# Progression in Prayer **Required** **Reading:** The Interior Castle: Study Edition, _the_ _Second_ _Dwelling_ _Places,_ ch. [[tj-ic-ccel-03|1]] **Additional** **Reading:** Interpretive notes **Explanatory note:** “Teresa’s castle is a real symbol. It represents human interiority, human struggle, and the call to transcendence. To remain in the castle, especially in these beginnings, Teresa is convinced that it requires struggle. The attractions and pull of the world are extremely powerful. She refers to the struggle as a ‘great war’” (Interpretive Notes, pg. 77; second edition, pg. 49). **Will:** The power to make choices, good or bad. The whole aim of the persons who are beginning prayer should be that they work with determination and with every possible effort to **bring their** **will into conformity with God’s will.** What cannot be done all at once can be done little by little. The soul should bend its will if it wishes that prayer be beneficial to it (Glossary, pg. 465; second edition, 437). ## Essential Points to Discuss •       “This stage pertains to those who have already begun to practice prayer and have understood how important it is not to stay in the first dwelling places” ([[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:2]]). •       Souls in these dwelling places, unlike the souls in the first dwelling places, recognize the dangers, and are attentive to the voice of the Lord. “So these persons are able to hear the Lord when he calls... in the midst of business affairs, pleasures, and worldly buying and selling, [yet they are] still falling into sin and rising again” ([[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:2]]). •       They recognize God’s voice “through words spoken by other good people or through sermons or through what is read in good books…through illness and trials; through a truth that He teaches during the brief moments we spend in prayer” ([[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:3]]). •       On the other hand, there are more distractions caused by devils in this dwelling place and **perseverance is most necessary here**. “It is in this stage that the devils represent these snakes (worldly things) and the temporal pleasures of the present as though almost eternal” ([[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:3]]). •       “Faith, however, teaches [the soul] about where it will find fulfillment.” Teresa says memory reminds persons of their mortality and inclines the will to love; it especially keeps in mind how this true Lover never leaves us — accompanying and giving us life. The intellect points out all the ways in which life within the castle is superior to life outside. “The intellect tells the soul of its certainty that outside this castle neither security nor peace will be found” (see [[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:4]]). •       Teresa warns against thinking about consolations at this beginning stage. To do so, she says, would be like building a foundation on sand. “If the foundation is on sand, the whole building will fall to the ground.” Her advice is to embrace the cross, following the Lord’s example. Teresa promises that if we are determined to undergo exterior trials, God will favor us interiorly (see [[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:7]]). •       One must avoid prayer that tries to tell God what one thinks is best. “There’s no need for us to be advising Him about what He should give us, for He can rightly tell us that we don’t know what we’re asking for.” Instead, one should walk with great determination, and try in every way to bring one’s will into conformity with God’s will (see [[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:8]]). •       Teresa now offers some reassurance. Failures should not discourage nor keep one from advancing. Trials and even failures can teach self-knowledge. The soul will never have peace outside of the castle. “Well, believe me, if we don’t obtain and have peace in our own house, we’ll not find it outside. I ask those who have not begun to enter within themselves to do so…” ([[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:9]]). Teresa’s focus is on prayer, meditation, and recollection. •       Because those in the second dwelling places can have so many disturbances, Teresa believes it is very important to consult experienced Catholic persons for spiritual direction. She further adds that even if they cannot find an experienced person to teach them, the Lord will guide everything to their benefit if they persevere (see [[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:10]]). •       Interior prayer, self-knowledge, and reflection on what is owed to God are essential to progression in prayer. “Well now, it is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves, coming to know ourselves, reflecting on our misery and what we owe God, and begging him often for mercy” ([[tj-ic-ccel-03|II, 1:11]]). _“Members of the Secular Order are called to live the demands of following_ _Christ_ _in_ _union_ _with_ _Him_ _by_ _accepting_ _His_ _teachings_ _and_ _devoting_ _themselves to Him... to carry the cross of accepting God’s will revealed in_ _the_ _mission_ _that_ _He_ _has_ _confided_ _to_ _each_ _person”_ (OCDS Const. Art. 10). --- **Source:** Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, *Formation II Year B: The Interior Castle (The Seven Dwelling Places)* (US National Formation Program, 2024).