Contemplative Haven: Fourth Mansions (Part 2 of 2) 
Fourth Mansions (Part 2 of 2)
St. Teresa of Avila was a very busy woman, and often regretted not having time to review what she had written before continuing. Near the end of the section on the Fourth Mansions, she tells us that she really should have talked about the Prayer of Recollection before even mentioning the Prayer of Quiet.
What is the Prayer of Recollection? Father Thomas Dubay describes it as "an infused and gentle awareness given by God and not produced by human effort." St. Teresa teaches that it is the beginning of the "supernatural" overtaking our prayer, and does not depend on anything exterior. It is sometimes described as the gentle, infused prayer that God gives to help us make the transition from the active type of meditation done in the first three Mansions to the fuller infused contemplation which takes place later in the Prayer of Quiet. Without any human struggle one is drawn into oneself and desires solitude. The senses and the faculties gradually lose their hold because they have somehow heard the voice "of the good Shepherd". They recognize it because they have been in the Castle before, and are now drawn back into the soul. This can happen when one is not even thinking about God, but one becomes "markedly conscious" that one is going within.
St. Teresa advises that if we recognize this prayer taking place, we should try to stop using our reasoning powers and just listen to the Lord, for at this point, "the person who does most is he who thinks least and desires to do least." When the understanding is stilled, we are able to listen. However, she is adamant about not using force to attempt to still the understanding; she is very familiar with distractions and the wildness of the imagination. If it is too much of an effort to stop thinking, then "make requests of Him" and "remember that we are in His presence." She says that trying to use force is senseless anyway, for we invariably end up thinking even more, and since our faculties are God-given, until He brings us into a state of absorption it is better to use them than try to "cast a spell over them". She tells us that when our will desires to concentrate on the Lord, but our mind refuses to cooperate, the will must "abandon itself into the arms of love". Father Dubay reminds us that we are not hoping to receive, "a neutral state of awareness; we are receiving light and love from God, and there is a vast difference between a sterile, impersonal awareness and a living, lightsome loving. When God wants our mind to cease operating in its ordinary human manner, He gives a delicate but loving luminosity in such manner that all we have to do is receive."
After these early beginnings of infused contemplation in the Prayer of Recollection, the soul is generally then drawn into the Prayer of Quiet. St. Teresa says that in this prayer the faculties are not in full union with the Lord, but they become absorbed, and are "amazed as they consider what is happening to them." In the Prayer of Quiet, the will is somehow united with the will of God. Father Dubay explains that this can last even for a day or two; he says the will is in contemplation while the faculties of memory and intellect are operating quite normally, allowing us to carry out our daily business. St. Teresa remarks again on the dilation, or enlargement, of the heart: the more freely the water flows, the larger becomes the basin. She tells us that the soul becomes less constrained "in matters relating to the service of God", and has much more freedom. She describes some effects of the Prayer of Quiet: no longer being oppressed by the fear of hell, no longer having a servile relationship with God, more desire to do penance, a more lively faith and less fear of trials, being drawn more and more away from earthly delights, and a strengthening in all the virtues.
St. Teresa stresses that although we should "desire to attain the Prayer of Quiet", through humility, we should not expect to receive it. She reiterates that we should love God without any motive of self-interest, we should desire to suffer and imitate the Lord, realize that He is not obliged to bring us into this type of prayer, and not struggle uselessly in any attempt to achieve it for ourselves. All comes down to humility, receptivity and love, and yet, encouragingly, St. Teresa tells us that the fourth Mansion is "the one which the greatest number of souls enter."
What is the Prayer of Recollection? Father Thomas Dubay describes it as "an infused and gentle awareness given by God and not produced by human effort." St. Teresa teaches that it is the beginning of the "supernatural" overtaking our prayer, and does not depend on anything exterior. It is sometimes described as the gentle, infused prayer that God gives to help us make the transition from the active type of meditation done in the first three Mansions to the fuller infused contemplation which takes place later in the Prayer of Quiet. Without any human struggle one is drawn into oneself and desires solitude. The senses and the faculties gradually lose their hold because they have somehow heard the voice "of the good Shepherd". They recognize it because they have been in the Castle before, and are now drawn back into the soul. This can happen when one is not even thinking about God, but one becomes "markedly conscious" that one is going within.
St. Teresa advises that if we recognize this prayer taking place, we should try to stop using our reasoning powers and just listen to the Lord, for at this point, "the person who does most is he who thinks least and desires to do least." When the understanding is stilled, we are able to listen. However, she is adamant about not using force to attempt to still the understanding; she is very familiar with distractions and the wildness of the imagination. If it is too much of an effort to stop thinking, then "make requests of Him" and "remember that we are in His presence." She says that trying to use force is senseless anyway, for we invariably end up thinking even more, and since our faculties are God-given, until He brings us into a state of absorption it is better to use them than try to "cast a spell over them". She tells us that when our will desires to concentrate on the Lord, but our mind refuses to cooperate, the will must "abandon itself into the arms of love". Father Dubay reminds us that we are not hoping to receive, "a neutral state of awareness; we are receiving light and love from God, and there is a vast difference between a sterile, impersonal awareness and a living, lightsome loving. When God wants our mind to cease operating in its ordinary human manner, He gives a delicate but loving luminosity in such manner that all we have to do is receive."
After these early beginnings of infused contemplation in the Prayer of Recollection, the soul is generally then drawn into the Prayer of Quiet. St. Teresa says that in this prayer the faculties are not in full union with the Lord, but they become absorbed, and are "amazed as they consider what is happening to them." In the Prayer of Quiet, the will is somehow united with the will of God. Father Dubay explains that this can last even for a day or two; he says the will is in contemplation while the faculties of memory and intellect are operating quite normally, allowing us to carry out our daily business. St. Teresa remarks again on the dilation, or enlargement, of the heart: the more freely the water flows, the larger becomes the basin. She tells us that the soul becomes less constrained "in matters relating to the service of God", and has much more freedom. She describes some effects of the Prayer of Quiet: no longer being oppressed by the fear of hell, no longer having a servile relationship with God, more desire to do penance, a more lively faith and less fear of trials, being drawn more and more away from earthly delights, and a strengthening in all the virtues.
St. Teresa stresses that although we should "desire to attain the Prayer of Quiet", through humility, we should not expect to receive it. She reiterates that we should love God without any motive of self-interest, we should desire to suffer and imitate the Lord, realize that He is not obliged to bring us into this type of prayer, and not struggle uselessly in any attempt to achieve it for ourselves. All comes down to humility, receptivity and love, and yet, encouragingly, St. Teresa tells us that the fourth Mansion is "the one which the greatest number of souls enter."
posted by Gabrielle at 10:42 PM
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