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St. Teresa of Avila
The Way of Perfection
IntraText CT - Text
The Way of Perfection
Appendix To CHAPTER 4
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Appendix
To
CHAPTER
4
The
following
variant
reading
of the
Escorial
Manuscript
seems too
important
to be
relegated
to a
footnote
. It
occurs
the
twelfth
paragraph
of
ch
.
4
(
cf
.
n
.
24
) , and
deals
, as will be
seen
, with the
qualifications
and
character
of the
confessor
. Many
editors
substitute
it in their
text
for the
corresponding
passage
in
V
. As will be
seen
, however, it is not a
pure
addition
; we therefore
reproduce
it
separately
.
The
important
thing
is that these
two
kinds
of
mutual
love
should be
untainted
by any
sort
of
passion
, for such a
thing
would
completely
spoil
this
harmony
. If we
exercise
this
love
, of which I have
spoken
, with
moderation
and
discretion
, it is
wholly
meritorious
, because what seems to us
sensuality
is
turned
into
virtue
. But the
two
may
be so
closely
intertwined
with one another that it is sometimes
impossible
to
distinguish
them,
especially
where a
confessor
is
concerned
. For if
persons
who are
practising
prayer
find
that their
confessor
is a
holy
man
and
understands
the
way
they
behave
, they become
greatly
attached
to him. And then
forthwith
the
devil
lets
loose
upon them a whole
battery
of
scruples
which
produce
a
terrible
disturbance
within the
soul
, this
being
what he is
aiming
at. In
particular
, if the
confessor
is
guiding
such
persons
to
greater
perfection
, they become so
depressed
that they will
go
so
far
as to
leave
him for another and yet another, only to be
tormented
by the same
temptation
every
time
.
What you can do here is not to let your
minds
dwell
upon whether you like your
confessor
or not, but
just
to like him if you
feel
so
inclined
. For, if we
grow
fond
of
people
who are
kind
to our
bodies
, why should we not
love
those who are always
striving
and
toiling
to
help
our
souls
? Actually, if my
confessor
is a
holy
and
spiritual
man
and I
see
that he is taking
great
pains
for the
benefit
of my
soul
, I
think
it will be a
real
help
to my
progress
for me to like him. For so
weak
are we that such
affection
sometimes
helps
us a
great
deal
to
undertake
very
great
things
in
God
's
service
.
But, if your
confessor
is not such a
person
as I have
described
, there is a
possibility
of
danger
, and for him to
know
that you like him
may
do the
greatest
harm
, most of all in
houses
where the
nuns
are very
strictly
enclosed
. And as it is a
difficult
thing
to
get
to
know
which
confessors
are
good
,
great
care
and
caution
are
necessary
. The
best
advice
to
give
would be that you should
see
he has no
idea
of your
affection
for him and is not
told
about it. But the
devil
is so
active
that this is not
practicable
: you
feel
as if this is the only
thing
you have to
confess
and
imagine
you are
obliged
to
confess
it. For this
reason
I should like you to
think
that your
affection
for him is of no
importance
and to
take
no more
notice
of it.
Follow
this
advice
if you
find
that everything your
confessor
says
to you
profits
your
soul
; if you neither
see
nor
hear
him
indulge
in any
vanity
(and such
things
are always
noticed
except by one who is
wilfully
dull
) and if you
know
him to be a
God-fearing
man
, do not be
distressed
over any
temptation
about
being
too
fond
of him, and the
devil
will then
grow
tired
and stop
tempting
you. But if you
notice
that the
confessor
is
tending
in any
way
towards
vanity
in what he
says
to you, you should
regard
him with
grave
suspicion
; in such a
case
conversation
with him, even about
prayer
and about
God
, should be
avoided
-- the
sister
should make her
confession
briefly
and
say
nothing more. It would be
best
for her to
tell
the
Mother
(
Superior
) that she does not
get
on with him and
go
elsewhere. This is the
safest
way
if it is
practicable
, and I
hope
in
God
that it will be, and that you will do all you
possibly
can to have no
relations
with him, though this
may
be very
painful
for you.
Reflect
upon the
great
importance
of this, etc. (
pp
.
58
-
9
).
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