# Interior Castle Handbook Transformation in Christ (continued in Session Seven) **Required** **Reading:** The Interior Castle: Study Edition, _the_ _Fifth_ _Dwelling_ _Places,_ [[tj-ic-ccel-06|IC Mansion 5 Chapter 1]] and [[tj-ic-ccel-06|IC Mansion 5 Chapter 2]] **Additional** **Reading:** Interpretive notes **Explanatory note**: The expansion of the soul experienced in the fourth dwelling places allows the soul in the fifth dwelling places to explore its own internal depth. Perhaps for the first time, the soul experiences what it is to dwell deeply within itself (in God). Here the space created in it through the process of expansion (progression in prayer) now becomes the location for the powerful form of transformation, which Teresa represents through the metaphor of a caterpillar changing into a beautiful white butterfly (see Entering Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle). **Essential Points to Discuss**: •       Teresa reminds her readers that all who wear the holy habit of Carmel are called to prayer and contemplation. “This call explains our origin; we are the descendants of men who felt this call, of those holy fathers of Mount Carmel who, in such great solitude…sought this treasure, this precious pearl of contemplation that we are speaking about” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 1:2]]). Teresa encourages the soul to dig until it finds this hidden treasure. “The truth is that the treasure lies within our very selves” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 1:2]]). •       Teresa emphasizes the uniqueness of the union that takes place in the fifth dwelling places between God and the soul. The soul is left with “wonderful blessings because God works within it without anyone disturbing him [God], not even ourselves” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 1:5]]). Thus, “this union is above all earthly joys, above all delights, above all consolations and still more than that” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 1:6]]). Previous unions were felt as if from the surface of the skin, whereas union in the fifth dwelling places is felt in the marrow of the bones (see V, 1:6). •       Although the union is brief, it is intense enough to communicate to the soul immediately that it is indeed true union with God, embedding in the soul the wisdom of God. “God so places himself in the interior of that soul that when it returns to itself it can in no way doubt that it was in God and God was in it” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 1:9]]). •       How does one know for sure that one has reached the prayer of union? For Teresa, the certainty left in the soul is the clear indication of this union. “I don’t say that it then saw the truth but that afterward it sees the truth clearly, not because of a vision but because of a _certitude_ remaining in the soul that only God can place there” (emphasis added) ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 1:10]]). Teresa goes on to explain that “whoever does not receive this certitude does not experience union of the whole soul with God, but union of some faculty, or that he experiences one of the many other kinds of favors God grants souls” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 1:11]]). •       Explaining the subjective experience of this union, Teresa goes on to describe the dynamics of transformation in Christ by using two metaphors, namely, the wine cellar in the Song of Songs and the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly. •       “I understand this union to be the wine cellar where the Lord wishes to place us when he desires and as he desires. But however great the effort we make to do so, we cannot enter. His Majesty must place us there and enter himself into the center of the soul. And that he may show his marvels more clearly, he doesn’t want our will to have any part to play, for it has been entirely surrendered to him” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 1:12]]). God wants to enter the center of the soul without going through any door (the faculties), as he entered the place where his disciples were when he said, “peace to you” (Jn. 20:19). •       Teresa describes the life cycle of a silkworm and makes a comparison to the transformation of souls in this prayer of union. “The worms nourish themselves on the mulberry leaves, until having grown to full size, they settle on some twigs. There with their little mouths, they themselves go about spinning the silk and making some very thick little cocoons in which they enclose themselves. The silkworm, which is fat and ugly, then dies, and a little white butterfly, which is very pretty, comes forth from the cocoon” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 2:2]]). •       In dwelling places 1-4, Teresa dealt with the growth of this silkworm. In the fifth dwelling places, the worm begins to spin the silk and build the house where it will die. This house is Christ, and the soul’s life is hidden in Him (see V, 2:4). •       Teresa encourages the soul to be quick (as are these silkworms) to build up this house of Christ by getting rid of self-love, self-will, and inordinate attachments to things of the world. “…the Lord himself will become the reward of this work. … His Majesty wants to join our little labors with the great ones he suffered so that all the work may become one” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 2:5]]-[[tj-ic-ccel-06|6]]). The soul is now sharing in the essence of God through participation. •       The butterfly represents a new and more centered identity of the soul. The soul learns to live with the possibilities and challenges its new identity generates. First and foremost is a completely new understanding of oneself. Teresa describes this **selfknowledge** by writing that, as a result of this union, the soul’s very being has been so transformed that it “doesn’t recognize itself” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 2:6]]). Thus, the soul in the fifth dwelling places begins to see the world from its new vantage point as a “butterfly.” •       The soul’s new identity gives birth to a new potential and new insights. It has experienced deep peace and rest in this union. “[The soul] doesn’t know where to alight and rest. Since it has experienced such a wonderful rest, all that it sees on earth displeases it… Almost each time it gains new treasures. It no longer has any esteem for the works it did while a worm. It now has wings… Everything wearies it, for it has learned through experience that creatures cannot give it true rest” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 2:8]]). •       Teresa reminds that there must always be a cross while living on earth (see V, 2:9). She explains that the soul who has experienced the prayer of union suffers because it is now transformed and **willing to participate in God’s actions** in its life. She compares the soul to wax impressed with a seal. Like the wax, the soul remains still and gives consent to God... Oh, goodness of God…All you want is our will and that there be no impediment in the wax” ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 2:12]]). “Oh, great delight, to suffer in doing the will of God! ([[tj-ic-ccel-06|V, 2:14]]). _“Carmelite Seculars accept from the viewpoint of faith, hope and love, the_ _work_ _and_ _suffering_ _of_ _each_ _day,_ _family_ _worries,_ _the_ _uncertainty_ _and_ _limitations of human_ _life, sickness, lack_ _of understanding, and_ _all that makes_ _up_ _the_ _fabric_ _of_ _our_ _earthly_ _existence._ _They_ _will_ _strive_ _to_ _make_ _all_ _this_ _material_ _for_ _their_ _dialogue_ _with_ _God,_ _in_ _order_ _to_ _grow_ _in_ _an_ _attitude_ _of_ _praise_ _and_ _gratitude_ _to_ _the_ _Lord._ _In_ _order_ _to_ _live_ _truly,_ _simply,_ _freely, humbly,_ _and_ _completely_ _confident_ _in_ _the_ _Lord”_ ([[pursuits-texts/04-formation-and-liturgy/legislation/05-03-constitutions|OCDS Constitutions]], Art. 22). --- # Links [[tj-ic-guide-7|Transformation in Christ (continued from Session Six)]] [[tj-ic-guide-5|IC Handbook, Session Five, Conversion]] --- **Source:** Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, *Formation II Year B: The Interior Castle (The Seven Dwelling Places)* (US National Formation Program, 2024).