Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Interior Castle” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Interior Castle

by Teresa of Ávila

4.2 · Rating details · 4,032 Ratings · 226 Reviews

A cornerstone book on mystical theology, Interior Castle describes the seven stages of union with God. Using everyday language to explain difficult theological concepts, Teresa of Avila compares the contemplative life to a castle with seven chambers. Tracing the passage of the soul through each successive chamber, she draws a powerful picture of the path toward spiritual p ...more

Get A Copy

Or buy for

Paperback, 288 pages

Published January 4th 1972 by Image (first published 1588)

More Details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Interior Castle, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Catechism of the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II

Dark Night of the Soul by San Juan de la Cruz

Roman Catholic Reading

403 books — 207 voters

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis

Books for Catholics

438 books — 140 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

filter | sort: default (?) | Rating Details

Mar 27, 2016 Roy Lotz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: religion-mysticism-theology, eurotrip

It is absurd to think that we can enter Heaven without first entering our own souls

Last week I spend five days walking on the Camino de Santiago. I know, probably that doesn’t sound terribly impressive to anyone who walked all the way from France, but I still had a great time. Every morning we set out before sunrise, when the lush landscape of Galicia was still shrouded in mist and twilight. We walked on and on, guided by the conch shell signs that point the way. We reached the pilgrim's hostel just as the heat of the day began to take hold. My back sore, my feet blistered, I would drop my backpack and stretched out in my bunkbed.

Besides walking, sleeping, and eating, the only thing I did was read this book: St. Teresa’s book on prayer. It seemed like an appropriate choice. Both Santiago (St. James) and St. Teresa are patron saints of Spain; and yet they represent two very different periods in Spain’s history. The cult of Santiago dates from the time of the Moors, when Christians needed a figure to rally around during the Reconquista. St. Teresa, on the other hand, lived during the Counter-Reformation. As the Catholic world was coming apart, Catholic officials were understandably skittish at even a hint of unorthodoxy. Thus St. Teresa’s mysticism was first viewed with suspicion, and she was even picked up by the Inquisition. But after some investigation, it was decided that St. Teresa posed no threat to orthodoxy; to the contrary, she helped to reinvigorate the faith.

This context is necessary to understand this book, or at least half of it. This is because, although ostensibly guide for prayer, it is also a handbook for avoiding the suspicions of heterodoxy. It is full of advice for those having mystical experiences on which visions to discount, because they are products of Satan or the imagination, and which visions to accept. Teresa also explains when you should yield to one’s prioress or confessor, and when you should stand your ground. St. Teresa was obviously acutely aware of the paranoid climate, and thus this book is as full of pragmatic counsel as religious guidance. She even explains in the beginning that the only reason she wrote the book was because she was commanded to.

As James Michener pointed out, the most striking thing about St. Teresa is this seamless mixture of pragmatism and mysticism. For somebody who reported feeling her soul leave her body, she comes across as remarkably down to earth. Several times, she quotes or references a Biblical passage and then adds parenthetically “Well, at least I think that’s what it says,” as if she couldn’t be bothered to go look it up. She also frequently comments on how inadequate she feels to the task at hand; and a few times she says that she’s unsure whether she is repeating herself, because she wrote the last bit a while ago and she doesn’t have time to reread it. The final effect is really charming, as if she just sat down and dashed off the whole thing between breakfast and lunch.

These interior matters are so obscure to the mind that anyone with as little learning as I will be sure to have to say many superfluous and even irrelevant things in order to say a single one that is to the point. The reader must have patience with me, as I have with myself when writing about things of which I know nothing; for really I sometimes take up my paper, like a perfect fool, with no idea of what to say or of how to begin.

Ironically, but perhaps unsurprisingly, the religious content was what least impressed me. The book is divided into seven mansions within the crystalline castle that represents the soul. Each progressive mansion is one step closer to God. Despite this organization, however, I found the chapters quiet repetitive; the divisions from one stage to another didn’t strike me as very clear. The general tendency is for the mystical experiences to keep growing in intensity, which culminates in the experience of a burning mixture of pleasure and pain that seems to come from nowhere. This is the inspiration for Bernini's famous, and famously erotic, portrayal of the Saint.

