Spiritual marriage is like rain falling from heaven into a river or stream, becoming one and the same liquid, so that the river and rainwater cannot be divided…
Saint Teresa of Avila
Divine Communion
Topic: Wisdom & Understanding
Union may be symbolized by two wax candles, the tips of which touch each other so closely that there is but one light; or again, the wick, the wax, and the light become one, but the one candle can again be separated from the other and the two candles remain distinct; or the wick may be withdrawn from the wax.
But spiritual marriage is like rain falling from heaven into a river or stream, becoming one and the same liquid, so that the river and rainwater cannot be divided; or it resembles a streamlet flowing into the ocean, which cannot afterwards be disunited from it. This marriage may also be likened to a room into which a bright light enters through two windows—though divided when it enters, the light becomes one and the same.
Teresa of Avila, born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada on March 28, 1515, in either Ávila or Gotarrendura, Spain, was a Carmelite nun, mystic, and religious reformer. Raised in a devout Catholic household, she was drawn to the lives of the saints and developed an early sense of spiritual longing. After her mother died when she was fourteen, she deepened her devotion, eventually entering the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation at age twenty. There, amid periods of illness and inner conflict, she began to experience contemplative prayer and moments of religious ecstasy, shaped by her reading and desire for deeper union with God.
As Teresa’s interior life matured, she became concerned with the state of her religious community. She sought to renew the Carmelite Order by encouraging a return to simplicity, silence, and devotion. Together with Saint John of the Cross, she helped found the Discalced Carmelites, emphasizing a more focused, prayer-centered life. Though her reforms faced resistance, they gradually gained support and papal recognition. Despite poor health, Teresa traveled across Spain to establish new convents, grounding each one in her vision of contemplative discipline and spiritual integrity.
Teresa of Avila is also known for her writings, which explore the life of prayer and the soul’s movement toward God. In The Life of Teresa of Jesus, The Way of Perfection, and The Interior Castle, she shared her experiences with clarity and depth, offering practical guidance for those drawn to contemplative practice. Her language is direct, shaped by personal insight rather than theory. She died on October 4, 1582, in Alba de Tormes. Canonized in 1622 and named a Doctor of the Church in 1970, Teresa’s influence continues through her writings, her reform work, and the spiritual communities she helped form.
The Interior Castle
of Avila, St. Teresa. The Interior Castle. [Quoted in The Culturium online article ‘Teresa of Ávila: The Ecstasy of Love’ Sept 9, 2016.]
Saint Teresa of Avila
Theme: Wisdom
About This Teresa of Ávila Quotation [Commentary]
In her teaching on divine union, Teresa of Ávila describes spiritual marriage as “like rain falling from heaven into a river or stream, becoming one and the same liquid, so that the river and rainwater cannot be divided.” This image conveys a complete and irreversible merging of the soul with God. Teresa contrasts this with earlier stages of union, such as two candles touching so closely that their flames join into one light, yet the candles themselves can still be separated. In spiritual marriage, there is no longer a distinction between the soul and the Divine; they are united without the possibility of separation.
Teresa expands this vision with further comparisons: a streamlet flowing into the ocean, and light entering through two windows to become “one and the same” illumination. In each case, what was once separate merges fully, symbolizing the soul’s transformation through divine union. The soul no longer moves between closeness and distance but abides in continual presence. Teresa’s images reflect the wisdom of the spiritual journey—not merely approaching or sensing the Divine, but becoming inseparably joined to it, as rain merges with river and is no longer distinct.
Through these metaphors, Teresa of Ávila offers a teaching grounded in experience. Spiritual marriage marks a state where the soul “becomes one and the same” with its divine source. This vision continues in The Interior Castle, where Teresa describes the soul as a “castle made entirely out of a diamond or of very clear crystal,” urging seekers to move inward toward the center where God dwells. Her voice reminds us that the wisdom of the soul’s journey lies not in striving outward, but in yielding to the divine presence already within, where union is complete and enduring.
The Interior Castle
It would not be until her early sixties that Teresa would write her spiritual masterpiece, The Interior Castle, one of the sublimest allegories on the human soul ever to be composed. Immediately, Teresa sets the scene in her work:
Teresa employs a sequential schema for her model of religious perfection, with seven dwelling places stationed along the way: the first three representing the stages of human effort, principally through prayer and the ordinary help of grace; the remaining four dealing with the mystical aspects of the spiritual path.
Teresa is quick to establish, however, the underlying paradox of her analogy:
“It seems I am saying something foolish. For if this castle is the soul, clearly one doesn’t have to enter it since it is in oneself. How foolish it would seem were we to tell someone to enter a room he is already in. But you must understand that there is a great difference in the ways one may be inside the castle.
For there are many souls who are in the outer courtyard—which is where the guards stay—and don’t care at all about entering the castle, nor do they know what lies within that most precious place, not who is within, nor even how many rooms it has. You have already heard in some books on prayer that the soul is advised to enter within itself. Well, that’s the very thing I’m advising.”
—Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle
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