“Now we have no symbolic life, and we are all badly in need of the symbolic life. Only the symbolic life can express the need of the soul—the daily need of the soul, mind you! And because people have no such thing, they can never step out of this mill—this awful grinding, banal life in which they are: ‘nothing but….’ These things go pretty deep, and no wonder people get neurotic. Life is too rational; there is no symbolic existence in which I am fulfilling my role, my role as one of the actors in the divine drama of life.”
—Carl Jung
Dear Friends,
We are called now to both work in the world and to care for our inner prayer life. Saint Teresa of Avila gifts us with symbols we deeply need in this global dark night of the soul. She tells the story of her life through the symbol of a castle, revealing her soul’s journey with God in her breathtaking book, The Interior Castle.
As she shares her experiences and the image of the “interior castle,” she invites us into an imaginal journey with God—toward the center where the human and divine meet in ecstatic, holy union. God, our beloved friend, is always with us, always already present, whether we walk in the dark night of the soul or in the final dwelling place of brilliant light. No striving, climbing, or moralism is needed in this intimate pilgrimage with God. Teresa teaches us simply to open the door through prayer and reflection, for God’s love for us is vaster than we can possibly imagine.
Similarly, our church mantra reminds us:
“God loves you, and there is nothing you can do about it.”
The Journey Within
This inner pilgrimage is like entering a hologram or mandala—nothing like exploring a typical building. The journey to the center, where the light of God shines brightest, leads us inward through many layers of the soul. Like a flower enfolding its center, the soul contains countless rooms, bridges, gardens, and labyrinths—seven dwelling places in all.
Teresa begins her book:
“…I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or a very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms.”
Her reflections lead us into the depths of ourselves, beloved by God:
“…where my God-given life is attempting to grow.”
The outer edges of the castle are dark and filled with frightening creatures, but as the soul enters deeper, the atmosphere changes—darkness gives way to light. At the center is the mystical marriage, the holy union with the Holy One.
God is not “out there” somewhere but present within our own interior souls and also within our collective soul across the cosmos. These teachings are gifts for us in this time of global darkness.
Carl Jung, Teresa of Avila, and John Welch
Father John Welch wrote:
“Teresa is telling us the story of her life of prayer. The journey through the castle is the story of a growing union with God as the soul enters more deeply into prayer. Prayer is the door to the castle and prayer is the activity which allows one to be drawn to God at the center. Teresa’s relationship to God was alive within her, and it grew through times of peace, tension, fulfillment, emptiness, and transition.”
John Welch, author of Spiritual Pilgrims: Carl Jung and Teresa of Avila, passed away a few days ago. We give thanks for his life and for the ways he built bridges between Jung, Teresa, depth psychology, religion, and Christian mysticism. May he rest in eternal peace with God, joining the communion of saints with Teresa and John of the Cross.
Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross
Teresa of Avila, the 16th-century Carmelite nun, mystic, and Doctor of the Church, is celebrated on her feast day, October 15. This fall we will study and celebrate her life and teachings in worship, reading both The Interior Castle and John Welch’s Spiritual Pilgrims.
We will also reflect on her partner in reform, John of the Cross, who authored The Dark Night of the Soul. Together, their teachings help us understand our collective global dark night and call us to deepen our prayer and contemplative life.
Our Interfaith Secret Prayer Garden
Here at the John Cobb Eco Farm and Mary Magdalene Retreat Center, we have created a symbolic Interfaith Secret Prayer Garden with twelve altars on twelve trees. This garden invites pilgrims to pray and contemplate, circling around the farm and centering in our “manger church”—a symbol of home, God, and our common humanity.
Like Teresa’s castle, our manger church is a metaphor for dwelling with God in harmony with creation. Reading Teresa’s writings, poems, and prayers, we find her presence with us still—guiding, encouraging, and offering symbolic gifts of light in this time of global darkness.
Poem
“Soul, you are my room, you are my house, you are my dwelling.
If, through your distracted ways, I ever find your door tightly closed,
do not seek me outside yourself.
To find me, it will be enough simply to call me,
and I will come quickly. Seek me inside yourself.”
Prayer
“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing upset you.
Everything changes. God alone is unchanging.
With patience all things are possible;
whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone is enough.”
—Teresa of Avila
Sending love from my heart to yours,
Rev. Bonnie Tarwater