What most bothered me was that the mystical and orthodox strains in Teresa’s thought did not go easily together. Perhaps this is only my taste. One thing I enjoy about mystic writings is their grand conception of the cosmos, the notion that everything apparently opposite forms one complete whole. Thus mystic texts, in my experience, tend not to be especially preoccupied with moral injunctions, since they regard good and evil as a kind of illusion.

But in Teresa, the emphasis on wickedness, on personal shortcomings, on temptation, and in general the whole moral framework of Catholicism made her system as much about avoiding sinfulness and unorthodoxy as achieving a mystical experience. For example, I’ve heard mystics say that each person is a part of God, but Teresa councils that we should contemplate God to realize our own foulness and lowliness. I don’t find that very appealing.

On the fifth day after we began, at about noon, I found myself standing in front of the two towers of Santiago Cathedral. Later that day, I finished the final pages of this book. I had taken a pilgrimage of the body and soul, and hopefully I’m better for it. In any case, I enjoyed myself and learned something.
...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

May 16, 2011 Karen Locklear rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Update: I am blogging about this book. Here is the blog address if interested:

http://whatisyourpurposerightnow.blog...

First of all, don't read this book straight through and expect to get meaning from it. This is not one of those books.

This is a book that needs to be experienced. There is so much to it, I can't even begin to explain well enough to give it credit. Meditation and pondering are definetely required!

I have 78 pages left. I intend to finish it tonight. Then in the morning I've decide ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Aug 30, 2017 Darius Murretti rated it it was amazing

Interior caslte review
The vast majority who try fall by the wayside but St Theresa(Terry) succeeded in opening her inner eye and entering the “straight and narrow gate “ to the Father’s house during her life time, entering the wedding chamber and marrying the Kings of the infinite .
Why did Terry succeed where almost all others failed ?
1)Terry had a conviction “Either we are the brides of this great King or we are not.” So what are we waiting for?!
2) Terry relied on God’s grace not on her own e ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2014 Walter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: theology-catholic-spirituality

In the study of the various aspects of Catholic theology, sometimes we forget that the whole religion thing is really about one thing - loving God and loving each other. In this classic work, St. Theresa of Avila brings us back to these simple truths. In her eyes, the spiritual life, which is the love of God in one's own life, is like a castle with seven "mansions", or levels. In the outer mansions are the things that keep us from God and from love, namely selfishness, self-centeredness, all of In the study of the various aspects of Catholic theology, sometimes we forget that the whole religion thing is really about one thing - loving God and loving each other. In this classic work, St. Theresa of Avila brings us back to these simple truths. In her eyes, the spiritual life, which is the love of God in one's own life, is like a castle with seven "mansions", or levels. In the outer mansions are the things that keep us from God and from love, namely selfishness, self-centeredness, all of the vices and the pride that tells us that we don't need anything but ourselves. As we enter the inner mansions and come closer to God, we shed these things and become filled with the things that make life really meaningful. In embracing humility, we learn that the best things in life come from outside ourselves and we can't do it alone. In embracing purity, we come to realize that life is so full of distractions that we need to get back to the things that matter, the things that make us strong. The closer that we come to God in the center of the innermost mansion, the less that the world means to us. The things that we foolishly cling to in our selfishness melt away in the vanity that surrounds those things. In the inner mansion, that sweet place within our souls where God always dwells, that is where we find true meaning.

It is amazing to me how this woman, St. Theresa of Avila, a nun who lived in the Spain of the Inquisition and the counter-reformation, could write such profound truths that they touch a 21st century American like myself. It provides so much material for meditation and thought. Ironically, this woman who never pursued a PhD nor even a college education, found truths more profound than any of the great PhD theologians of the past 200 years who claim to have the real answers.

