HAVING come thus far, you may be tempted to self-satisfaction,
but don't rest on your laurels. It is a great thing to have reached
the third mansion, but we are not secure at this stage. We still
have to be aware of the enemy at the gates. The only true security
is when we reach heaven. Even some saints fell into grave sin,
despite having come a long way in God's service. So keep alert and
watchful.
We may have Our Lady as patroness of Carmel, but that does not
guarantee our own holiness. David, too, was a holy man, and look at
what his son Solomon became. If we are living excellent lives and
being faithful to prayer, we must always remember the scripture
verse "Blessed is the one who fears the Lord" (Psalm 112.1), and be
not over-confident.
THERE are many people in the third mansion who have overcome
their initial difficulties. They avoid even small sins. They find
joy in mortifying themselves. They spend hours in prayer and
recollection. They use their time well. They are charitable towards
their neighbours. They fulfil the duties of their state of life
conscientiously.
We tend to say that such people are "saints". Well, I say
otherwise. Holiness is far more than an outwardly well-ordered
life. Remember the rich young man who was living a good life, yet
faltered when challenged to sell everything if he wanted to be
perfect.
Doing what one has to do anyway is hardly great holiness, and
certainly not perfection. Remember that we are only God's servants,
and bound to do what is right and good, without looking for reward
or congratulations from others, never mind congratulating
ourselves.
Jesus was a true servant, and never looked for compliments or
rewards; instead, he was focused on the Cross and on giving his
life for us. If we are expecting God to reward our faithfulness
with sweetness in prayer, we have the wrong idea of the spiritual
life altogether, never mind expecting other people to congratulate
us on our good living.
The way to discover if we have really advanced is to notice how
we react when tested. Oh, my! How some people who seem to be such
good Christians go under at even small trials! I have been driven
crazy by such people and their constant complaining.
It is no use offering them advice, as they think they are far
advanced on the spiritual path and know all the answers. Their only
hope is to realise that they are still needy people, and not as
good as they thought.
It is one thing to meditate on the sufferings of the Lord, but
quite another to accept a bit of suffer-ing ourselves. Thinking on
the Passion is fine in its own way. Putting the lessons of the
Passion into practice in our life is quite another matter.
Loss of reputation makes people in this mansion restless. They
also become depressed over really trifling matters, and if they do
manage to rise above trivialities for a time, they think themselves
absolutely wonderful. How ridiculous can you get! If you cannot
accept the trials of daily life, stop considering yourself saintly,
and return to basic humility.
This is the last of four edited extracts from Travelling Inwards: St Teresa's Interior Castle
for everyone by Elizabeth Ruth Obbard, published by New
City at £5.95 (CT Bookshop £5.35 - Use code CT217 );
978-1-905039-21-0.