3A 4. - Prayer

What is prayer?

• Prayer is the experience of communicating with God.

• In some ways all religious experiences can be seen as a form of prayer.

• Prayer can be categorised in several different ways, as different forms of prayer can be identified.

Who was St. Teresa of Avila?

• She was a Spanish mystic and Roman Catholic saint.

• She had several religious experiences during her life, and wrote about the importance of mystic prayer to religious life.

• Teresa believed that the purpose of life was union with God, which is also the purpose of prayer.

• Therefore, the purpose of life is union with God through prayer.

• She wrote of 7 types of prayer in her work, the interior castle, and the stages of prayer in the analogy of the garden.

What is the interior castle?

• The work describes ‘7 mansions’ that each represent a step towards unity with God.

• It is a guide for spiritual development through service and prayer.

• Initially, we are introduced to those outside the castle who are described as paralyzed and crippled by sin.

• This level represents those who are spiritually and morally bound by evil.

What is mansion 1?