Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582)
Sometimes the Lord sends certain movements of joy and some strange prayer whose nature cannot be understood. However, I speak to you about it so that you may know that it is possible, and greatly praise the Lord, in case it is granted to you. In my opinion, it is a kind of great union of powers, which God allows to enjoy this joy without understanding from what it is enjoyed, or how. And it is the same with the senses. It seems like gibberish, but it really happens. The soul experiences such joy that it does not want to enjoy it alone, and it longs for everyone to know it, to help it praise the Lord, who is the goal of every movement of its spirit.
Oh, what feasts it would celebrate and what festivities it would hold, just to show everyone its joy! It seems as if it has found itself again and wants to invite everyone to the banquet like the father of the prodigal son, for it sees that it has reached a place of which it cannot doubt, at least now, that it must be certain of it. And rightfully so, for in my opinion, it is impossible for the devil to evoke such great joy in the deepest depths of the soul, accompanied by such peace, that it leads her to give praise to the Lord.
This is what Saint Francis probably experienced when he met robbers on his journey and joyfully told them that he was a messenger of the great King. And how many saints withdrew to the desert so that they could, like Saint Francis, shout their praises to God! I knew one, named Brother Peter of Alcantara, whom I consider a saint because of the kind of life he led. He also did it this way, and those who saw him considered him a fool. Ah, holy foolishness, sisters! May the Lord grant it to us as well!
May it please God to grant us often to pray this way, for it is a very safe and beneficial prayer. We cannot reach it by our own strength, for it is supernatural. It may happen that it sometimes lasts the whole day. Then the soul resembles a person who has drunk a lot but not so much as to be beside themselves; or a somewhat melancholic person who has not completely lost their judgment but has such a fixed idea that no one can divert it from it. These comparisons are too coarse for such noble phenomena, but when I cannot find a better one. Nevertheless, it is so. Joy floods the soul so that it completely forgets about itself, even other things; it pays no attention to anything and cannot speak of anything else than what relates to its joy, namely, God's praise. My daughters, let us all help this soul! What better use do we want to make of our reason? Is there any greater pleasure in the world? May all creatures join in for all ages of ages! Amen, amen, amen.
(The Fortress Within, 6. Abodes)
