Book Review: "The Citadel Within : Meditations On
St Teresa of Jesus' "The Interior Castle"
The Citadel Within - A Beauty!
Spiritual life is always exciting.
Poetry
can be awe-inspiring. In the booklet
"The
Citadel Within" we have a blending
of
both. The result is charm and grace
at their
zenith.
"I began to think of the soul
as if
it were a castle made of a single diamond".
This deep intuition is at the heart
of 'The
Interior Castle', one of the most celebrated
books on spiritual life in existence.
Simple
to read, the content is powerful. Above
all
it is contagious. It makes you crave
for
God!
The author is Teresa of Jesus. A simple
Carmelite
cloistered nun, she had no ambition
to be
popular or even to write! She wrote
simply
because she was ordered to! "For
the
love of God, let me work at my spinning
wheel
and go to choir and perform the duties
of
the religious life, like the other
sisters.
I am not meant to write: I have neither
the
health nor the wits for it." She
was
underestimating herself. Her writings
are
characterized by a rich imagination
and a
conversation-style "sweet disorder"
that many find very attractive. I do!
Here is a determined woman who is living
the most exhilarating adventure that
exists,
the adventure of God. In this book,
the most
mature of her writings, she describes
the
journey that one goes through as one
passes
through the various rooms of this castle
towards the innermost chamber. A gradual
exciting process of divinization. A
gradual
process of transformation. Man becomes
God.
Real ecstasy!
Having read and meditated on what Saint
Teresa
wrote in her book The Interior Castle,
Paul
Buis ventured into a poetic expression
of
the insights and sagacity that he discovered
in her writings. The result is beautiful.
Many times you will find yourself amazed
at the originality of his thoughts
and the
depth of his feelings. You will feel
exhilarated
at the enormity of the project that
God has
for you. You may even 'taste' the beauty
of God while reading and praying over
these
poems. The many images that Teresa
uses in
her writings become even more vivid
and significant.
Through this book, Teresa becomes more
alive.
Even more, life becomes more exciting.
Above
all, God becomes more and more real.
"The
more we know about His communication
to creatures,
the more we will praise His grandeur
and
make every effort to have esteem for
souls
in which the Lord delights so much"
(Seventh Mansion, 2,3).
What can one desire more in life?!
Congratulations,
reader. Thank you, Paul. Pray for me.
Father Pius Sammut
Discalced Carmelite
Saipan Micronesia - Easter Sunday 2003
.