Interior Castle Explored: St. Teresa's Teaching On The Life Of Deep Union With God

by Ruth Burrows

A reissue of a 'Sheed and Ward' backlist spiritual classic by a widely-praised and bestselling author. 'Interior Castle Explored' is a penetrating interpretation of St Teresa of Avila's central teaching on prayer. But it is more than a contemporary Carmelite commentary on that 16th-century Carmelite classic; it is also, in its own right, a guide to the life of deep union with God.

Genres: Religion, Theology

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Regretfully I am setting this book aside. While I loved Essence of Prayer, (another book by the same author) and found it inspirational, readable on a very basic level, and suitable for almost anyone anywhere along on the spiritual journey, this book by contrast has stumped me. This may not be the case for others, but as it is supposed to be a book to aide in the understanding of another book, Interior Castle, I am not going to struggle in understanding it. The first three chapters are good, 3 stars. After that, I was confused, 1 star. No doubt it is because I am still lost in one of the first three mansions. :(

However, our Carmelite conference formator recommended another book, From Ash to Fire: A Contemporary Journey Through the Interior Castle of Teresa of Avila, which I have been reading with no difficulty, (perhaps a fluke?)

I am abandoning this book for now. May return to it someday.


August 1, 2019: Yesterday I was on the verge of giving up this book, at least for the time being, but something told me to try it one more time and I did. The sun broke forth. Sr. Ruth Burrows wrote another book which I love and had no difficulty with. So I was surprised to encounter such an uphill climb here. I thought she would simply shine light in from above on Teresa's mansions. I was surprised when she started introducing all these psychological concepts which I could not see had anything to do with this work. It is her contention, however, that Teresa does not understand all that happened to her, or that her writings do not distinguish a fine line/point which is better explained by her collaborator, Juan de la Cruz (John of the Cross). Burrow's point refers to the nature of union which has two aspects or types: 1) the essential or substantial union which is natural, that we all have as souls created by God and 2) the 'union of likeness' which is supernatural and only exists when God's will and the soul's are in conformity. This second union can only happen when a soul has labored to detach itself from itself so that God who is always laboring to communicate Himself to us can do so fully, supernaturally through grace.

Anyway, I thought Teresa said this, maybe not in those exact words, but Sr. Burrows thinks otherwise and is at great pains to show otherwise. Aside from her labored explanation, the rest of this book is good. I am now up to the beginning of the Sixth Mansions.



July 25, 2019: I loved Sr. Burrow's Essence of Prayer and when I saw she had written this, thought it might assist with my reading of Interior Castle.

[Philip · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read Teresa of Avila's spiritual classic Interior Castle a number of times, and have read other books by Ruth Burrows that I thought were quite good.

This one was a bit disappointing. Burrows gets off to a great start with the first three mansions or dwelling places that Teresa describes, but I thought the balance of the book was not as good because Burrows is straining to interpret Teresa's experiences in a way that just does not work very well.

In any case, I think most readers would do better to just go ahead and read Interior Castle. Anyone who wants some good commentary on it can get the study edition published by the Institute of Carmelite Studies, which is very solid.

[Donner Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a critical appreciation of the Teresa of Avila's classic, The Interior Castle by a contemporary Carmelite sister. As such, it stands in its own right as a re-presentation of the practice of contemplative prayer in the Carmelite tradition. Departing from the older commentaries on the great Teresa of Avila, Burrows was unafraid to critique her writings and in the process clarify for readers the core of what she meant to convey from her contemplative experiences. This is not to disparage the great saint in any way because Teresa was simply making best use of the literary and theological convention of her day to explicate the virtually inexplicable. As such, according to the author , Teresa wrote within the dualistic framework (spirit-body dichotomy) of her day and being too credulous of her fellow practitioners' prayer experiences, she muddled up some of the important distinctions between real mystical grace, para-psychological phenomena and her own psychic reactions to them. Burrow's discussion of the 'light on' and 'light off' phenomena is interesting, if a little dense. The upshot of her discussion is however crystal clear: the real fruit of contemplation has little/nothing to do with these psychic states and experiences (which are induced from our natural psychic resources) but transformation into the image of Christ - that is pure love.

What I appreciate about this treatment of Teresa is the interface between Burrows' own contemplative insights with those of the great saint. There is no 'idolization' of the latter which is a tendency among most other literature on her but an honest interaction between two Carmelite pray-ers. It is an another insightful book I have added to my own reading of the Christian contemplative tradition. Burrows' other piece on John of the Cross' Ascent to Mount Carmel is worth your every dollar too.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sr. Ruth Burrows is my hero! She can explain anything in such a way that I can understand it and St. Teresa of Avila's writings are a great example. I was underlining sentences like a madwoman!