An Analysis Of Christian Mysticism In St. Teresa Of Avila

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In one of the most compelling pieces of Christian mysticism, St. Teresa of Avila brings the reader on a journey through the seven mansions of her soul in which she titles as the Interior Castle. Teresa wrote this mystical text in 1577 as a guide to her fellow nuns in hopes to bring them closer to God through prayer as she has. As fascinating as the journey through the mansions of St. Teresa’s soul, what is even more interesting today is how Teresa continuously balances her own authority as a writer and expert on spiritual matters with her continuously insisting on her lack of knowledge on the subject of mysticism. For instance, in one case she states, “It may even be that everything I say is confused: that, at least is what I’m afraid of”. …show more content…

Teresa directly tells her fellow nuns what the whole point of this journey is. It is extremely straightforward and speaks to the question that she first proposed in the first mansion of why one would want to enter the Interior Castle. This moment is significant because in the first six mansions she had been always cautious and humble about her experiences. However, at this point, she has gained the respect and trust of the reader through constantly being humble and can now command the authority that she was always deserving of. She receives this credibility through appealing to her character of a woman who is humble about her experiences with God which makes Teresa’s journey …show more content…

Teresa continuously doubts herself in her writings of the Interior Castle. From the first sentence, she lacks confidence in her ability to write about the mystical experiences in which she encountered. However, she constantly does so with great humility since she feels the greatness of God in what she experienced. She feels like it is her duty to write about these experiences, so great anxiety is unsurprising. Many may discredit her writings due to her uncertainty, but it is important to realize that this doubtfulness does not. Rather, Teresa is humble about her experiences and most likely does not want to draw people away by claiming she knows everything about mysticism. Constant self-correction by someone who possesses a humble character does not make their work any less credible. Her writings show us that discussing personal topics are difficult because they are uncommon experiences and often the language to describe them is missing. We should be grateful that Teresa shared these personal experiences with us considering how difficult they are for someone to comprehend and describe. For this reason, we should not discount the work of St. Teresa due to

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