1.31 - Continues the same subject. Explains what is meant by the Prayer of Quiet. Gives several counsels to those who experience it. This chapter is very noteworthy.

classes ::: The Way of Perfection, Saint Teresa of Avila, chapter,
children :::
branches :::
see also :::

bookmarks: Instances - Definitions - Quotes - Chapters - Wordnet - Webgen

object:1.31 - Continues the same subject. Explains what is meant by the Prayer of Quiet. Gives several counsels to those who experience it. This chapter is very noteworthy.
book class:The Way of Perfection
author class:Saint Teresa of Avila
class:chapter

Now, daughters, I still want to describe this Prayer of Quiet to you, in the way I have heard it
talked about, and as the Lord has been pleased to teach it to me, perhaps in order that I might
describe it to you. It is in this kind of prayer, as I have said, that the Lord seems to me to begin to
show us that He is hearing our petition: He begins to give us His Kingdom on earth so that we may
truly praise Him and hallow His name and strive to make others do so likewise.
This is a supernatural state, and, however hard we try, we cannot reach it for ourselves; for it
is a state in which the soul enters into peace, or rather in which the Lord gives it peace through His
presence, as He did to that just man Simeon.106 In this state all the faculties are stilled. The soul, in
a way which has nothing to do with the outward senses, realizes that it is now very close to its God,
and that, if it were but a little closer, it would become one with Him through union. This is not
because it sees Him either with its bodily or with its spiritual eyes. The just man Simeon saw no
more than the glorious Infant-a poor little Child, Who, to judge from the swaddling-clothes in
which He was wrapped and from the small number of the people whom He had as a retinue to take
Him up to the Temple, might well have been the son of these poor people rather than the Son of
his Heavenly Father. But the Child Himself revealed to him Who He was. Just so, though less

106

The allusion is, of course, to St. Luke ii, 25 ("just and devout"), 29.

98

The Way of Perfection

St. Teresa of Avila

clearly, does the soul know Who He is. It cannot understand how it knows Him, yet it sees that it
is in the Kingdom (or at least is near to the King Who will give it the Kingdom), and it feels such
reverence that it dares to ask nothing. It is, as it were, in a swoon, both inwardly and outwardly, so
that the outward man (let me call it the "body", and then you will understand me better) does not
wish to move, but rests, like one who has almost reached the end of his journey, so that it may the
better start again upon its way, with redoubled strength for its task.
The body experiences the greatest delight and the soul is conscious of a deep satisfaction. So
glad is it merely to find itself near the fountain that, even before it has begun to drink, it has had
its fill. There seems nothing left for it to desire. The faculties are stilled and have no wish to move,
for any movement they may make appears to hinder the soul from loving God. They are not
completely lost, however, since, two of them being free, they can realize in Whose Presence they
are. It is the will that is in captivity now; and, if while in this state it is capable of experiencing any
pain, the pain comes when it realizes that it will have to resume its liberty. The mind tries to occupy
itself with only one thing, and the memory has no desire to busy itself with more: they both see
that this is the one thing needful and that anything else will unsettle them. Persons in this state
prefer the body to remain motionless, for otherwise their peace would be destroyed: for this reason
they dare not stir. Speaking is a distress to them: they will spend a whole hour on a single repetition
of the Paternoster. They are so close to God that they know they can make themselves understood
by signs. They are in the palace, near to their King, and they see that He is already beginning to
give them His Kingdom on earth. Sometimes tears come to their eyes, but they weep very gently
and quite without distress: their whole desire is the hallowing of this name. They seem not to be
in the world, and have no wish to see or hear anything but their God; nothing distresses them, nor
does it seem that anything can possibly do so. In short, for as long as this state lasts, they are so
overwhelmed and absorbed by the joy and delight which they experience that they can think of
nothing else to wish for, and will gladly say with Saint Peter: "Lord, let us make here three
mansions."107
Occasionally, during this Prayer of Quiet, God grants the soul another favour which is hard to
understand if one has not had long experience of it. But any of you who have had this will at once
recognize it and it will give you great comfort to know what it is. I believe God often grants this
favour together with the other. When this quiet is felt in a high degree and lasts for a long time, I
do not think that, if the will were not made fast to something, the peace could be of such long
duration. Sometimes it goes on for a day, or for two days, and we find ourselves-I mean those
who experience this state-full of this joy without understanding the reason. They see clearly that
their whole self is not in what they are doing, but that the most important faculty is absent -namely,
the will, which I think is united with its God- and that the other faculties are left free to busy
themselves with His service. For this they have much more capacity at such a time, though when
attending to worldly affairs they are dull and sometimes stupid.

