The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of CarmelTeresa, of Avila, Saint
Religion
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel
Teresa, of Avila, Saint
Avila (Spain) -- Biography; Christian saints -- Spain -- Avila -- Biography; Teresa, of Avila, Saint, 1515-1582
7. It seemed to me, when I tried to make some resistance, as if a
great force beneath my feet lifted me up. I know of nothing with
which to compare it; but it was much more violent than the other
spiritual visitations, and I was therefore as one ground to
pieces; for it is a great struggle, and, in short, of little use,
whenever our Lord so wills it. There is no power against
His power.
8. At other times He is pleased to be satisfied when He makes us
see that He is ready to give us this grace, and that it is not He
that withholds it. Then, when we resist it out of humility, He
produces those very effects which would have resulted if we had
fully consented to it.
9. The effects of rapture are great: one is that the mighty power
of our Lord is manifested; and as we are not strong enough, when
His Majesty wills it, to control either soul or body, so neither
have we any power over it; but, whether we like it or not, we see
that there is one mightier than we are, that these graces are His
gifts, and that of ourselves we can do nothing whatever; and
humility is deeply imprinted in us. And further, I confess that
it threw me into great fear, very great indeed at first; for when
I saw my body thus lifted up from the earth, how could I help it?
Though the spirit draws it upwards after itself, and that with
great sweetness, if unresisted, the senses are not lost; at
least, I was so much myself as to be able to see that I was being
lifted up. The majesty of Him who can effect this so manifests
itself, that the hairs of my head stand upright, [7] and a great
fear comes upon me of offending God, who is so mighty. This fear
is bound up in exceedingly great love, which is acquired anew,
and directed to Him, who, we see, bears so great a love to a worm
so vile, and who seems not to be satisfied with attracting the
soul to Himself in so real a way, but who will have the body
also, though it be mortal and of earth so foul, such as it is
through our sins, which are so great.
10. Rapture leaves behind a certain strange detachment also,
which I shall never be able to describe; I think I can say that
it is in some respects different from--yea, higher than--the
other graces, which are simply spiritual; for though these effect
a complete detachment in spirit from all things, it seems that in
this of rapture our Lord would have the body itself to be
detached also: and thus a certain singular estrangement from the
things of earth is wrought, which makes life much more
distressing. Afterwards it causes a pain, which we can never
inflict of ourselves, nor remove when once it has come.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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