There’s a quote I found several weeks ago. “Genius is not enough; it takes courage to change people’s hearts.” (Movie- “The Green Book“) I ask you, “How many geniuses do you know?” For all practicality, since there are very few geniuses, only courage changes people’s hearts. So the “every day Joe” doesn’t need the mind of Albert Einstein or Jonas Salk; all he needs is the deep soul of a courageous person. Many people fail to realize you cannot find courage from the outside world; you must find it in the deepest parts of your soul. Edith Stein, a.k.a., Sister Teresa Bernadette of the Cross, realized that you have to choose the cross you need to bear, and only then can you surrender yourself to God. This act is the truest form of freedom.
Our inner world is the place where freedom and love truly exist together. All of the things we think make up a person’s character are mere thoughts compared to the act of loving God and His Son, Jesus Christ. The crosses we choose to bear are what make us courageous geniuses. If we believe as Edith did, love conquers fear; our search for truth leads us to God and His Son, Jesus Christ. If you want to have an impact on the world, you need to humble yourself before God; you need to enter the seven rooms of wisdom, as written in the philosophy of St. Teresa of Avila. You need to enter each room with the courage of Joan of Arc and the wisdom that only God has given you deep in your soul.
St. Teresa of Avila said that to become who we really want to be, we must cross through the seven rooms of wisdom. In the first room, the soul is deaf and dumb to the truth because it is still a prisoner of the world. This is the room where the soul begins to walk in the inner conscience. In the second room, the soul fights against attractions of the outside world, and the soul is willing to die. In the third room, meditations are used as the soul purifies itself, and it is ready to accept suffering of some small form. During the walk through room four, the imagination dominates the conscience; the weight of intelligence and memory begin to bear down on the soul. To move onto room five, a person must renounce all worldly things.
By entering room five, things of the world no longer influence the soul; it is free of any constrictions. A person will be happy, and they know why they are. Greater suffering happens in room six; there are no connections to the attractions of the outside world. The soul anxiously awaits the future but doesn’t quite understand it. You should not sacrifice anything on your journey through this room. The seventh room is different for everyone because happiness comes in many forms. Freedom and love exist in this room as well as God’s truth. Being truly free allows our love to grow so that fears are conquered. Jesus Christ said, “Fear not, for I am with you.” There is no greater love than His love; His light and truth illuminate the room and allow us to see God’s path for our future.
What does this philosophy mean for the common man? We need both intelligence and courage to change the world, but only when we creatively love one another will people’s hearts be moved to see God’s light, truth, and way in their own lives. Our fears will be made small, and nations of the world will see that peace leads to happiness and true unity. We need to “let go and let God.” Our hearts will be emptied of insecurity, low self-esteem, doubt, bitterness, anger, rejection, and a lack of forgiveness. There will be more room for love, joy, and patience. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross will become the place where we come to open our hearts to the continuation of Christ’s beautiful work in us.
The seven rooms are necessary if we are to achieve a loving relationship with God. There will be twists and turns in our journeys, perhaps even huge holes in the road, but God will walk with us. All He asks is that we knock on the door to His kingdom and allow His beloved Son to find a home in our hearts.
Anna Hartt
