The Seventh Dwelling Places of The Interior Castle
The final step on the journey is our arrival home. We are with God in a new and different way. We have a deep certainty about this new condition. This is a permanent state of union with God. All of our life is experienced in a fresh way. We are conscious of our presence to God in a transformed way of union. Now, unlike before, this union is continuous, all flows from this new dimension of love. All our desires and hopes, our values and longings are penetrated with the wholesome love of God. An inner light guides us on our path of love. There is protection from all the foibles and faults of the human condition. Love has won out.
Now the person and God stream together; two loves mesh into one binding life. Like two lights entering a room, there is now an inseparable unity. There is a smoothness that penetrates the psyche unlike earlier bursts of union that were somewhat tumultuous for the recipient. Now these movements of grace are peaceful and part of the human consciousness. There is no conflict of opposites. The soul has come to its destiny at the center where the Lord dwells.
Antagonisms and fickleness between the human and divine, between body and soul, between this world and heaven have been resolved in the only way possible this side of the beatific vision, the state of union with God. Paul stated it succinctly, “I live now not I but Christ lives within me.” (Gal 2:20)
In the seventh dwelling places Teresa says the deep secrets of the soul are revealed. “Each of us has a soul, but since we do not prize souls as is deserved by creatures made in the image of God, we do not understand the deep secrets that lie in them.” (IC 7.1.1)
The spiritual marriage to Christ is finalized. No longer are the mystical experiences of locutions, raptures and ecstasies part of the encounter. In a sense, there is a return to a normal life on the surface. There is now an incredible desire for service and love in the context of one’s daily experience. Unlike the time of betrothal, God’s new presence is unbroken, not intermittent.
Teresa uses two simple concepts to describe the difference. In the betrothal, it was like the union of two wicks of lighted candles. When they are united there is one fire. However, most often, they are be withdrawn to be separate fires. In the final experience of spiritual marriage it is like rain falling into a river. Now the rain drops are totally united and are inseparable from the water of the river. (IC 7.2.4)
While the fireworks of the sixth dwelling places fade away, the daily struggles and problems of life remain and often are intensified. All of life’s burdens and negative experiences become the energy to foster further growth in humility and a hunger to live the Gospel. Our relationship with God now is entrenched in this new state of union. It transcends the past domination of physical and emotional needs.
Our spiritual life had been a persistent quest for freedom and peace. The constant struggle was to move away from self-absorption generated by attachments, addictions, deep prejudices, the blindness of cultural captivity and a general pattern of self-centeredness. Now all these obstacles to union have gradually been subdued. In the experience of union, the deep roots of these selfish drives finally disappear in a final purification that leads to surrender. The peace of the seventh dwelling places is the peace that is the gift of God.
The seventh dwelling places is characterized by a pervading harmony that unites the inner and outer dimensions of life. There is a new identity, the true self emerging out of the false self. This is the conclusion of the journey the six dwelling places leading to the center of the Castle. This peace springs from this new home regardless of life’s continuing struggles. “All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted.” (IC 7.2.9)
In the abandonment of human efforts, Teresa explains, “Everything corporeal in the soul was taken away and it was life in pure spirit…for it is very certain that in emptying ourselves of all that is creature and detaching ourselves from it for the love of God, the same Lord will fill us with himself.” (IC 7.2.7)
Even with the trials and hassles of daily life as our common fare, Teresa says:
“It should not be thought that faculties, senses and passions are always in this peace; the soul is, yes. But as in the other dwelling places, times of war, trial and fatigue are never lacking. However, they are such that they do not take the soul from its place and peace; that is, as a rule.” (IC 7.2.10) In this state of union, the Gospel paradoxes are no longer a source of challenge and confusion. They are now clearly the norm. Turning the other cheek, the last place at the table, the need to serve rather than be served along with the extra mile and forgiving seventy times seventy and the rest now are the only way to make sense out of life.
In the state of union, concern for Christ’s kingdom dominate. Union leads to implementing all the Gospel mandates. Teresa puts it this way: “This is the reason for prayer my daughters, the purpose of spiritual marriage: the birth always of good works, good works!” (IC 7.4.6)
In the transformation fashioned by union with God, we share God’s love for all. It urges us to reach out in love and service for everyone without distinction. This service is measured in the final analysis by love beyond any other degree of success and effectiveness. Christ’s concerns and ours become one.
“In sum, Sisters, what I conclude with is that we shouldn’t build castles in the air. The Lord doesn’t look so much at the greatness of our works as the love with which they are done….thus even though our works are small, they will have the value our love for him would have merited had they been great.” (IC 7.4.15)
II
Teresa has a particularly well-organized structure for her message on the sanctity that develops from this union with God. In the initial experience of the state of the spiritual marriage, Teresa had a powerful vision of the Trinity. In the first chapter of the seventh dwelling places Teresa says that union is first of all a Trinitarian experience. All reality springs from this fundamental truth. This is the case for life at the center in union the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In the second chapter Teresa highlights the truth that all Christian sanctity arises from Jesus Christ. It is always centered on one’s relationship with Christ.
“Keep in mind that I could not exaggerate the importance of this. Fix your eyes on the Crucified and everything will become small for you.” (IC 7.4.8)
In the third chapter Teresa shows that true union with God always will culminate in the full human development of the person. This is the true self free of the bondage and blindness of sin.
Finally, the sanctity rooted in the spiritual marriage will overflow in the concern for and service to others. All the demands of God’s kingdom in one’s incarnational and historical reality will define one’s priorities. This always starts with the claims of one’s daily attention to the immediate relationships and responsibilities.
The Carmelite author states that the beautiful butterfly that had evolved in the fifth dwelling places, must die. The new self experiences the pascal mystery where death gives way to new life in the risen Christ. Here again, a constant theme of the seventh dwelling places rises up: “I live now not I but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:20)
In the context of this fourfold description of true Christian sanctity, Teresa lists six characteristics of this new life at the center of the Castle. These new qualities are:
- Forgetfulness of self
- Desire to suffer
- Deep interior joy in persecution
- Desire to serve
- Great detachment
- No fear of the devil’s deceits.
At the conclusion of her teachings, Teresa talks about the need to bring the traditional views of Mary and Martha, prayer and action, into one. This is her discernment on this topic:
“This is what I want us to strive for, my sisters, and let us desire and be occupied in prayer not for the sake of our enjoyment but so as to have this strength to serve….believe me, Martha and Mary must join together in order to show hospitality to the Lord and have him always present and not host him badly by failing to give him something to eat.” (IC 7.4.12)
In her Epilogue, Teresa stresses the need for patience, consistency and openness. In the end, our progress is in God’s hand. Humility is the key.
“By considering that you do not deserve even to enter the third you will more quickly win the favor to reach the fifth. And you will be able to serve him from there in such a way, continuing to walk through them often, that he will bring you into the very dwelling place he has for himself.” (IC 7.E)
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