The Interior Castle: The First Dwelling: Lectio Divina

Contemplative at Home

A 19-minute audio guided meditation with text from Mirabai Starr’s translation of The Interior Castle.

In this meditation I invite you to pray with the wisdom of St Teresa of Avila. Listening prayerfully to the text, you are invited to ask: How is the Lord speaking to me in these words?

Teresa was given a picture of her inner self, her soul, as mansion, a palace, with many rooms. At the center of this palace is the holy of holies, a place where the Holy One dwells, abides, resides.

The text we pray with is this:

“Always visualise your soul as vast, spacious, plentiful. This amplitude is impossible to exaggerate. The soul’s capacity far transcends our imagining. The sun at the centre of this place radiates to every part.” (p45)

“As long as we are on this earth there is nothing more essential than humility. Enter the room of self-knowledge first, instead of floating off to other places. This is the path.(…) It seems to me that we will never know ourselves unless we seek to know God. Glimpsing his greatness, we recognise our own powerlessness: gazing upon his purity, we notice where we are impure: pondering his humility, we see how far from humble we are.” (p47)

“Cultivate humility and self-awareness. Just remember: it is your most important task.” (p49)

(And) “Guard yourselves… against the spirit of evil. It’s aim is to undermine charity and cool the love the friends have for one another.(…) Let’s understand that true perfection means loving God and loving our neighbour. (…)All spiritual rules are nothing but means toward the end of spiritual love.” (p50-51)

The shape of our meditations at Contemplative at Home are very much informed by Ignatian Spirituality. Teresa was alive at the same time as Ignatius of Loyola, and she had a Jesuit Spiritual Director for some of her years, so shared in that formation. I hope that their combined wisdom in this partiuclar format will take you deeper in to the heart of Christ.

All blessings as you pray.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy’s newsletter “The Contemplative Window” or join our Facebook group here

You can support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, making a one-off donation or becoming a member. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch.

The post The Interior Castle: The First Dwelling: Lectio Divina appeared first on Contemplative at Home.