Spiritual growth requires confidence. Without confidence we fear what others think. This interferes with following Jesus and healthy expressions of our spiritual life. Many Christians enjoy when a spiritual “favor is granted them in secret”. They can savor the experience in…
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Confidence
Tagged with: Bennis, Christian formation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Confidence, Dave Small, Dave_Small, Divine Favors, Humility, Interior Castle, Judgment, Kieran Kavanaugh, Leadership, Mystical Prayer, On Becoming a Leader, Otilio Rodriguez, Perseverance, Sixth Dwelling Places, Sixth Mansions, Spain, Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Ecstasy, Spiritual Favors, spiritual formation, Spiritual Guidance, Supernatural Prayer, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Interior Castle, Theresa of Avila, Theresa of Avila Turns 500, Warren Bennis
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
Reflecting on Our Spiritual Experiences
Interior Castle Sixth Mansions: Chapter Four Teresa tends to digress from her topics. I usually follow her digressions. I’m also prone to digressions which means, at times, I’m digressing from the digression. So as Teresa says, “Without realizing it, I have…
Tagged with: Authentication of Mystical Experiences, Authentication of Spiritual Experiences, Christ as Spouse, Christian formation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Dave Small, Dave_Small, Divine Favors, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Ecstasy of St. Teresa, Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Imaginative Visions, Intellectual and Imaginative Visions, Intellectual Visions, Intellectual Visions and Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, Mystical Prayer, Phoenix, Prayer of Union, Raptures of the Soul, Sixth Dwelling Places, Sixth Mansions, Sixth Mansions of the Interior Castle, Spain, Spiritual Betrothal, Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Ecstasy, spiritual formation, Spiritual Marriage, Spiritual Recovery, Supernatural Prayer, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Interior Castle, The Phoenix, Theresa of Avila Turns 500, Union with Christ
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
Why Doesn’t God Bless Me?
God desires to bless us. He also desires to bless more people. In talking about spiritual gifts and raptures of the soul, Teresa says God “would give them to us all if we loved Him as He loves us.” Her…
Tagged with: 500, Blessings, Christian formation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Dave Small, Dave_Small, Divine Favors, Freedom, Gifts, Human Freedom, Humility, Interior Castle, John 14, John 14.21, John14.23, Love, Mystical Prayer, Raptures of the Soul, Sixth Dwelling Places, Sixth Mansions, Sixth Mansions of the Interior Castle, Spain, spiritual formation, Spiritual Maturity, St John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Devil, The Interior Castle, Theresa of Avila, Theresa of Avila Turns 500
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
Dust in the Eyes
Oh, human blindness! How long, how long shall it be before this dust is removed from our eyes? For although, as far as we ourselves are concerned, it seems not to be bad enough to blind us altogether, I can…
Tagged with: Annie Dillard, Christian formation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Dave Small, Dave_Small, Dust in the Eyes, Fifth Mansions, Habits, Interior Castle, Sin, Sixth Dwelling Places, Sixth Mansions, Sixth Mansions of the Interior Castle, Spain, Spiritual Blindness, Spiritual Direction, spiritual formation, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Interior Castle, The Writing Life, Theresa of Avila, Theresa of Avila Turns 500, Time, Wisdom
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
Prayer, Poetry, and Sex
The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini Photo Copyright: Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons (Jastrow) – used with permission. The Interior Castle uses metaphors related to marriage and sexuality to help us understand the intimacy and ecstasy we…
Tagged with: 500, Bernini, Christian formation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Dave Small, Dave_Small, Divine Favors, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, Ecstasy of St. Teresa, Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Eugene Peterson, Exodus, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, Genesis, Hearing God, Interior Castle, Kahn Academy, Love, Mystical Prayer, Prayer and Meditation, Sex, Sexuality, Sexuality and Prayer, Sin, Sixth Dwelling Places, Sixth Mansions, Sixth Mansions of the Interior Castle, Song of Solomon, Song of Songs, Spain, Spiritual Direction, St John of the Cross, Supernatural Prayer, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila Turns 500, The Interior Castle, Theresa of Avila, Theresa of Avila Turns 500
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
Posted in 6th Mansions - Chapter 4
 | Dave Small on Neighbors |
 | Larry T on Neighbors |
| Dave Small on A Case Against God |
| Larry T on A Case Against God |
 | Steven Broad on Gentle on My Mind |
Teresa of Avila Turns 500 