107

Moradas. The "three tabernacles" of St. Matthew xvii, 4.

99

The Way of Perfection

St. Teresa of Avila

It is a great favour which the Lord grants to these souls, for it unites the active life with the
contemplative. At such times they serve the Lord in both these ways at once; the will, while in
contemplation, is working without knowing how it does so; the other two faculties are serving Him
as Martha did. Thus Martha and Mary work together. I know someone to whom the Lord often
granted this favour; she could not understand it and asked a great contemplative 108about it, he told
her that what she described was quite possible and had happened to himself. I think, therefore, that
as the soul experiences such satisfaction in this Prayer of Quiet the will must be almost continuously
united with Him Who alone can give it happiness.
I think it will be well, sisters, if I give some advice here to any of you whom the Lord, out of
His goodness alone, has brought to this state, as I know that this has happened to some of you. First
of all, when such persons experience this joy, without knowing whence it has come to them, but
knowing at least that they could not have achieved it of themselves, they are tempted to imagine
that they can prolong it and they may even try not to breathe. This is ridiculous: we can no more
control this prayer than we can make the day break, or stop night from falling; it is supernatural
and something we cannot acquire. The most we can do to prolong this favour is to realize that we
can neither diminish nor add to it, but, being most unworthy and undeserving of it, can only receive
it with thanksgiving. And we can best give thanks, not with many words, but by lifting up our eyes,
like the publican.109
It is well to seek greater solitude so as to make room for the Lord and allow His Majesty to do
His own work in us. The most we should do is occasionally, and quite gently, to utter a single word,
like a person giving a little puff to a candle, when he sees it has almost gone out, so as to make it
burn again; though, if it were fully alight, I suppose the only result of blowing it would be to put
it out. I think the puff should be a gentle one because, if we begin to tax our brains by making up
long speeches, the will may become active again.
Note carefully, friends, this piece of advice which I want to give you now. You will often find
that these other two faculties are of no help to you. It may come about that the soul is enjoying the
highest degree of quiet, and that the understanding has soared so far aloft that what is happening
to it seems not to be going on in its own house at all; it really seems to be a guest in somebody
else's house, looking for other lodgings, since its own lodging no longer satisfies it and it cannot
remain there for long together. Perhaps this is only my own experience and other people do not
find it so. But, speaking for myself, I sometimes long to die because I cannot cure this wandering
of the mind. At other times the mind seems to be settled in its own abode and to be remaining there
with the will as its companion. When all three faculties work together it is wonderful. The harmony

108

In the margin of T. the author adds, in her own hand, that this contemplative was St. Francis Borgia, Duke of Ganda. No doubt,
then, the other person referred to was St. Teresa herself. The addition reads: "who was a religious of the Company of Jesus, who
had been Duke of Ganda," and to this are added some words, also in St. Teresa's hand, but partially scored out and partially
cut by the binder, which seem to be: "who knew it well by experience."

109

St. Luke xviii, 13. St. Teresa apparently forgot that the publican "would not so much as lift his eyes towards heaven".

