Castle, she experienced many instances of rapture and ecstasy during her prayers in the chapel at the Carmelite convent. During these episodes of rapture, her body would become extremely rigid and at times, her body would appear to be elevated, while her soul was in the arms of God. Though she found these occasions of public displays of rapture embarrassing and while she prayed for the Lord to spare her from them, she could not avoid them when they occurred. With her growth into the seventh mansion, she experienced less of the dramatic occurrences and entered into a more settled and tranquil union with God.

Spiritual Discernment and Humility

Despite—or perhaps because of—her extraordinary experiences in prayer, Teresa remained grounded and highly practical. Teresa believed that prayer should be evaluated according to its fruit: increased humility, charity and obedience to the Church. Because of this, she was highly mistrustful of individuals who claimed to have extraordinary visions of God but did not demonstrate increasing growth in virtue or love of neighbor.

Teresa also had a strong appreciation for spiritual directors and confessors, though she lamented that there were, in reality, few “qualified” directors. Therefore, when appropriate directors were not available, she trusted that God himself would assist honest souls, and in addition, she believed that reading good books would make up some of the difference for not having direct guidance.

Teresa’s letters and writings are filled with evidence of her humility, as she refers to herself as wretched and acknowledges her sins and weaknesses, but also appreciates God’s working with such poor material. Yet, this same humility also allowed her to boldly pursue her mission as reformer of the Carmelite Order and teacher of prayer as she saw God’s calling to be, and she carried out her missions with extraordinary courageous determination.

Prayer and Reform

Teresa’s extraordinary mystical experiences were closely interwoven with practical action. Her deep life of prayer inspired her to reform the Carmelite order. She believed the “distractions of the world” and the lapsed observances of the Carmelite Order of her day prevented the true development of deep prayer, thus, she ordered herself to found communities that practiced the spiritual life of the Order.

Her order was characterized by the elements of poverty, solitude, and silence to promote an interior life. She established small communities of no more than 13 nuns to support each other on the journey to God. And her guidelines, such as manual labor, communal prayer, personal meditation, and simple lifestyle create an atmosphere conducive to the flourishing of contemplation.

Nonetheless, even in her reformed communities, Teresa insisted on balance between prayer and charity and contemplation and common sense. “God walks among the pots and pans,” the presence of God holds true to the tasks of the day-to-day. A sick religious person should have a good rest and nourishment and not be forced to excessive austerity, as both of these items are detrimental to the health and spirituality of the nuns.

Teaching on Mental Prayer

Teresa defined mental prayer simply as “nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” This definition clearly states that prayer consists of a personal relationship that has as its main focus a connection with God, and thus a large part of mental prayer is establishing this connection through a friendship with God.

Teresa encouraged all people, especially new believers, to begin vocal prayer before engaging in mental prayer. Specifically, she mentioned the Lord’s Prayer and that it is beneficial for the beginner to recite it at a slow pace with devotion while remaining focused on what they are praying about. By spending time in prayer and by pondering the meaning of the verses of the Lord’s Prayer, the beginner will learn to engage in all types of prayer simultaneously.

Teresa strongly encouraged people to dedicate time each day specifically to spending time with God through the act of mental prayer. She acknowledged that this dedication may be difficult at first for some practitioners because they may feel rejected spiritually when God becomes unavailable to them, but she believed that with sustained faith and perseverance in prayer, the newly dedicated prayer practitioner will eventually see fruits of their labor. To exemplify her point, Teresa likened it to having to endure the unpleasantness and excess smoke that occurs during the first hour of starting a fire.

In regards to failures within mental prayer, Teresa advised practitioners not to be overly consoled and thus become despondent at their loss of consolation or “prayer of discursive thought,” wearing themselves out with elaborate theological speculations rather than resting in God’s presence. Much of what Teresa teaches in her writings on consolation and how one is to go through the various stages of spiritual development can also be applied to understanding the various types of adversity encountered during the spiritual path, especially spiritual dryness.

The Dark Nights and Trials

Teresa frequently wrote about both consolation and mystical graces; however, she never ignored the trials experienced along the spiritual journey. Throughout her life, Teresa faced the challenges of being spiritually barren or in a state of darkness where God appeared to be far away; she also experienced temptation and doubt. Furthermore, Teresa was open about her struggle with praying for years and the notion of experiencing God’s absence while praying.

When writing about the trials associated with a “dark night,” Teresa had three main purposes for doing so. First, trials define how much we love God—whether it is the blessings we receive from him, or whether we love Him as our Creator. Second, trials purify an individual by burning off false attachments. Finally, trials demonstrate that grace comes from God alone and not through the actions of a human being and illustrates how Jesus endured a dark night when he was abandoned on the cross.

