this His dwelling place

Now then let us deal with the divine and spiritual marriage…
In the spiritual marriage, there is still much less remembrance of the body because this secret union takes place in the very interior centre of the soul, which must be where God himself is…
What God communicates here to the soul in an instant is a secret so great and a favour so sublime – and the delight the soul experiences so extreme…
Thus the soul could be joined in this heavenly union with the uncreated Spirit…

The first effect is a forgetfulness of self, for truly the soul, seemingly, no longer is…
It experiences strange forgetfulness, for, as I say, seemingly the soul no longer is, or would want to be…

When the impulse comes to you, remember that it comes from this interior dwelling place where God is in our soul…
Nor does the Lord in all the favours He grants the soul here receive any assistance from the soul itself, except what it has already done in surrendering itself totally…

So in this temple of God, in this His dwelling place, He alone and the soul rejoice together in the deepest silence.

• St Teresa of Avila. The Interior Castle.

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