2012 - Interior Castle

I started reading the book “The Interior Castle” by Saint Terese of Avila last year at Notre Dame. I had heard about it at LA Congress and went to buy it but didn’t pick it up until I came to Vision. I sort of saved it to read while I was on retreat on campus for the week. I took it to my reflections time before reconciliation on Tuesday and was just drawn into it. I read the Introduction which I pretty much never do with a book and was totally struck by the fact she had begun writing the book when she was nearly 40 and the precise weekend I was sitting there in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Campus of Notre Dame. It was such an experience I was brought to tears.

I spent much of the next day reading the book, highlighted some but there was too much to process and get my mind around. I wanted to highlight the whole book because I was relating to the whole thing.

The next few days flew by and I ended at the fourth castle. I just couldn’t finish it so I took it home to ponder. Of course my time got sucked up and it was difficult to sit down to really reflect on it all but I took it to LA Congress and I was able to get through to the sixth castle. Well not exactly through it but up to it and opened the door.

I sat with it on my dresser for a couple more months anxious to get to it. So much so that I talked and joked about how I had stopped at the level which I was at and was unable to finish the book because I hadn’t achieved the next level yet. How wise indeed were my statements!

I took it with me to the Youth Ministers Silent Retreat in May and I was so amazed with how it was describing my experiences of the past 6 months to a tee! It occurred to me that I really couldn’t finish the book until the next month when I returned to the place I first began reading, the Notre Dame campus. I even saved the final pages for Tuesday’s reconciliation service where I’d literally started the book.

I planned my day to be able to have prayer time prior to the service as I had done the year before. However, God had other plans and blessed E and I with a couple of surprises we we didn’t have as much time to pray in the Basilica before the service began. We actually sat outside the Basilica on the porch of Sorin Hall (the original first dorm on campus) on a swing and watched as the teens went into the church.

It was an hour after the service was supposed to start when we finally went in to pray. I picked up the book and as it has each time I picked it up, spoke to me. I was walking right along with Saint Terese in understanding and feeling and I was told to get up there and receive God’s grace and get cleaned!

It was a good confession so I had been been redeemed from my previous two experiences. I read some more of the book and continued to see my life and experiences falling parallel with what was being described. I didn’t finish it that night, instead during more reflection time back on the porch swing. It has been such a rewarding journey and I feel as if Saint Terese just read my soul!