Yesterday was the feast of St. Teresa of Avila, a great mystic and teacher of prayer. I think of a mystic as someone who has a direct relationship with God, without much of an intermediary. One analogy Teresa uses to help us understand this is to compare two troughs. One is filled with water that comes from far away through many aqueducts with much effort. The other is filled from a spring right by the trough without any noise or anything artificial. The spring is abundant and the water overflows once the trough is filled, forming a large stream. Water is always flowing from this spring.
God, like the source of this water, is welling up within us. Since God desires to do so, God produces this delight with the greatest peace and quiet and sweetness in the deepest part of ourselves.
(Click on picture to enlarge it.)
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