This book is not to be read once, but to be read and reread, in short passages at a time, and to be prayed over and contemplated after reading. If you do this, you will find so many great truths about the spiritual life. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to deepen their spiritual life. ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 04, 2013 Diane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: theology, read-in-translation, kindle, read-in-2013, catholicism, prayer, saints

This is a book about prayer written by Saint Teresa of Avila, a 16th century Carmelite nun, mystic and doctor of the Church.

In this book, she presents a model of the human soul as a castle cut from a single diamond. This castle is divided into seven groups of mansions, beginning at the outer gate and moving inward toward the center. We enter the castle whenever we pray, for the gate to the outermost mansion is prayer. (Those who never pray remain in a courtyard outside the gate.)

As we progress ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Feb 27, 2009 Jean rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Although St. Teresa was a 16th century nun, she was as busy as the rest of us when "encouraged" by her spiritual director to write this book for her nuns. I read it as part of a Sunday school class, and I found myself cracking up at how Mirabai Starr captures her. One minute she is fervently advocating for humility and self-expression and prayer and the next she's literally writing I don't where I was. Between opening and managing some 15 or more Carmelite convents, dodging the suspicious Spanis ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 01, 2012 Stef rated it it was amazing

I've been reading this start-stop skip around fashion since 2012. this time i read it from cover to cover and every reading seemed to be planned by God to come at the right time, just when i needed to read something in particular. Thank You, Lord.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2015 julieta rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, europa

Llegué a este libro desde una curiosidad puramente literaria.

Y me gusta la figura de Santa Teresa, o más bien, me gusta y me da curiosidad conocer más sobre ella.
Pero este libro me causó más angustia que cualquier otra cosa.
Nunca había leído a una mística, por lo cual no tenía idea de lo que encontraría, pero me causó antes que nada como incomodidad.
Quizás es que fui a una escuela de monjas durante toda la primaria, o que mis papás me forzaban a ir a la iglesia, como algo necesario y obligat Llegué a este libro desde una curiosidad puramente literaria.

Y me gusta la figura de Santa Teresa, o más bien, me gusta y me da curiosidad conocer más sobre ella.
Pero este libro me causó más angustia que cualquier otra cosa.
Nunca había leído a una mística, por lo cual no tenía idea de lo que encontraría, pero me causó antes que nada como incomodidad.
Quizás es que fui a una escuela de monjas durante toda la primaria, o que mis papás me forzaban a ir a la iglesia, como algo necesario y obligatorio.
Bueno, eso es algo personal, pero hay algo en ese éxtasis en el que está durante todo el libro, que sólo me causó angustia, y algo de desesperación.
Por más que ella suena feliz todo el tiempo, y por más que se supone que el lograr esas siete moradas te hace acercarte a Dios como a nada. Porque ella habla como una guía, que te quiere llevar a una cercanía absoluta con Dios.
No se, todo me pareció como una alucinación.
Igual me voy a leer la biografía que me regaló mi amiga cuando me dio este libro, pero hay algo que se me queda, como de, entiendo que el alabar a Dios es algo positivo, porque habla de un alma buena, o eso es lo que nos enseñan en la escuela. Entregar su vida a eso supongo que también.
Pero hay algo que no logro entender, y es esto: ¿dónde queda la persona? Esa mujer fuerte, que las feministas modernas rescatan como una portavoz. ¿Dónde queda esa mujer culta, que te puede decir algo de ese mundo en donde vivía, que te puede contar sus peleas con la inquisición, con los hombres, por dar un lugar a las mujeres? Está ahí, supongo, pero ella sólo habla de Dios, del demonio, de lograr una unión completa con su "esposo".
Seguramente en los actos que hizo durante su vida lo entenderé todo.
Pero en este libro no me queda muy claro.
Este libro es otra cosa, es sobre la oración. Y si lo veo por ese lado, es otra historia.