100

The Way of Perfection

St. Teresa of Avila

is like that between husb and and wife: if they are happy and love each other, both desire the same
thing; but if the husb and is unhappy in his marriage he soon begins to make the wife restless. Just
so, when the will finds itself in this state of quiet, it must take no more notice of the understanding
than it would of a madman, for, if it tries to draw the understanding along with it, it is bound to
grow preoccupied and restless, with the result that this state of prayer will be all effort and no gain
and the soul will lose what God has been giving it without any effort of its own.
Pay great attention to the following comparison, which the Lord suggested to me when I was
in this state of prayer, and which seems to me very appropriate. The soul is like an infant still at
its mother's breast: such is the mother's care for it that she gives it its milk without its having to
ask for it so much as by moving its lips. That is what happens here. The will simply loves, and no
effort needs to be made by the understanding, for it is the Lord's pleasure that, without exercising
its thought, the soul should realize that it is in His company, and should merely drink the milk
which His Majesty puts into its mouth and enjoy its sweetness. The Lord desires it to know that it
is He Who is granting it that favour and that in its enjoyment of it He too rejoices. But it is not His
will that the soul should try to understand how it is enjoying it, or what it is enjoying; it should lose
all thought of itself, and He Who is at its side will not fail to see what is best for it. If it begins to
strive with its mind so that the mind may be apprised of what is happening and thus induced to
share in it, 110it will be quite unable to do so, and the soul will perforce lose the milk 111and forgo
that Divine sustenance.
This state of prayer is different from that in which the soul is wholly united with God, for in
the latter state it does not even swallow its nourishment: the Lord places this within it, and it has
no idea how. But in this state it even seems to be His will that the soul should work a little, though
so quietly that it is hardly conscious of doing so. What disturbs it is the understanding and this is
not the case when there is union of all the three faculties, since He Who created them suspends
them: He keeps them occupied with the enjoyment that He has given them, without their knowing,
or being able to understand, the reason. Anyone who has had experience of this kind of prayer will
understand quite well what I am saying if, after reading this, she considers it carefully, and thinks
out its meaning: otherwise it will be Greek112to her.
Well, as I say, the soul is conscious of having reached this state of prayer, which is a quiet,
deep and Peaceful happiness of the will, without being able to decide precisely what it is, although
it can clearly see how it differs from the happiness of the world. To have dominion over the whole
world, with all its happiness, would not suffice to bring the soul such inward satisfaction as it enjoys
now in the depths of its will. For other kinds of happiness in life, it seems to me, touch only the
outward part of the will, which we might describe as its rind.

110

Lit.: "and drawn along with it"; the same phrase is found at the end of the preceding paragraph.

111

Lit. "let the milk fall out of its mouth."

112

Algaraba. Cf. n. 96 above.

