Pioneering Old Paths
You need somewhere to ponder, wonder, wrestle.
You're curious - perplexed - even listless - about the paradoxes of life in Christ: the pains, promises, people, and practices.
You're in the right place.
Join Amy Leigh Bamberg, a spiritual director who deeply values the sacred work of holy listening with individuals, couples, and groups in exploration of the intricate ways God meets each person. Tune in for in-depth discussions with insightful guests and find companionship for your spiritual transformation journey.
Pioneering Old Paths
Contemplating the Interior Castle
Long before John Mark Comer and Ruth Haley Barton; even preceding the greats like Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, and Henri J.M. Nouwen, an insightful nun living in 16th century Spain megaphoned the necessity of spiritual formation--that is, the shaping and maturing of a soul over the course of one's life and prayer.
Today we continue the conversation about Saint Teresa of Avila, exploring The Interior Castle, her illuminating approach to spiritual transformation.
Teresa envisioned the soul of a Christian as a castle--"spacious, ample, and lofty"--with many mansions oriented all around, above, and beneath a center, which is occupied by the King that radiates his light throughout the castle. Dignifying the soul and inviting us to roam through these mansions, God encourages us to explore every nook and cranny, without constriction, in humility and curiosity, so that as we go through all the seasons of life and prayer, we gradually come to know him, ourselves, and our union more fully.
In this inward journey of seeking God within ourselves, where we find him "more effectively and profitably than in the creatures," says Teresa, quoting Saint Augustine, "who, after having sought him in many places, found him within." The journey is one of healing, maturing, and ordering of the soul that happens over a lifetime in prayer as we continually surrender, die, and rise to new life in Christ.
Use this quick guide and the resources below as you follow along with Terry and me, charting the interior mansions.
Resources
Consolations - While God is always present, our awareness of him fluctuates. In prayer, we may experience an awareness of him and then the flood of joy and comfort that consoles our souls. These feelings certainly encourage us, but do not indicate spiritual maturity or divine favor. True maturity comes in seeking God himself, not the feelings associated with his presence.
Discipline - in Teresa's Carmelite spirituality there was a strong balance between the need for structure and freedom, effort and surrender, discipline and spontaneity. She held a deep commitment to prayer, contemplation, the pursuit of union with God, love of other, humility, and detachment from self-and-worldly absorptions while also embracing spontaneity and liberty in following God's grace. She warned against extreme self-denial that could be detrimental to our health and true transformation.
Stability - in Benedictine spirituality, the vow of stability is a commitment to remain in a specific monastic community for life. One of three core vows, along with obedience and conversion of life, stability is meant to cultivate a deep sense of rootedness within a spiritual and communal context. Unless obedience sent them elsewhere, the monk remained within the place, people, and rhythm of life where the monk lived, allowing for robust growth and fruitfulness within that secure environment. [Not endorsing the author but simply providing further reflection of the vow of stability here.]
Unhealthy Attachment - an excessive, habitual dependence on someone or something that helps us avoid authentic engagement with God. The attachment can be psycho-emotional, relational, physical or spiritual in nature. Our health, wholeness, and maturity in Christ require continual recognition and working through attachments.
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