Y tiene también su lado lindo, que es esto: todas las religiones, al buscar cercanía con Dios, sea su forma y su nombre, el que sea, buscan en la oración, o meditación, una paz interior, que los hace cercanos a ese Dios. Eso es un sentido que le podemos encontrar todos a la oración.
Hasta los más escépticos, como yo.
Hasta los que dijeron a cierta edad, renuncio, yo no creo en esto que me están diciendo.
Igual quizás necesitamos esa paz, igual la buscaremos por otros lados, pero al parecer la Santa Teresa encontró esa paz, y en este libro lo transmite, aunque sea con esas imágenes que me causan angustia, y que de repente me parecen cercanas a la locura.
Pero ella encontró eso, que seguramente todos, en algún momento de nuestras vidas buscamos. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2013 Bogdan Liviu rated it did not like it

"I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time." - Friedrich Nietzsche
O călătorie a sufletului prin cele şapte "Locuinţe" ale "Castelului interior". De menţionat că această operă a fost scrisă pentru "surorile" de acolo care aveau dubii cu privire la rugăciune. Eu începusem să citesc cartea sperând că voi găsi aici întâmplări din viaţa sfintei Tereza. Ce-am găsit, în schimb, a fost un agasant îndemn în a îl lăuda pe Dumnezeu de parcă ar fi un dictator. La asta se adaugă, fireşt "I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time." - Friedrich Nietzsche
O călătorie a sufletului prin cele şapte "Locuinţe" ale "Castelului interior". De menţionat că această operă a fost scrisă pentru "surorile" de acolo care aveau dubii cu privire la rugăciune. Eu începusem să citesc cartea sperând că voi găsi aici întâmplări din viaţa sfintei Tereza. Ce-am găsit, în schimb, a fost un agasant îndemn în a îl lăuda pe Dumnezeu de parcă ar fi un dictator. La asta se adaugă, fireşte, continua distrugere a ideii de identitate, să te consideri cel mai mizerabil, mereu, să te desfiinţezi realmente, şi să fii sclavul lui Dumnezeu (pe care îl numeşte Maiestatea Sa/Mire). E pur şi simplu ridicol! Acele îngrijorări de genul: "vai, să nu-l ofensăm pe Mire", m-au scârbit nespus, mai mai să ne şi cerem voie să stăm în genunchi în faţa "Maiestaţii Sale". Ce relaţie cu Dumnezeu e asta, în care tu eşti ultimul sclav şi-l idolatrizezi din oficiu, iar el îţi ordonă să îl lauzi aşa la nesfârşit, cum făceau securiştii cu Ceauşescu? Am dat ochii peste cap de zeci de ori, si cred că orice dictator s-ar jena de reprobabilul elogiu strident din opera asta, şi Kim Jong-un din Coreea de Nord s-ar îmbujora dacă în loc de Dumnezeu ar fi numele său aici, numai "Maiestasea Sa" e atât de obsedat de Sine încât îi face plăcere să fie lăudat la infinit, cu elogii care mai de care mai de prost gust. Dacă există Dumnezeu şi e întocmai ca cel căruia i se adresează sfânta Tereza, o să fiu cel mai fericit în Infern. Măcar pe Lucifer pot să-l mai ironizez, ştie de glumă. Nu-mi cere să stau în genunchi şi să fiu pupincurist. Puţin îmi pasă de paradisul în care oamenii stau ca viermii, preş, în faţa "Regelui" - această divinitate greţoasă şi megalomană. Nu m-a atins cu nimic cartea, şi am îndurat-o numai din bun simţ şi felul meu de a fi, că nu pot renunţa la o carte după ce am început-o, însă dacă aş fi ştiut că nu aş fi aflat nimic din viaţa sfintei Tereza, ci doar îndemnuri catastrofale de a ne nimici identitatea şi de a fi cârpele unui Dumnezeu grandoman, fără umor, răsfăţat şi care se supără din orice, aş fi evitat-o. Amin! ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 11, 2015 Anna O.P. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: personal-fav, catholic-mysticism, catholic-saints, 2015, catholic-spiritual-classics, catholic-prayer-devotion, setting-spain, catholic-carmelite

I don't know which one is more unfair: leaving this book with 5 stars but with no review, or writing a review which can never ever do it justice, however hard I strive to. The Interior Castle is a spiritual classics; it has been read and enjoyed by millions, and in turn I'm sure it has made many saints! So nothing I write can ever truly describe how awesome this book is!

