The Interior Castle Or The Mansions

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This book is the fruit of Fr. Dubay's many years of study and experience in spiritual direction and in it he synthesizes the teachings on prayer of the two great doctors of the Church on prayer--St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila--and the teaching of Sacred Scripture. But the teaching that Fr. Dubay synthesized is not collected from Teresa and John for contemplatives alone. It is meant for every Christian and is based on the Gospel imperative of personal prayer and the call to holiness. All the major elements of these great teachers are ordered, commented on and put in the context of their scriptural foundations. Here is an outstanding book on prayer and the spiritual life written by one of the best spiritual directors and retreat masters of our time, and based on the writings of the Church's two greatest mystical doctors.

Wild Mercy is essential reading for anyone ready to awaken the feminine mystic within and birth her loving, creative, and untamed power into the world. “Mystical brilliance at its best.” —Caroline Myss “No one can take us into the fiery and tender depths of the sacred feminine with more skill, humor, clarity, and vibrant naked honesty than Mirabai Starr.” —Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope and The Return of the Mother We live in a world that has suffered the abuses of an unbalanced masculine rule for thousands of years—but the feminine is rising. “Seeds of feminine wisdom that have been quietly germinating underground are now breaking through the surface,” writes Mirabai Starr. “Women everywhere are rising to the collective call to step up and repair our broken Earth. And we are activating a paradigm shift such as the world has never seen.” With Wild Mercy, Mirabai shares the subversive wisdom and fierce compassion of the feminine mystic across cultural boundaries and throughout history. From saints and sages, to goddesses and archetypal energies, to contemporary teachers and seekers—you’ll meet women who blazed a path that will illuminate your own. Each chapter explores a different facet of feminine mysticism through a tapestry of teachings, reflections, and stories, along with a practice for integrating the chapter’s themes into your own life. As you journey through these pages, you’ll explore: Taking refuge in contemplative practice with St. Teresa of Avila and the ShekinahLonging, embodiment, and union as the heart of feminine spiritual practice with the Hindu poet Mirabai and Mary MagdaleneYour relationship with the Earth, motherhood in all its forms, and a loving call to action alongside Gaia and Ix ChelCommunity and the web of life with Indra, the Beguines, and female prophets throughout historyWild, playful, and compassionate mercy with Tara and Kuan YinFinding joy in creativity and the arts with Saraswati and Chiyo-niMore inspiration from archetypal goddesses and amazing women past and present—Julian of Norwich, the Sufi saint Rabia, Pachamama, Sophia, Old Spider Woman, Hildegard of Bingen, Demeter, Kali, and more Wild Mercy provides a much-needed alternative to the models of religion and spirituality that have dominated history. Here, Mirabai invites you to welcome the wisdom of women back into the collective field where it may transform the human family, heal the ravaged Earth, and awaken the divine love in our hearts.

Written in 1577 and first published in English in 1852, The Interior Castle is considered one of the greatest works of Catholic spiritual prose. A painting of the spirit within a Renaissance landscape, this allegory of the soul as a castle is both poetic and didactic. Written in address of women, this work describes the seven concentric groups of mansions within the soul, each aligned to one of the seven heavens, and here is the map which gently, and with love and prayer, leads the female spirit through war, fear, and humility, into the ultimate destination-the central court and a spiritual "marriage" to God. The works of Spanish nun SAINT TERESA OF AVILA (1515-1582) rank among the most extraordinary mystical writings of Roman Catholicism and among the classics of all religious traditions. Her writings include The Way of Perfection and her autobiography, The Life of Saint Teresa of Jesus.

Deeply spiritual and profoundly human, this 16th-century masterpiece is the work of a revered saint. Its insights into prayer and meditation as the keys to fulfillment have inspired generations of readers.

A fresh and contemporary translation of one of the best loved and influential mystical texts of all time, The Showings of Julian of Norwich brings the message and spirituality of this 14th century mystic to 21st century readers. Julian of Norwich, a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer, was an English anchoress in East Anglia. At the age of 30, suffering from a severe illness and believing she was on her deathbed, Julian had a series of intense visions of Jesus, which she recorded and then expanded on later in her life. Her message for today's readers is simply this: She reveals the feminine face of the Divine and reminds us to see God there. All our failings are an opportunity to learn and grow; that they should be honored, but not dwelled upon. God's love has nothing to do with love and retribution and everything to do with love and compassion. In spite of all appearances, all is well.

AMONG the things which I have been commanded to do under obedience, few have proved so difficult to me as writing at present something on prayer; and this for two reasons, because it seems to me our Lord does not give me spirit, nor a desire to write, and also because I have had, for the last three months, such a noise in my head, attended with extreme weakness, that I write with pain, even on necessary business. But knowing the power of obedience, which makes things easy that seem impossible, my will is determined to undertake the work very cheerfully, though nature seems exceedingly averse to it, because our Lord has not given me such virtue that I should be able to accomplish the task, considering how I have to endure continual sickness, and how many different employments occupy my time, without great resistance on the part of nature. May he be pleased to accomplish the work, who has performed other more difficult things for me; in His mercy I trust.

INTERIOR CASTLE EXPLORED is a penetrating interpretation of St. Teresa of Avila's central teaching on prayer. But it is more than a contemporary Carmelite commentary on the 16th-century Carmelite classic; it is also, in its own right, a guide to the life of deep union with God. +