of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
Discussion of Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Contents
Treats and Gives Some Advice
Concerning Revelations And Visions
1. Timid confessors. —
2. Evil visions. —
3. The Saint's own experience. —
4. The Saint satisfied by Father Banez. —
5. Abuse of visions. —
6. How to baffle Satan. —
7. Women most liable to delusions. —
8. The Saint detects a delusion. —
9. Instance of delusion detected. —
10. Visions and revelations to be kept secret.
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Summary and Discussion of Chapter 8
█ Regarding a vision or revelation,
St. Teresa said:
▪ It can be a way by which God is leading a soul:
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #1 ]
◦ "if our Lord of His goodness
is pleased to show himself to any soul,
in order that it may
- know Him and
- love Him the more, or
- to reveal to it any of His secrets, or
- to give it any special consolations
and graces..."
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #5 ]
◦ "they cannot attain
to these extraordinary graces,
for God gives them to whom He will,
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #10]
▪ It can be a temptation from the devil:
◦ "Satan, for the purpose of stirring up pride,
brings about these apparitions"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #6 ]
◦ "Satan effects
for the purpose of deceiving us"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #2 ]
▪ It can be a self-deception through:
- our faults
- our weak natures,
- disordered emotions, thoughts, imaginings
e.g. those "subject to melancholy"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #7 ]
▪ True visions or revelations from God
bring blessings, humility and other virtues.
◦ "if the revelations be from God,
for that is already known
by the great blessings
they bring to the soul;
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #2 ]
◦ "by the great fruit and good issues of them,
were felt to be the work of God."
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #3 ]
◦ "for...the vision when true
will make itself understood"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #7 ]
◦ "For, if it be the spirit of our Lord
that is working in them,
He brings in His train, humility
to enable them to bear neglect with joy,
and such treatment
therefore will not harm them,
and does great good to the others.
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #10 ]
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█ Recommendations for the person
who has experienced the vision or revelation:
▪ Prudence and Self-Knowledge
◦ "that we should not at once
take it for granted
that every little fancy we may have
is a vision"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #7 ]
◦ "that a soul
- should not believe at once,
- but should
-- bide its time, and
-- examine itself carefully
before it makes its visions known,
lest it should,
without the wish to do so,
deceive its confessor;
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #9 ]
▪ Consultation and Obedience to their Confessor:
One who experiences vision or revelation,
should consult their Confessor and
should be Obedient to his counsel.
◦ It is preferable to consult with a Confessor
who has had , himself, such experiences.
"for if he has had
no experience himself herein,
however learned he may be,
he will never be able to understand it.
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #9 ]
◦ "She will meet with few confessors
who will not make her afraid".
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #1 ]
Obedience:
◦ "she must
- refer it all
to a learned and wise confessor, and
- do and believe nothing
but that which the confessor permits.
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #6 ]
- "let her take his advice"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #6 ]
◦ "if she does not
obey the confessor, and
allow herself to be directed by him,
it comes from
- an evil spirit
or
- a terrible melancholy.
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #6 ]
◦ "For, supposing the confessor
were in the wrong,
she would do better
by not departing from what he tells her,
(as) though it was an angel of God
who had been speaking to her,
for our Lord will
- give him light or
- provide for the fulfilment of his word"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #6 ]
▪ Inform their Prioress:
A nun who experiences vision or revelation
should inform her Prioress.
◦ "Let her speak to the prioress
that she may send her a prudent confessor"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #6 ]
◦ "it is the duty of each sister
to make known to the prioress
with great openness her way of prayer
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #10 ]
▪ The Necessity of Humility
◦ It "...should make the soul humble
(since) it does not merit that grace"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #4 ]
◦ "nobody will be deceived
if only they are humble"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #2 ]
◦ "for if he is humble
the vision
even if it came from Satan
can do him no harm,
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #4 ]
◦ Even if the vision is a temptation
⌂ if the soul at the time,
thinking they come from God,
- humbles itself, and
- confesses itself
undeserving of a grace so great,
and
- does violence to itself
( forces itself / disciplines itself
by way of fasts, sacrifice, etc.)
that it may serve Him better;
⌂ if, when it sees itself rich,
confessing itself unworthy...
it humbles itself, and begins in earnest
- to do penance, and
- to give itself more unto prayer, and
- to be more careful
never to offend our Lord
— for it thinks it is He
who is the giver of this grace —
and
- to be more perfect in its obedience
then I assure it
that Satan
- will never come again,
- but will go away defeated,
- leaving behind him
no trace of evil in the soul.