What I can say is this: it's ironic that I only discovered this book very recently, at the order of my spiritual director. Iron ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Feb 26, 2016 Elizabeth Andrew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: spirituality

I've spent my adult life appreciating Teresa of Avila's INTERIOR CASTLE second-hand. Her autobiography has long been a favorite but every time I tried INTERIOR CASTLE I got bogged down. I love stories of Teresa's spunky leadership, her bad-mouthing God ("If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few!"), and her belief in an indwelling divinity who spurs on our yearning for connection, and all of that personality and wisdom seemed buried in self-effacing doctrine about humility ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 22, 2008 ♥ Ibrahim ♥ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: spirituality, thinkers-i-adore

Our Lord Jesus Christ told us that in the Father's House there are many mansion, and for our be love saint here, Teressa, these mansions could be seven and they represent the mansions of the soul as it seems to grow, develop and be united with its Beloved the Lord. How close are we getting to the Lord? Are we making some progress?

The beautiful thing about Teresa is that she writes as words come to her mind in full spontaneity. So, her words come so genuine, so simple, so real, so much from the ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 07, 2011 Jennifer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: religion

This is an excellent, though a difficult, book and one I feel I will return to in the future.

Saint Teresa wrote The Interior Castle relatively late in her life, after years as a nun, and with a lifetime of spiritual discipline behind her. Therefore, she is easily able to identify common pitfalls which present obstacles to spiritual growth and advancement. Her advice is practical and surprisingly relevant to readers some 400 years after the book was written. However, she may easily surpass the a ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 27, 2014 Kristin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Teresa of Avila wrote Interior Castle as a way to explain her theory about the soul. I have to admit, the idea of the soul being a castle shaped crystal housing seven mansions inside is pretty cool. The imagery of the soul-crystal darkening after being touched by Lucifer was striking as well. As a person who never fully understood the mystic branches of the Abrahamic faiths, I found the mysticism offered here is fairly accessible. However, the multiple comparisons of disabled individuals to a ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2014 Sondra Jones rated it it was amazing

I'm not going to "review" a classic. But I will say wow. Teresa of Avila's Interior Castles goes way beyond any spiritual practice or state that I've known existed. It's a whole new world. Again! It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. And that's a good thing.

This book is available on YouTube, read in its entirety. That's how I "read" it. Now I need a hard copy.

Some new ideas to me were around Jesus' suffering and suffering in general. That is why I need a hard copy; need to go back and read a ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2012 David rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: catholicism, christian-spirituality-advanced

This book is considered a spiritual classic. Likening the soul to a castle, Teresa guides the reader through the seven rooms (Mansions) ending with union with God. A good book to read a chapter a day as part of daily Bible and prayer.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2010 Julie Davis rated it it was amazing

Rereading after having read it for the first time at least a decade ago.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 09, 2009 Kellerrenate rated it it was amazing

Anyone wanting to re-connect with Christian thought and learn about a devotional/rational relationship to God, this is an incredibly beautiful book.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

May 27, 2012 Carol Apple rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“Few tasks which I have been commanded to undertake by obedience have been so difficult as this present one of writing about matters relating to prayer: for one reason, because I do not feel the Lord has given me either the spirituality or the desire for it….”

So Teresa of Ávila (1515 – 1582) begins The Interior Castle (published 1577), a book which became a lucid and beautifully written spiritual classic. A learned woman who had already written several books, Teresa had been instructed to write “Few tasks which I have been commanded to undertake by obedience have been so difficult as this present one of writing about matters relating to prayer: for one reason, because I do not feel the Lord has given me either the spirituality or the desire for it….”

So Teresa of Ávila (1515 – 1582) begins The Interior Castle (published 1577), a book which became a lucid and beautifully written spiritual classic. A learned woman who had already written several books, Teresa had been instructed to write a book on prayer for her fellow sisters of Carmelite order, women who chose to give up all worldly ambition and desires in favor of a life of sacrifice and prayer. It always amazes me how, out of thousands of possible books, I end up reading certain ones. I didn’t plan to read this one; it was not on any of my “to read” lists. I vaguely remember seeing on a list of spiritual classics somewhere, downloading it, and immediately getting sucked into the castle.