Teresa encourages all persons who are experiencing a “dark” experience and continues to pray through it, even though it seems as though every prayer they pray has gone unanswered. In fact, according to her teachings, “dark” times will provide as much spiritual advancement as “consolation” would ultimately yield. Overall, Teresa taught that one must never abandon prayer, nor stop praying, and one should wait for God to act in faith.

Transforming Union: The Goal of Prayer

The ultimate and final union between God and man, transformed union or spiritual marriage, is the most complete way to live as a Christian. It is through the transformed life that an individual will establish a connection with God that has always been a part of their life. When this connection has been established, habitual prayer becomes as natural as breathing is. When breathing has become habitual, the transformed life experiences peace regardless of circumstances.

However, in regard to transformed union, Teresa advises that it should not be misconstrued to mean that the transformed life lives only for themselves; therefore, to be transformed means to become increasingly aware and connected to God and humanity as a whole. True love for God will overflow into the lives of others, and if an individual has achieved a lofty mystical experience and doesn’t exhibit love for his fellow man, that individual has deceived themselves about the true nature of their experience.

A major aspect of the transformed life is the freedom felt by the individual. Thus, the transformed individual is no longer held captive by desires or fears. Therefore, the transformed individual has the ability to respond in love and wisdom in every situation. Lastly, Teresa did not say that it meant to be transformed into not suffering; rather, it means that the transformed individual has the ability to accept suffering by having faith in the goodness supplied by God. Teresa herself faced physical suffering and pain throughout her seventh mansion.

Teresa’s Legacy

St. Teresa’s teachings on prayer and meditation have influenced the Christian community for over 400 years. Christian spirituality is impacted greatly by the mysticism of Saint Teresa of Ávila. She was the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church (October 25, 1970). The writings of Saint Teresa have a distinct warm, humorous, psychologically deep, and mystical nature, and they continue to assist all seekers of God as they grow into their own relationship with God.

Saint Teresa’s mysticism is known for being accessible. While she had extraordinary mystical experiences, which were different from those of the majority of people, the works she produced were intended for the majority of people to whom she wrote. In writing for average people who wanted to expand their prayer life, she focused on developing a personal relationship with God by developing a practice of contemplation through prayer. Therefore, Saint Teresa “took the mystery out of mysticism” while simultaneously maintaining the transcendent mystery of God by providing people with many ways to connect with God in a more direct and personal way as they continued to live daily lives.

Saint Teresa demonstrated that persons do not have to compare their mystical experiences with their practical activities, nor do they have to choose one over the other. In her writings, she emphasized that one could live both an active and contemplative life simultaneously. For example, she had many visions of God and was frequently transported to ecstatic experiences while at the same time overseeing the complete construction of 17 convents. Therefore, she contributed greatly to the work of transforming the world through her actions. Saint Teresa’s life testifies to the fact that holiness does not require an individual to withdraw from active involvement with the world.

Saint Teresa of Ávila’s spiritual teachings and experience are relevant to all spiritual seekers regardless of time or place. In this day and age of overwhelming distraction and superficiality, Saint Teresa is a reminder to each of us of how important it is to develop our interior life as part of the whole of our spiritual life. In this era of spiritual consumerism, Saint Teresa demonstrates how we must have the patience and perseverance to authentically pray. In our current time, in which the highest values of society are placed on accomplishment and achievement, she reminds us that we cannot expect to achieve anything of profound consequence through our own efforts; rather, the deepest experiences of life are given to us freely as gifts from God.

The essence of St. Teresa of Ávila’s message is that God desires an intimate personal friendship with us, and this friendship develops through prayer; whether we are consoled during prayer or experience dryness or are experiencing visions or are struggling in our daily lives in our spiritual development, we keep going on to God until that personal relationship develops with Him, our divine friend. According to St. Teresa,

All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.

When we truly grasp that God is present, seeking us more ardently than we seek him, prayer becomes less a duty and more a delight, less work and more love.

St. Teresa of Ávila invites us all into the Interior Castle, to begin the journey through its many mansions toward union with the God who dwells at the center of our souls. It’s a journey that requires courage, humility, and perseverance, but one that promises the greatest of all treasures: transforming love, intimate friendship with the Divine, and the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Conclusion

Through Saint Teresa of Ávila, we learn that the way to mystical life is to develop an active relationship with God, and that it is not a privilege bestowed only upon a select group of people. All persons can attain that mystical relationship with God through their efforts in cultivating loving, authentic, and deeply intimate relationships with God. Therefore, if we cultivate our relationship with God through constant prayer, remain rooted in the humanity of Jesus Christ, exercise humility and charity toward one another, and depend on the timing of God rather than our own efforts, we too will achieve the transforming union with God, which leads us to experience true peace, liberates us, and empowers us to demonstrate the love of God. We should also remember that God calls us simply to love him and to love others—that every portion of our spiritual journey flows from this dual fountain of love, and it will continue to nourish the garden of our souls until it has produced the fullness of the life that God has in store for each one of us.