Teaching · The Interior Castle
The Lord wants works
The proof of love for God is not in feelings: it is in what we do for others.
“The Lord wants works: if you see a sick woman to whom you can give some relief, do not mind losing that devotion and have compassion on her; and if she has some pain, let it pain you too.”
Saint Teresa of Jesus — The Interior Castle V, ch. 3
To understand
Love that can be seen
Saint Teresa writes this in the middle of her most spiritual book — and right there she comes down to the concrete: if your devotion gets in the way of caring for a sick woman, leave the devotion. God prefers the work of mercy to the moment of spiritual delight.
It is her vaccine against an indoors-only faith: union with God is proven in love for the one beside me. This is the teaching that sustains all of NUTEJE's work: charity as faith in action.
The source
The Interior Castle V, chapter 3
In the fifth dwelling places the Saint explains “true union” with God: not extraordinary feelings, but joining my will to His — and God's will, she says, is that I love my neighbor.
Another word of hers
“This is what prayer is for, my daughters; this is the purpose of this spiritual marriage: that works may always be born from it — works, works.”
Saint Teresa of Jesus — The Interior Castle VII, ch. 4
To pray and to teach
How to bring this teaching into prayer
This is how we use it in the prayer group; it works just as well for praying alone or as a family.
1
Read slowly
Read the text twice, aloud, without hurry. The second time, slower than the first.
2
Keep silence
A moment of silence. Let one word or phrase stay with each person.
3
Talk through the questions
Share unhurriedly and without debate: nothing is argued here — we share what God is showing us.
4
End with a resolution
Each person names one concrete step for the week, and you close with a prayer.
Questions to talk about
- Has my “devotion” ever gotten in the way of caring for someone who needed me?
- Who is “the sick one” within my reach today — the concrete person I can bring relief to?
- If my love for God were measured only by this week's works, what would they say?
For daily life
Three ways to practice it this week
1
Name one concrete person within your reach who needs relief today — and go.
2
If prayer and urgent service collide one day, choose the service without guilt: it is what He wants.
3
Rejoice out loud when someone else is praised: it is the exercise she recommends.