The castle metaphor is both the soul itself and the person’s mind, will, and consciousness as she grows in spiritually closer to God:

“Now let us return to our beautiful and delightful castle and see how we can enter it. I seem rather to be talking nonsense, for, if this castle is the soul, there can clearly be no question of our entering it. For we ourselves are the castle: and it would be absurd to tell someone to enter a room when he was in it already! But you must understand that there are many ways of “being” in a place.”

Although the entire drama happens inside a soul – your physical body could be sitting in a chair or pulling weeds the whole time – an amazing variety of things happen as the soul progresses inward through the corridors and rooms of the castle, from the exterior courtyard where it must fight the “venomous creatures” – worldly temptations – all the way to the most inward chamber where the King awaits perfect union with His chosen ones. There are visions, ecstatic experiences, encounters with God that give new knowledge and understanding, even the experience of leaving the body, and many things Teresa says cannot be adequately described in human language.

In each room or “mansion” of the castle (there are seven in all) the soul experiences new levels of self-knowledge, states of mind, various kinds of visions, and “favors” or direct experiences with God. Fairly early on in the journey one’s desires of the pleasures of this world begin to diminish and the desire for the pleasures of the eternal spiritual world increase until toward the center, the soul begins to long for the day she will leave this world.

Teresa compares the process to that of the silkworm that must first spend time fattening up and preparing to weave its cocoon. The silkworm acts out of obedience to its God-given nature, having no idea why it does what it does. The butterfly that emerges is an entirely new creature that the worm never imagined or anticipated it would become. In Teresa’s metaphor, the point at which the soul becomes a butterfly (new creature) is not the point of physical death. In fact this transformation, in which the soul dies to self, occurs in the fifth of seven mansions. Even reaching the seventh mansion, where spiritual union with God occurs, does not mean the soul has reached the end of her physical life. It simply means that she has become one with God in love (without losing her individuality) and all her desires from this point on are to please Him.

All in all this is a beautifully written and profound book. Although I finished it several months ago and although it took a while to process it, the book has apparently penetrated some small part of my interior because it has stayed with me.

A more detailed review is available at my blog:

http://www.carolsnotes.net/2012/06/ho...
...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2017 Becky Ankeny rated it liked it

It isn't fair to rate this book until I've read it several times, but a first-time through was difficult. Teresa refers to herself in the third person, presents women as intellectually inferior, and extends a metaphor over 300 pages or so. I trudged. BUT, it will be worth reading again. Teresa says that a touchstone for mystical experience is whether it leaves the person more humble and more committed to the virtues and to loving God. Also, true communion with God, however outré the experience s ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 30, 2013 S.D. Johnson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Many years ago I had a dream about falling off the edge of a cliff and hovering then out in a void, and, as though suspended in empty space, there was a shining city of aquamarine crystal below me. I fell over the centre of the "city", (or large building - I had no idea of its size), contracted to a point and then radiated outward in a state of supreme ecstasy and all-knowingness. I could no longer see, but it was as though I was all-seeing. It was so powerful that when I awoke I thought that I Many years ago I had a dream about falling off the edge of a cliff and hovering then out in a void, and, as though suspended in empty space, there was a shining city of aquamarine crystal below me. I fell over the centre of the "city", (or large building - I had no idea of its size), contracted to a point and then radiated outward in a state of supreme ecstasy and all-knowingness. I could no longer see, but it was as though I was all-seeing. It was so powerful that when I awoke I thought that I had died. In fact although a dream, I still consider it to be the most profound religious experience I have ever had. In this work by St. Teresa, she describes a castle much like the one I saw in my dream. The castle is of clear crystal or diamond, and is used throughout the work as an extended metaphor of the soul - "All our interest is centred in the rough setting of the diamond, and in the outer wall of the castle - that is to say, in these bodies of ours." And further - "[I]n the centre and midst of them all is the chiefest mansion where the most secret things pass between God and the soul". St. Teresa takes us on a journey from the outside, the frame of the jewel so to speak, into the interior of the castle, a journey which is carried out through prayer and meditation, of which she advises us. I appreciated this work much more than *The Way of Perfection* which I read many years ago. The language and ideas are more interesting to me, despite the odd trite metaphor, or at least, trite by today's standards. (e.g. - the soul as butterfly) I think most people with a background in religion would get something out of it, especially those interested in mysticism. I balked at some of it, particularly dogmatic portions, or those tainted by racism or sexism, but these flaws are expected to be found in works of this era. I felt a closeness to the work because of the dream I had, and I since have realized that other poets relate similar visions of jeweled cities or palaces - I think of Coleridge,and references in Rimbaud and Montale in particular - which shows that it might be some part of our collective unconscious. What significance it might have I don't know. Or at least with these experiences I agree with St. Teresa and other mystics - the most profound are the most incommunicable. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2009 Nefficus rated it really liked it

