Teresa saw prayer as a garden made for God. She said we are the gardeners and we must tend the plants and water them. God’s job is to pull the weeds so the good seed can grow. She believed there are four ways to water the plants, or four stages of praying. With each stage, we do less and less of the work until we reach a place of perfect union with God where He becomes the Gardener.
Drawing from a Well
The first stage of prayer is like drawing the water from a well because it requires the most effort. Here, those who are just learning how to pray must consciously remove themselves from distractions and engage the mind in meditation. At this stage we are trying to communicate with God with words from our hearts. The goal should be to stay close to God, ask Him to meet our needs, rejoice with Him, and tell Him our troubles. Teresa believed, “This practice of carrying Christ in our consciousness is beneficial at all phases of the spiritual path, especially in the first degrees of prayer.”She encouraged people not to worry if they didn’t “experience” anything during their prayer time, but just to trust in God’s perfect timing. She also warned not to attempt to shut down the mind while praying, but rather yield it completely to God. During this stage it is important to be confident in prayer and not hold back the desires of your heart. It is also helpful to have a spiritual director to offer counsel, although Teresa advised to be very careful whom you choose, as bad counsel can cause much harm.
The Waterwheel
This stage of prayer is also called the Prayer of Quiet. Here, communion with God is not attained through the efforts of the person praying. Only the person’s will is engaged; all other faculties are suspended. At this place, the desire for the mundane things of the world falls away because we realize that nothing can compare to God’s joy while in this state. It’s imperative that we see ourselves as nothing, totally dependent on God. We must allow Him to prune whatever He wants so our gardens can be fully cultivated. The Prayer of Quiet produces contentment, calmness, and joy. To reap its full benefits, the mind must be kept quiet and free of distractions. Intelligence is irrelevant during this contemplative praying; in fact, theological concepts may actually hinder God’s love reaching into the soul. God is the one who begins and ends this state of prayer. It is not of our own will. When He induces it, the soul has no need for producing feelings of unworthiness. God offers true humility, which gives us the sudden awareness that we are nothing. This humility brings about a freedom from self-interest as well as a hunger for spiritual transformation.
Water Flowing through a Stream
In this third stage of prayer, the soul simply wants to rejoice in God’s greatness and glory. It wants only to praise God and have others share in the rejoicing. This is a place of near death to all earthly things. The soul’s faculties are almost completely united with God, yet they are still functioning. Their only power, however, is to completely surrender to God’s will. Words cannot express the joy felt in this state. The person praying reaches a realization that the soul no longer belongs to itself. In this place God can accomplish more in a moment’s time than what could be accomplished after years of intellectual efforts. Teresa expressed to God what she felt in this place of prayer: “This servant of yours can no longer bear the trial of seeing herself without you. All she wants is to be free. She no longer desires to live in herself but only to live in you.”The third stage of prayer is different from the second in that here the soul is more like Mary’s, wanting to be totally still before the Lord. Here, it is like Martha’s, leading an active and contemplative life simultaneously. The person praying can continue with normal tasks but is no longer in charge of himself. In this state of prayer, the soul’s appetite is completely satisfied and doesn’t desire anything else. It is not interested in anything the world has to offer.
Water from the Rain
This fourth state of prayer is also known as the Prayer of Union. In the previous stage, although the soul has died to the things of the world, it is not completely dead because it still has its senses. But in this place of prayer, the senses are so occupied with joy, they are not free to express anything else. The joy found here is much greater than in any of the others stages, yet it is much harder for the soul to express the magnitude of it. Here, the entire soul is drawn into a place of union with God, and all faculties are suspended. God Himself becomes the Gardener in this stage of prayer. Before, the soul was still laboring for the water. But now, God provides all the water for the garden abundantly, and there is no labor on the part of the one who prays. This fourth water is so abundant, it saturates the entire garden. Teresa believed, “This water from heaven often comes when the gardener least expects it. Yet… in the beginning stages of the spiritual path the heavenly rain almost always falls after a long period of contemplative prayer.” From Teresa’s experiences, even though it sometimes seems the soul can remain in this state of union for a long time during the Prayer of Union, it is actually a very short period. In asking God to explain to her what exactly her soul was going through during these times, she believed God told her the following: “The soul utterly dissolves...so that it can fully unite with me...It is no longer the soul that lives, but I.”
Blessings of the Fourth Water
Even after the experience of the Prayer of Union has ended, its effects linger. Teresa noted several blessings that come as a result of being in this state with God. For one, the soul becomes courageous and its boldness initiates many resolutions and promises for God. The person praying also gains a new depth of humility as he realizes he had nothing to do with God uniting him to Himself in this way. Additional blessings include a strong contempt for the things of the world and a clear revelation of God’s great glory. These blessings can be lost, however, if the person praying does not maintain a heart of gratefulness for God’s gifts, thereby allowing her garden to get choked with thorns. The important thing is to not get discouraged and become careless in tending the garden. The person praying should never trust herself to not fall from the heights she has attained in God.
Excerpt from one of her writings, The Interior Castle:
"When once you have learned how to enjoy this Castle, you will always find rest, however painful your trials may be, in the hope of returning to your Lord, which no one can prevent. Although I have only mentioned seven mansions, yet each one contains many more rooms, above, below, and around it, with fair gardens, fountains, and labyrinths, besides other things so delightful that you will wish to consume yourself in praising the great God for them, Who has created the soul in His own image and likeness. If you find anything in the plan of this treatise which helps you to know Him better, be certain that it is sent by His Majesty to encourage you, and whatever you find amiss in it is my own."
In the Interior Castle, she unveils a profound spiritual vision in which the soul is a castle made of a single diamond. The diamond is surrounded by six mansions that the soul must pass through on its journey to the center of the castle and union with God. The six mansions represent Humility, Prayer, Meditation, Quiet, Illumination, and the Dark Night. In each of the mansions readers will experience a deepening desire to know God more intimately by conforming their wills to His will.
Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us and all those for whom we pray.
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