Interior Castle

Travel through the 7 mansions of the soul with St. Teresa of Avila. Spiritual blessings are present throughout this book.

Any Christian whether Catholic or Protestant can read this book is to discover what Jesus Christ is doing in their life. It is liberating!!! I

Purchased for an online course with the Center for Action and Contemplation. This book was translated by Mirabai Star and authored by St Teresa of Avila. St Teresa is a MUST read for any who wish to enlighten their spiritual sojourn and have progressed as pilgrim for a little while. St John of the Cross was her companion as she reformed Carmelite convents. She was a deeply devout Christian mystic, with a strong mind, and excellent administration skills.Her hilarious sense of humor shines through as she penned the book “In obedience” — as she keeps reminding the reader to her director/confessor. Teresa cleared away any suspicion about her Jewish ancestry and her solidness as a Christian during the Spanish Inquisition. She’s so tender and generous and pragmatic to the sisters she said verses. Christian Mysticim at its highest. 💟 Sit with her, soak it up, and journey to your own Interior Castle. It’s exquisite.

Good read

If you’ve ever wondered whether your own spiritual experience were genuine or not reading this book. The description Saint Teresa provides will show you that others have experienced for what you’ve experienced. You’re not astray or diluted.

I was interested in reading what other women had to tell me about prayer and Teresa of Avila sounded particularly inspiring. I selected Mirabai Starr's translation of Interior Castle precisely because she "took the liberty... to soften some of [Teresa's] more loaded religious vocabulary." They say that all translations are interpretations. This translator is aware of her motives and tells us what those motives are. Since I am not a medieval Catholic (or a modern one), I am comfortable with those motives. Mirabai Starr writes that she did strive to "convey the message truly." Teresa's main analogy, of the soul as a crystal castle with God dwelling at the center, is very powerful. Teresa frequently advises her nuns to know themselves. That is her most important practical advice. She insists that without self-knowledge and the resulting humility, it is not possible to make progress in prayer. This translation has given me access to a perspective on the soul's journey to God that I would probably not have been to appreciate in another translation. I am very grateful to Mirabai Starr for making the words of this mystic available to me.

Deceptive description. I got this book per my spiritual director in the Catholic faith (not this one specifically, but the works of St. Teresa of Avila). Thinking this was a legit version of St. Teresa's works, I receive it in the mail and read the descriptive acknowledgement part where she identifies as "Hindu, Jewish, and Buddhist." Even more so, in the book the author claims to interpret these things by her own authority - free of "Church Dogma." Quite upsetting and a waste of money to realize somebody who isn't even of the Catholic faith or the Church hijacks the works of a Catholic Saint, then translates it to her own image void of Christ and friendly to pagan religions that reject Christ. A spiritual trap for anyone looking to grow truthfully in the spiritual life through Christ's Church. Ensure it has the Church's authority on it and publication from the Carmelite order; not indie authors trying to ride the coat tails of a saint for profit and spiritual deception!

This is an excellent book.