Exclamations, Or Meditations Of The Soul On Its God Exclamation 1 S. Teresa of Jesus of the Order of our Lady of Carmel St. Teresa of Avila ░░░░░░░░░░░░ From the Book, "Minor Works Of St. Teresa Conceptions Of The Love Of God Exclamations, Maxims And Poems" |
Exclamations, Or Meditations Of The Soul On Its God Written By The Holy Mother Teresa Of Jesus On Different Occasions, According To The Devotion Imparted To Her By Our Lord After Holy Communion. A.D. 1569. |
EXCLAMATION I
1.
Oh, life, life,
How canst thou still exist,
apart from Him
Who is thy Life ?
Who is thy Life ?
How dost thou occupy thyself
during such solitude ?
What dost thou do —
thou, whose actions are full
of faults and imperfections ?
What can comfort thee, O my soul,
in this tempestuous sea ?
I grieve for self,
and
yet still more for the time
when I felt no grief.
How sweet are Thy ways, O Lord !
Yet who can travel by them without dread ?
I dare not abstain from serving Thee,
yet my service contents me not,
nor acquits aught of the debt I owe.
Fain would I give myself
wholly to Thy service,
yet, looking on my misery,
I see that I am incapable of good,
unless Thou first give it me.
Oh, my merciful God !
What shall I do,
not to render void Thy great graces ?
Thy works are
holy, just, priceless,
full of sublimest wisdom,
for Thou, Lord, art Wisdom itself !
Yet while my mind ponders over this,
my will complains;
It would have no hindrance
to its loving Thee,
for in such high matters ,
the intellect cannot attain to its God,
yet longs to enjoy Him,
although it knows not how,
while shut within the dreary prison
of mortality.
Now it impedes me,
though, at first,
meditation on Thy grandeurs was an aid,
showing me more clearly
showing me more clearly
my own immeasurable baseness.
2.
Why do I say this, my God ?
To whom do I complain ?
Who hears me, but Thou,
my Father and my Creator ?
But why speak, in order to tell Thee
of my pain,
since I see so clearly
that Thou dost dwell within me ?
Behold my folly !
But alas, my God,
how can I be sure
I am not separated from Thee ?
3. Oh, my life !
Which must be passed
in such vital hazard,
who would wish for thee ?
The sole gain
to be found or hoped for in thee
is to please God in all things,
and
even this is
most uncertain
and
beset by dangers.
End of Exclamations, Or Meditations Of The Soul On Its God Exclamation 1 S. Teresa of Jesus of the Order of our Lady of Carmel St. Teresa of Avila ░░░░░░░░░░░░ From the Book, "Minor Works Of St. Teresa Conceptions Of The Love Of God Exclamations, Maxims And Poems" |
6 comments:
It does seem like a paradox to know we believe God is truly in our soul and yet often in prayer we talk to Him as a separate person. The unity and the division seem to contradict and I think Teresa is expressing the sense of seeking a profound unity but always realizing that at least in this world we must remain incompletely united to our God. She ends with what seems to be her only hope, to find a way of pleasing God in all things, and thus finding a sense of union with Him. This poem reveals the constant spiritual struggle of all who seek intimacy with God.
Yes, as you say, the experience of unity, yet division
does seem to be a predominant theme throughout
the "Exclamations" and "Poems", "The Conceptions of Divine Love",
and "The Interior Castle" - especially the later mansions,
and all her writings.
Also St. John's "The Living Flame of Love" stresses this theme.
Thank you for bringing this forward.
Your statement,
"Teresa is expressing the sense
of seeking a profound unity
but always realizing that at least in this world
we must remain incompletely united to our God
...to find a way of pleasing God in all things,
and thus finding a sense of union with Him",
does describe what St. Teresa, herself, said:
"The most surprising thing to me is
that the sorrow and distress
which such souls felt
because they could not
die and enjoy our Lord's presence
are now exchanged for as fervent a desire
- of serving Him,
- of causing Him to be praised,
and
- of helping others
to the utmost of their power.
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 7:
Ch. 3: #5]
and
"I was thinking how hard it was
to remain alive,
seeing that it was living on
that robbed us
of that marvellous companionship;
and so I said to myself:
'O Lord, show me some way
whereby I may bear this life!'
