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Episode 10 – The Battles of the Sixth Mansion – St. Teresa, Spiritual Warfare, and the Progress of the Soul with Dan Burke

Dan Burke and Kris McGregor delve into St. Teresa of Ávila’s guidance for navigating spiritual experiences and potential deceptions. St. Teresa’s writings, particularly her work on the sixth Mansion in The Interior Castle, provide a framework for discerning genuine divine encounters from false or self-delusional experiences.

Authentic spiritual experiences foster an awareness of God’s greatness, humility, detachment from worldly things, and lasting spiritual transformation. True encounters with the divine inspire awe, deepen humility, and lead to a life oriented toward God’s will, rather than personal pride or recognition. This contrasts sharply with experiences that lead to self-aggrandizement or ungrounded mystical claims, which the Church often tests rigorously to verify authenticity.

Be aware of unchecked mysticism or self-appointed “spiritual teachers,” especially in today’s media age, where individuals might bypass critical guidance in favor of public recognition. We must root ourselves in the core teachings of the faith and engage in spiritual practices like mental prayer, seeking spiritual directors to help us grow in self-awareness.

Discerning Hearts Discussion Questions

1. Authenticity of Spiritual Experiences – How can you discern whether a spiritual experience is genuinely from God or influenced by personal desires?


2. Humility in Spiritual Growth – In what ways can you practice humility when sharing or understanding your own spiritual experiences?


3. Role of Obedience in Faith – How might obedience to the Church’s teachings and authority help deepen your spiritual journey and protect against self-deception?


4. Detachment from Worldly Desires – What earthly attachments could be hindering your relationship with God, and how can you work on letting go of them?


5. Importance of Spiritual Direction – Who serves as a spiritual guide in your life, and how can you ensure you’re seeking and heeding sound counsel?


6. Listening to the Saints – How can the example of the saints, especially in their tested and humble lives, serve as a model for your own faith journey?


7. Testing Spiritual Revelations – Are you open to testing spiritual insights and experiences according to Church teachings, or do you sometimes resist this scrutiny?


8. Compassion and Patience in Evangelization – How can you show compassion and patience toward others in their journey of faith, as Jesus did with sinners?


9. Sacramental Foundation for Holiness – How well do you rely on the sacraments and core Church teachings as the foundation for spiritual growth, rather than seeking extraordinary experiences?


10. Resilience in Faith – When your faith is challenged or your spiritual experiences are doubted, how can you remain resilient and grounded in your identity in Christ?

You can find the book here.

An excerpt from the book:

“Have you ever considered that the devil is active in your prayer life? In the parish church where you attend Mass? In the lives and actions of people of goodwill all around you? The saints remind us of a key aspect of living the spiritual life that we are wont to forget simply because we can’t see it and because we have been conditioned by the media and popular culture to think the devil works visibly only in “bad” people or in extraordinary ways, as in the movies. And although demons are certainly capable of extravagant or extraordinary manifestations, their ordinary work flies under our radar because it just isn’t that spectacular, though it is deadly.

In fact, subtlety, illusion, and deceit are their preferred methods of attack. An invisible battle for souls is being waged in and around us without reprieve, and we remain ignorant of it to our peril. St. Teresa of Avila, great mystic and Doctor of the Church, is best known for her writings on the way God leads souls along the path to union with Him through prayer. What many do not know about St. Teresa is that she also observed the actions of demons working with militant force to lead even good souls astray in ways that might surprise you. She shares these experiences freely in her autobiography, which she was commanded to write under obedience to her spiritual director.“

Burke, Dan; Burke, Dan. The Devil in the Castle: St. Teresa of Avila, Spiritual Warfare, and the Progress of the Soul (p. 12). Sophia Institute Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series visit Dan Burke’s Discerning Hearts page here:

Dan Burke is the founder and President of the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation, which offers graduate and personal enrichment studies in spiritual theology to priests, deacons, religious, and laity in 72 countries and prepares men for seminary in 14 dioceses.

Dan is the author and editor of more than 15 books on authentic Catholic spirituality and hosts the Divine Intimacy Radio show with his wife, Stephanie, which is broadcast weekly on EWTN Radio. Past episodes can be found, along with thousands of articles on the interior life, at SpiritualDirection.com.

In his deep commitment to the advancement of faithful Catholic spirituality, he is also the founder of Apostoli Viae, a world-wide, private association of the faithful dedicated to living and advancing the authentic spiritual patrimony of the Church.

Most importantly, Dan is a blessed husband, father of four, grandfather of one—and grateful to be Catholic.

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