Shelves: religious

St. Teresa of Avila is one of my favorite saints. After years of collecting her famous quotes from various other readings, I finally decided to sit down and read perhaps her most famous book, Interior Castle. Overall, Teresa is giving us a kind of roadmap for spiritual development by using the analogy of a castle with multiple rooms to describe the soul and its union with God...the further in we get, the closer we are to that union. This book is not particularly easy to read. At times St. Teresa ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2014 Czarny Pies rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Believers

Recommended to Czarny by: Ste, Theresa is the patron of a parish I used to belong to.

Shelves: religion

Why read Chicken Soup for Catholics when this work written by a great saint and doctor of the Church is available. Although it was written almost five hundred years ago, its limpid style makes it as readable as anything that has been published in this the 21st century.

Teresa offers a guide on how to begin and progress through a long life of prayer. She leads the reader through seven phases referred to as mansions of one's interior castle. The first three phases are of active prayer in which one ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

May 02, 2009 Emily rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, religion, christianity

The Interior Castles is a very wonderful book on how to get closer to God and how to overcome the trials come upon you. St. Theresa originally wrote this for the sisters in her convent, at the urging of a friend of hers. She says that the way to the "ultimate marriage with God" is through humility and a humble life, and through prayer. She also says that we have to be aware of when God speaks to us, and know when Satan is trying to veer us away from Him.

The reason why I gave it only three stars ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2008 Alasse rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: spirituality

I made it about 2/3 through and have given up in favor of a "selections from" book my mom loaned me. The style of writing was a bit too dense, tho part of it could be the translation. Every once in awhile a quote would jump out at me, but it was too slow going considering my exploding to read pile.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 18, 2010 Olive Chan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

From what I've heard, this translation of this classic work is one of the more understandable ones. It's difficult material to get through simply because it's so deep. But it's not a classic for no reason! I recommend this for anyone looking to explore more of the mystic's approach to their relationship with God.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 03, 2009 Kathy rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: mystics, prayer warriors, people on their spiritual journey through prayer

Recommended to Kathy by: Mary Clark

Shelves: spiritual, spiritual-direction

You can't read this book quickly. The thoughts are deep. And the translation sometimes makes for slower reading as well. I gave up on the English version, and ordered the original Spanish. It makes so much more sense, but still slow reading. i've had it 3 years and still am not done, but then I don'tread it every day either.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 03, 2012 Sharayah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This is probably a better book than I rated it, but I just did not understand it. I have not experienced anything remotely like the raptures St. Teresa talks about, and the run on sentences and rabbit trails leave me lost.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 06, 2009 Ann rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I am always reading this book. There are so many aspects I learn everytime I pick it up.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 11, 2007 Colyn rated it really liked it

