Degrees of Prayer, according to St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa of Ávila, OCD was a Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer. Sh was born in 1515 at the brink of the Reformation in Ávila, Spain. The first female Doctor of the Church, she has had a significant impact on how we currently understand contemplative prayer, what it means to have a personal relationship with God, and how we can continue the spiritual practices of monastic life even though we work and live in a secular society.
Her writings demonstrate not only rigorous discipline and contemplative prayer, but also a dry wit. She should also be the patron saint of the audacity, because I remember distinctly reading the Interior Castle for the first time and coming across her writing to her fellow Carmelites, "From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us!"
We celebrate her feast day today, October 15. In honor of the first female doctor of the Church, this is a brief rundown of St. Teresa's Degrees of Prayer, with explanations that are not meant to be exhaustive, but to encourage you to read more of her writings, as I pale in comparison to the lucidity of her writing.
Meditation: Drawing Water from the Well
According to St. Teresa, this degree consists of prayer through active meditation. This requires focused effort and withdrawing from the world for a bit, so that we may not be distracted by the concerns and anxieties that plague our minds on a day to day basis. These beginners should aim to be be happy and free and confident. They should attempt great things in the pursuit of active meditation.
Reference: the Life of Teresa of Jesus, chapter 11 and chapter 12 and chapter 13
2. The Prayer of Quiet: The Waterwheel
After a soul has become accustomed to active meditation, St. Teresa encourages moving towards the prayer of quiet. She writes, "Here the soul begins to be recollected and comes upon something supernatural because in no way can it acquire this prayer through any efforts it may make." The fruits of this degree is the movement of the soul away from earthly delights, and into a sense of peace. The efforts of prayer ease, while the activity does not. This degree of prayer reveals grace to us more clearly, and fills us with a deep inner satisfaction. When a soul experiences the Prayer of Quiet, it seems that no greater blessing is possible. Because of this, while many people are given to the prayer of quiet, few people think to go beyond it.
Reference: the Life of Teresa of Jesus, chapter 14 and chapter 15
3. Union: Water Flowing from a Stream
In this stage of prayer, St. Teresa reflects that it now seems that its fruits are all a product of God's work, while one's faculties seem to be asleep. The stream of divine water flows freely into the garden of one's soul; this may happy whether one is in a state of contemplation, or active charity. The inner work and relationship of prayer seems to be continuing beneath the conscious surface. One's faculties fall asleep, and the soul becomes absorbed in union.
Reference: the Life of Teresa of Jesus, chapter 16 and chapter 17
4. Rapture: Heavenly Rain
St. Teresa describes this degree as the prayer of union, using the image of "heavenly rain that saturates the whole garden in abundance." She writes these experiences as short-lived and scarce, but the goodness received as incomprehensible. St. Teresa had other words for this degree: elevation, flight of the spirit, transport, ecstasy.
Reference: the Life of Teresa of Jesus, chapter 18 and chapter 19 and chapter 20 and chapter 21
"My chief aim is to cause souls to covet so sublime a blessing."
- St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Jesus, pray for us.
Links to additional resources:
St. Teresa of Ávila – Who St. Teresa of Ávila Was, Her Feast Day, Carmelite Spirituality, Prayers & Quotes
Four stages of Mystical Prayer in Teresa of Avila
Summary of the Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Avila - The Life of by Herself
The Interior Castle or The Mansions
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