Ávila, Castile, Spain·1515 – 1582
Santa Teresa de Jesús
St. Teresa of Ávila
Doctor of Prayer
She found God in the innermost room of her own being.
“God alone suffices.”
Life
Born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada in 1515 in Ávila, Spain, into a family of converso origin, Teresa entered the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation at age twenty. For nearly two decades she struggled with a divided heart — drawn to God but unable to surrender the pleasures of social life within the convent.
At forty, a decisive conversion occurred. She began experiencing intense mystical states — visions, raptures, and locutions — that both terrified and transformed her. Rather than retreating into private ecstasy, she channeled this energy into reforming the Carmelite order, founding seventeen convents of the Discalced Carmelites despite fierce ecclesiastical opposition.
She wrote her major works under obedience to her confessors. The Interior Castle, composed in 1577, remains one of the most complete maps of the contemplative journey in any tradition. She died on 4 October 1582 and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970 — the first woman to receive the title.
One Heart
“Within the innermost mansion of the soul, the Lord Himself dwells. Here the soul and God enjoy each other in the deepest silence.”
Teachings
The Interior Castle
The soul is a castle of crystal with seven concentric mansions. God dwells in the innermost chamber. The spiritual journey is the movement inward through prayer, from the outer rooms of distraction to the center of divine union.
Mental Prayer as Friendship with God
Prayer is not reciting formulas but an intimate exchange between friends. “Mental prayer is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.”
The Prayer of Quiet and Union
Beyond active meditation lies the prayer of quiet, where God begins to act directly on the soul. The faculties grow still. In the deepest mansions, the soul and God become one — like two candle flames merging into a single light.
Works & Publications
The Interior Castle
Her masterwork: seven mansions of the soul’s journey toward union with God.
The Way of Perfection
A practical guide to prayer and the spiritual life, written for her Carmelite sisters.
The Life of Teresa of Jesus (Autobiography)
Her autobiography, including vivid accounts of mystical experiences and the founding of her reform.
An Inspiration
Teresa’s interior castle maps the same inward journey that Advaita points to — moving through layers of identification until one arrives at the Self, the innermost chamber where God alone dwells.