Here is a little snippet from the first chapter concerning the First Mansion. This bit is about self awareness, and I think is very true for all of us at one time or another (but less so about some of us who are very self aware, or more self aware than I am anyway):
It is no small pity, and should cause us no little shame, that, through our own fault, we do not understand ourselves, or know who we are. Would it not be a sign of great ignorance, my daughters, if a person were asked who he was, and could not say, and had no idea who his father or his mother was, or from what country he came? Though that is great stupidity, our own is incomparably greater if we make no attempt to discover what we are, and only know that we are living in these bodies, and have a vague idea, because we have heard it and because our Faith tells us so, that we possess souls. As to what good qualities there may be in our souls, or Who dwells within them, or how precious they are -- those are things which we seldom consider and so we trouble little about carefully preserving the soul's beauty. All our interest is centred in the rough setting of the diamond, and in the outer wall of the castle -- that is to say, in these bodies of ours.
After this bit she goes on to begin to talk about the interior castle as the place where our soul resides and seeks to find and come into communion with "that which is at the center" which is God; which takes many, many, deep chapters. I may post more as I get further and further along in my study.
As I stated in an earlier post it is no coincidence that I am reading this particular book during this particular lent.
God is good, all the time. Even when we don't want him to be so good to us.
Pax
1 comment:
I'm going to hang with you meg. Actually, thought I should read it as well.
Lenten blessings,
Ebeth
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