He said unto me:
'Think, my child,
when life is over,
thou canst not
- serve Me
as thou art serving Me now,
and
- eat for Me,
and
- sleep for Me.
Whatsoever thou doest,
let it be done for Me
as if thou wert no longer living,
but I;
for that is what St. Paul said."
[ Relation 9: #19 ]
"Vivo autem, jam non ego:
vivit vero in me Christus."
And I live, now not I;
but Christ liveth in me.
[ Galat. ii. 20 ]
St Teresa also writes:
"Sometimes they long
to die and be in safety,
but then
their love at once
makes them wish to live
in order to serve God...
Therefore they commit
all that concerns them
to His mercy."
[Interior Castle: Mansion 7:
Ch. 3: # 14 ]
"Stay me up with flowers,
Comfort me with apples:
because I languish with love."
[Canticles 2: 5 ]
"The flowers symbolise good work"
"I understand by this
that the Bride is begging
that she may perform great works
in the service of
God
and
her neighbour,
for the sake of which
she gladly forfeits
her own joys and consolations.
[Conceptions: Ch. 7: #4]
"But rather to seek for life
that you may render
some service to Him
to Whom you are conscious
you owe so vast a debt.
[Conceptions: Ch. 7: # 1]
Again, Thank you for your observations.
We just didn't know how to highlight/discuss
the prayerfulness and poetry of St. Teresa
in the Exclamations,
(as we tried to do in her other works),
so we are very appreciative of your insights.
Your statement,
"It does seem like a paradox to know
we believe God is truly in our soul and
yet often in prayer we talk to Him
as a separate person.
The unity and the division seem to contradict…"
is reminiscent of what St. Teresa discusses in
the Interior Castle: Mansion 7.
She writes about the Spiritual Marriage:
"God places the soul
in His own mansion
which is in the very centre
of the soul itself."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 7:
Ch. 1: # 12 ]
"The soul always remains
in its centre with its God."
"Spiritual Marriage is like rain
falling from heaven into a river or stream,
becoming one and the same liquid,
so that the river and rain water
cannot be divided;
or it resembles a streamlet flowing
into the ocean,
which cannot afterwards be disunited from it…"
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 7: Ch. 2: # 5 ]
"The soul itself...
never moves from this centre,
nor loses the peace He can give."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 7: Ch. 2: # 9]
YET
"in a manner her soul appeared divided"
[Mansion 7: Ch. 1: # 14]
"Interior effects show for certain
that there is a positive difference
between the soul and the spirit,
although they are one with each other."
[ Mansion 7: Ch. 1: # 15 ]
"The distinction between soul and spirit...
consists in this,
that the term, soul, comprises the
faculties, senses, and passions,
whereas the term, spirit,
denotes the substance of the soul
independently of its powers.
In the inferior degrees
of the Mystical life,
God operates through the faculties,
while in the Mystical marriage,
He acts directly
on the substance of the soul."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 7: Ch. 1:
# 15 and Foot Note #402 ]
"she complained of her soul
as Martha did of Mary,
reproaching it
(because it was) enjoying solitary peace
...while(she was) undergoing
great sufferings,
...while (she was) ...so full
of troubles and occupations
that she could not keep it company."
[ Interior Castle: Mansion 7:
Ch. 1: # 14 ]
More regarding your comment above:
"It does seem like a paradox to know
we believe God is truly in our soul and
yet often in prayer we talk to Him as a separate person"
St. Teresa says something akin to this when she wrote:
"If this castle is the soul,
clearly no one can have to enter it,
for it is the person himself:
One might as well tell some one
to go into a room he is already in!"
"...This appears incongruous…"
[Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch1: #7]
"It appears impossible for them
to retire into their own hearts"
[Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch1: #8]
- - - -
From there she continues on:
"Now let us
- return to our beautiful
and charming castle
and
- discover how to enter it."
[Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch1: #7]
"As far as I can understand,
the gate by which to enter this castle
is prayer and meditation."
[Interior Castle: Mansion 1: Ch1: #9]
"It is as if the soul ... sees
that worldly things
are nothing but toys;
so in due course
it rises above them,
like a person entering a strong castle,
in order that it may have nothing more
to fear from its enemies.
It withdraws the senses
from all outward things and
spurns them so completely
that,
without its understanding how...
the soul's spiritual sight becomes clear."
[ Way of Perfection, ch. xxviii ]
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