St. Teresa is painfully 16th century in her writing style but the wisdom imparted is incredible--you just have to not get lost along the way.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Catholic Thought: Interior Castle Seventh Mansions & Epilogue	20	17	May 27, 2016 12:04PM
Catholic Thought: Interior Castle Sixth Mansions	15	15	Mar 19, 2016 08:58AM
Catholic Thought: Interior Castle Fifth Mansions	10	17	Mar 17, 2016 03:03PM
Catholic Thought: Interior Castle Second Mansions	26	20	Mar 09, 2016 09:00AM
Catholic Thought: Interior Castle First Mansions	11	21	Mar 08, 2016 07:35PM
Catholic Thought: Interior Castle Fourth Mansions	19	21	Feb 27, 2016 11:34PM
Catholic Thought: Interior Castle Introduction	25	26	Feb 25, 2016 08:40AM

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

Religion > Christianity

45 users

Occult > Mysticism

23 users

Nonfiction

18 users

Unfinished

10 users

Spirituality

9 users

Classics

8 users

See top shelves…

About Teresa of Ávila

Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be, along with John of the Cross, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1970 she was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI.

Born in Avila, Spain, on March 28, 1515, St. Teresa was the Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be, along with John of the Cross, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1970 she was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI.

Born in Avila, Spain, on March 28, 1515, St. Teresa was the daughter of a Toledo merchant and his second wife, who died when Teresa was 15, one of ten children. Shortly after this event, Teresa was entrusted to the care of the Augustinian nuns. After reading the letters of St. Jerome, Teresa resolved to enter a religious life. In 1535, she joined the Carmelite Order. She spent a number of relatively average years in the convent, punctuated by a severe illness that left her legs paralyzed for three years, but then experienced a vision of "the sorely wounded Christ" that changed her life forever.

From this point forward, Teresa moved into a period of increasingly ecstatic experiences in which she came to focus more and more sharply on Christ's passion. With these visions as her impetus, she set herself to the reformation of her order, beginning with her attempt to master herself and her adherence to the rule. Gathering a group of supporters, Teresa endeavored to create a more primitive type of Carmelite. From 1560 until her death, Teresa struggled to establish and broaden the movement of Discalced or shoeless Carmelites. During the mid-1560s, she wrote the Way of Perfection and the Meditations on the Canticle. In 1567, she met St. John of the Cross, who she enlisted to extend her reform into the male side of the Carmelite Order. Teresa died in 1582.

St. Teresa left to posterity many new convents, which she continued founding up to the year of her death. She also left a significant legacy of writings, which represent important benchmarks in the history of Christian mysticism. These works include the Way of Perfection and the Interior Castle. She also left an autobiography, the Life of St. Teresa of Avila. ...more

More about Teresa of Ávila...

Books by Teresa of Ávila

The Life of Saint Teresa of Ávila by Herself

The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Ávila, Vol. 1

The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila. Volume 2: The Way of Perfection, Meditations on the Song of Songs, The Interior Castle

More…

Share This Book

+ Share on your website

Trivia About Interior Castle

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Interior Castle

“This Beloved of ours is merciful and good. Besides, he so deeply longs for our love that he keeps calling us to come closer. This voice of his is so sweet that the poor soul falls apart in the face of her own inability to instantly do whatever he asks of her. And so you can see, hearing him hurts much more than not being able to hear him… For now, his voice reaches us through words spoken by good people, through listening to spiritual talks, and reading sacred literature. God calls to us in countless little ways all the time. Through illnesses and suffering and through sorrow he calls to us. Through a truth glimpsed fleetingly in a state of prayer he calls to us. No matter how halfhearted such insights may be, God rejoices whenever we learn what he is trying to teach us.” — 46 likes

“The devil frequently fills our thoughts with great schemes, so that instead of putting our hands to what work we can do to serve our Lord, we may rest satisfied with wishing to perform impossibilities.” — 39 likes

More quotes…

title link	preview: Interior Castle
avg rating	preview: Interior Castle Goodreads rating: 4.20 (4032 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/406639.Interior_Castle?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320481112l/406639.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/406639.Interior_Castle?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Interior Castle by Teresa of Ávila[/url]

See a Problem?

Preview — Interior Castle by Teresa of Ávila

Interior Castle

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Popular Answered Questions

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

About Teresa of Ávila

Books by Teresa of Ávila

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About Interior Castle

Quotes from Interior Castle