The Way of Perfection

"I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in heaven there are many mansions"
-  St. Theresa of Avila

If John Climacus 30 step ladder strains my brain as it opens up my heart, St. Theresa's Interior Life has such a beautiful simplicity and clarity to growing in Christian perfection.  The door for Theresa is prayer and meditation.  It is an inward journey rather than an outward one.  This way of perfection is open to everyone who wants to make the journey.

As we enter the first mansion which is farthest from the center which is the seventh and highest way to perfection, one is at first awaken as if from a dream world.  We begin to become aware of our many illusions and self-deceptions as we journey inward towards a true knowledge of oneself.  It's like discovering that you are a stranger in a house and then learn that not only is the house yours, but its like you are seeing it as if for the first time.

It is in the first mansion we begin to die to ourselves and die to our many self preoccupations.  In the first mansion we learn to detach ourselves from the world and its many seductions even though the world still has many hooks and ties to us.  We begin the practice mental prayer where one moves from talking to silence, from thinking about God to beholding God.  It is here that God captivates our heart and becomes our greatest lover.  It is here our will begins to become obliterated and the Divine Will becomes our will.

Every Christian is called to this inward way but many seem to get lost in the first mansion or become so comfortable with its familiarity that they refuse to look around in other rooms and enter into greater mansions of self-discovery and a deeper love for God.  The spiritual warfare of our passions begin to intensify as we move from room to room and from mansion to mansion.  We begin to move from our outward physical senses to our inward intuitive spiritual senses.  The soul is now fully awake and there is no turning back!