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #6 ]
► The detrimental effects of Pride
◦ A vision does not confer sainthood.
◦ A vision can not be merited or deserved.
◦ "if he is not humble
it will do him no good
even if it comes from God"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #4 ]
◦ If it "makes the soul proud,
that soul is
- like the spider, the food of
which is all turned into poison,
and
- not like the bee,
which turns it all into honey".
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #4 ]
◦ "if that soul, (which is) bound to
- abase itself and
- confess the scanty merits of its vileness,
(instead)
- looks upon itself, as a saint, and
- thinks that this grace has been given it,
...because of some service or other
it may have done,...
it is plain that, like the spider,
it changes the great blessing,
which might have been the fruit
of the visions,
into something evil."
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #5 ]
▪ Do not be unhappy or fearful
instead she should strive for growth in virtue:
◦ "there is, therefore, no reason
for being downcast"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #2 ]
◦ "make no account of these resemblances..."
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #2 ]
◦ "that His Majesty will
- never suffer (the devil),
- nor give him the power,
to deceive anybody by such resemblance,
unless such a person be himself to blame;
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #2 ]
◦ "let their anxiety be
for the attainment of other virtues,
for, though virtues also are the gift of God,
they are more in our power,
and are of great worth in religion.
If we
- exercise ourselves in them,
- are diligent
-- in the pursuit of them, and
-- in prayer for them,
He will not refuse them to any one
who, in reliance on His compassion,
shall labour to attain to them.
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #10]
◦ "give itself more unto prayer, and
to be more careful
never to offend our Lord
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #6]
▪ Faith and Trust in the Lord
◦ "only let us trust in our Lord"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #2 ]
▪ Gratitude for this opportunity to Praise Him
◦ "make no account of these resemblances
unless it be that we make them
an occasion of praising Him
more and more."
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #2 ]
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█ Recommendations for the Confessor:
▪ Discernment of the vision or revelation
◦ "Accordingly, I said to the confessor
- that we should wait to see
whether the prophecies were true,
- that he should
ask for other tests,
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #8 ]
▪ Discernment of the person:
her state of prayer and virtue
who is experiencing the vision or revelation:
◦ "Accordingly, I said to the confessor...
find out what sort of a life
that person was living ;
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #8 ]
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█ Recommendations for the Prioress
▪ Referral to "a prudent confessor"
◦ "that she may send her a prudent confessor"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #6 ]
◦ "she should choose a confessor
for the purpose
if the ordinary confessor
is not sufficiently acquainted
with things of this kind.
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #10 ]
▪ Discernment of the person's state
who is experiencing the vision or revelation:
◦ "must carefully consider
- the temper of that sister and
- the degree of perfection
to which she may have attained,
that she may instruct the confessor
so as to enable him
to understand her better"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #10 ]
◦ "The prioress, herself, must be always
- ready to listen prudently,
- more inclined...to commend those
who excel in humility,
mortification, and obedience
than those
whom God is leading
by this most supernatural way of prayer,
though they may be endowed
with every other virtue.
For, if it be the spirit of our Lord
that is working in them,
He brings in His train, humility
to enable them to bear neglect with joy"
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #10 ]
▪ Maintain Silence and Confidentiality
concerning the vision or revelation:
◦ "She must be very careful
that matters such as
- these revelations and visions,
though most truly from God,
and
- graces confessedly miraculous,
be not divulged
to persons outside the monastery,
nor to confessors
who have not the wisdom
to keep them secret...
nor may the sisters discuss them
among themselves."
[ Foundations: Ch. 8: #10 ]
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End of the Discussion
of Chapter 8
of the
Book of the Foundations
of S. Teresa of Jesus
of the Order of our Lady of Carmel
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