St. Teresa of Avila imagined the human soul as a multi-faceted diamond, a transparent crystal containing many rooms. In her book The Interior Castle she writes that just as heaven has many mansions, so the soul is a dwelling place where God takes his delight: “Nothing can be compared to the great beauty and capabilities of a soul; however keen our intellects may be, they are as unable to comprehend them as to comprehend God, for, as he has told us, he created us in his own image and likeness.”

God has imprinted truth indelibly on our souls. C.S. Lewis wrote: “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. … If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” St. Augustine said: Lord, you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until we rest in you.

As Christ moves into our hearts, more and more of his light shines forth into every corner and closed chamber. Yet we are also given freewill and we can hide from this light; we can clamp shut the doors, cover over the windows with heavy cloaks of doubt, and remain in the cramped, dark interior of ourselves. Or we can open our hearts and minds, and let ourselves be ‘fashioned’ and formed anew by God’s grace. As far as I know, this is a continual process and prayer: to have the courage and trust to let him in, to let his light shine forth everywhere.

This postcard is made with mixed paper textures, paint, ink, and vintage ephemera and design elements.

Reference:
The Interior Castle, by St. Teresa of Avila, translated by E. Allison Peers, Dover Edition.
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Harper Revised Ed. 2015