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

Spiritual Marriage
Topic: Immanence & Transcendence
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one, but the one candle can again be separated from the other and the two candles remain distinct; or the wick may be withdrawn from the wax.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: Everyday Divinity
About This Teresa of Avila Quotation [Commentary]
Teresa of Ávila describes “spiritual marriage” as rain falling into a river or stream, “becoming one and the same liquid,” so that rainwater and river water “cannot be divided.” In this image, the soul does not merely draw near to God but is joined in such complete unity that separation is no longer possible. Teresa distinguishes this stage from earlier ones by its permanence. There is no movement in and out of closeness, no alternation between presence and distance. The soul now lives in a state of continual union with God, not just visited by grace but fully immersed in it.
To show the difference between this state and earlier moments of divine union, Teresa gives the image of two wax candles with their tips touching, forming “but one light.” Or she describes “the wick, the wax, and the light” becoming one candle. Yet in these cases, “the one candle can again be separated from the other,” and the elements remain distinct. These earlier stages, while marked by intimacy, still leave room for separation. Spiritual marriage, by contrast, is like “a streamlet flowing into the ocean, which cannot afterwards be disunited from it.” The union is complete.
Teresa’s final image further clarifies this change. She likens spiritual marriage to “a room into which a bright light enters through two windows.” Although the light enters separately, “it becomes one and the same.” This merging of light reflects the soul’s transformation: not just united with God, but indistinguishably so. In Teresa’s vision, such union is not far-off or abstract, but possible within the human journey. Her language invites us to recognize everyday divinity—a presence so fully shared that it no longer feels separate from the soul’s own being.
Spiritual Marriage: Saint Teresa described Spiritual Marriage as follows:
“The Lord appears in the center of the soul, not through an imaginary, but through an intellectual vision (although this is a subtler one than that already mentioned), just as He appeared to the Apostles, without entering through the door, when He said to them: “Pax vobis”. This instantaneous communication of God to the soul is so great a secret and so sublime a favor, and such delight is felt by the soul, that I do not know with what to compare it, beyond saying that the Lord is pleased to manifest to the soul at that moment the glory that is in Heaven, in a sublimer manner than is possible through any vision or spiritual consolation.
It is impossible to say more than that, as far as one can understand, the soul (I mean the spirit of this soul) is made one with God, Who, being likewise a Spirit, has been pleased to reveal the love that He has for us by showing to certain persons the extent of that love, so that we may praise His greatness. For He has been pleased to unite Himself with His creature in such a way that they have become like two who cannot be separated from one another: even so He will not separate Himself from her.”
—Chapter Two of the ‘Seventh Mansion’ in St Teresa’s spiritual classic Interior Castle (Accessed on the website Catholic Treasury at http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/interior_castle/ic29.php).
Resources
Related Quotes
Copyright © 2017 – 2025 LuminaryQuotes.com About Us