Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582)
Since it is supremely desirable to enter the sixth chamber of the castle of the soul, it is good not to lose hope in it, even when the Lord does not provide supernatural manifestations of favor; after all, with His help, it is quite possible to achieve a true union with Him by striving to submit our own will to God's will.
How many speak of this, and are convinced that they do not want anything else, indeed, that they are willing to sacrifice even their lives! If you were truly like this, sisters, I would tell you and would not cease to repeat that you already possess the grace of union. Do not concern yourselves with the second connection, accompanied by delights! The most precious union consists wholly in submitting one's own will to God's will... and it cannot be achieved unless one is confirmed in the willingness to fulfill God's will. Oh, how desirable is this union! Blessed is the soul that has attained it! She lives in peace in this life and will live in the next...
What do you think, daughters, what is God's will? ... God's will for us is in these two things: to love God and our neighbor. Everything we do must be directed towards this. If we do it perfectly, we will fulfill God's will and will be united with Him! Yet how far we are from keeping these commandments! ... I confess to you that writing about these matters greatly shames me, for I see that I am still very far from them due to my own fault!
The safest measure by which we can tell if we are fulfilling these two commandments is to look at how we love our neighbor. After all, we do not know for certain whether we love God (even though there are clear signs indicating that we love Him), but we can easily see our love for our neighbor. Be assured that the more you progress in love for your neighbor, the further you will also be in love for God. God loves us so much that, in return for the love we have for our neighbor, He will increase our love for Him in a thousand ways. There is no doubt about it...
Yet I believe that due to the weaknesses of our nature, we will never achieve the perfect love for our neighbor unless that love arises from the same root as the love for God. And because this is, daughters, a very important thing, we should earnestly examine ourselves even in the smallest matters, and pay no attention to certain notions that come to us in prayer, making us think that we are willing to do great things out of love for our neighbor, even for the salvation of a single soul. If our actions do not correspond, then we have no reason to trust such sentiments...
Sometimes I cannot help but smile when I see what happens to certain souls. When they are immersed in prayer, they seem ready to accept any humiliation or public scorn out of love for God; but then, when the opportunity arises, they would hide even the smallest fault! Not to mention that they would be accused of something they did not commit!... How easy it is, sisters, to recognize which of you has pure love for her neighbor, and which is not yet so perfect. If you understood how significant this virtue is, you would strive for nothing else.
(The Castle of the Soul, 5th Mansions)