101

The Way of Perfection

St. Teresa of Avila

When one of you finds herself in this sublime state of prayer, which, as I have already said, is
most markedly supernatural, and the understanding (or, to put it more clearly, the thought) wanders
off after the most ridiculous things in the world, she should laugh at it and treat it as the silly thing
it is, and remain in her state of quiet. For thoughts will come and go, but the will is mistress and
all-powerful, and will recall them without your having to trouble about it. But if you try to drag the
understanding back by force, you lose your power over it, which comes from your taking and
receiving that Divine sustenance, and neither will nor understanding will gain,113 but both will be
losers. There is a saying that, if we try very hard to grasp all, we lose all; and so I think it is here.
Experience will show you the truth of this; and I shall not be surprised if those of you who have
none think this very obscure and unnecessary. But, as I have said, if you have only a little experience
of it you will understand it and be able to profit by it, and you will praise the Lord for being pleased
to enable me to explain it.
Let us now conclude by saying that, when the soul is brought to this state of prayer, it would
seem that the Eternal Father has already granted its petition that He will give it His Kingdom on
earth. O blessed request, in which we ask for so great a good without knowing what we do! Blessed
manner of asking! It is for this reason, sisters, that I want us to be careful how we say this prayer,
the Paternoster, and all other vocal prayers, and what we ask for in them. For clearly, when God
has shown us this favour, we shall have to forget worldly things, all of which the Lord of the world
has come and cast out. I do not mean that everyone who experiences the Prayer of Quiet must
perforce be detached from everything in the world; but at least I should like all such persons to
know what they lack and to humble themselves and not to make so great a petition as though they
were asking for nothing, and, if the Lord gives them what they ask for, to throw it back in His face.
They must try to become more and more detached from everything, for otherwise they will only
remain where they are. If God gives a soul such pledges, it is a sign that He has great things in store
for it. It will be its own fault if it does not make great progress. But if He sees that, after He has
brought the Kingdom of Heaven into its abode, it returns to earth, not only will He refrain from
showing it the secrets of His Kingdom but He will grant it this other favour only for short periods
and rarely.
I may be mistaken about this, but I have seen it and know that it happens, and, for my own part,
I believe this is why spiritual people are not much more numerous. They do not respond to so great
a favour in a practical way: instead of preparing themselves to receive this favour again, they take
back from the Lord's hands the will which He considered His own and centre it upon base things.
So He seeks out others who love Him in order to grant them His greater gifts, although He will not
take away all that He has given from those who live in purity of conscience. But there are
persons-and I have been one of them-to whom the Lord gives tenderness of devotion and holy
inspirations and light on everything. He bestows this Kingdom on them and brings them to this
Prayer of Quiet, and yet they deafen their ears to His voice. For they are so fond of talking and of

113

Lit.: "neither the one nor the other will gain."

102

The Way of Perfection

St. Teresa of Avila

repeating a large number of vocal prayers in a great hurry, as though they were anxious to finish
their task of repeating them daily, that when the Lord, as I say, puts His Kingdom into their very
hands, by giving them this Prayer of Quiet and this inward peace, they do not accept it, but think
that they will do better to go on reciting their prayers, which only distract them from their purpose.
Do not be like that, sisters, but be watchful when the Lord grants you this favour. Think what
a great treasure you may be losing and realize that you are doing much more by occasionally
repeating a single petition of the Paternoster than by repeating the whole of it many times in a hurry
and not thinking what you are saying. He to Whom you are praying is very near to you and will
not fail to hear you; and you may be sure that you are truly praising Him and hallowing His name,
since you are glorifying the Lord as a member of His household and praising Him with increasing
affection and desire so that it seems you can never forsake His service. So I advise you to be very
cautious about this, for it is of the greatest importance.

questions, comments, suggestions/feedback, take-down requests, contribute, etc
contact me @ integralyogin@gmail.com or
join the integral discord server (chatrooms)
if the page you visited was empty, it may be noted and I will try to fill it out. cheers

OBJECT INSTANCES [0] - TOPICS - AUTHORS - BOOKS - CHAPTERS - CLASSES - SEE ALSO - SIMILAR TITLES

TOPICS

SEE ALSO

AUTH

BOOKS

IN CHAPTERS TITLE

1.31_-_Continues_the_same_subject._Explains_what_is_meant_by_the_Prayer_of_Quiet._Gives_several_counsels_to_those_who_experience_it._This_chapter_is_very_noteworthy.

IN CHAPTERS CLASSNAME

IN CHAPTERS TEXT

1.31_-_Continues_the_same_subject._Explains_what_is_meant_by_the_Prayer_of_Quiet._Gives_several_counsels_to_those_who_experience_it._This_chapter_is_very_noteworthy.

PRIMARY CLASS

chapter

SIMILAR TITLES

DEFINITIONS

QUOTES [0 / 0 - 0 / 0]

KEYS (10k)

NEW FULL DB (2.4M)

*** NEWFULLDB 2.4M ***

IN CHAPTERS [0/0]

WORDNET

IN WEBGEN [10000/0]

change font "color":
change "background-color":
change "font-family":
change "padding":
change "table font size":
last updated: 2022-02-04 06:11:39
231545 site hits