In the 16th Century spiritual classic The Interior Castle, Spanish contemplative Teresa of Ávila describes seven stages of faith (or “mansions”) on the way to spiritual maturity and intimacy with God. Along the way, she also describes the potential pitfalls and obstacles to growth created by the enemies of the soul: the world, the flesh. and the Devil.

In the sixth mansion, Teresa observes that the soul has developed a strong resistance to temptations to do evil. Therefore, the Enemy adopts a disguise of an angel of light (2Cor 11:14) and tries to mislead the person through false “locutions.” In Teresa’s works, locutions are supernatural affirmations of statements that a soul perceives in some way (Burke 2021, 89). This might be a vision, an audition (i.e., a heard voice), or an impression on the heart. While the inexperienced might assume that a locution is always from God, Teresa warns that it may originate from one’s own mind, from God, or from the Devil. Authentic locutions are given by God “for your own benefit, to comfort you or to warn you of your faults.” Here are her rules for testing the authenticity of locutions (wonderfully summarized by Dan Burke in The Devil in the Castle).

  • Locutions should never be accepted at face value, but instead should always be tested to see if they agree “strictly with the Scriptures.” This what John refers to as the “discernment of spirits” (1 John 4:1).
  • An authentic locution immediately brings the effect it proclaims. That is, if the soul were experiencing fear and the locution “be not afraid” is heard, followed by an immediate and lasting calm, then the locution is probably authentic.
  • If the locution is accompanied by a deep peace and tranquility of soul, and the soul is thereby drawn to offer praise or thanksgiving to God, this speaks to its authenticity. After all, the Enemy does not desire the soul to draw near to God or praise Him.
    • However, Satan may encourage the soul to draw near to God, as long as it is in a way that conflicts with one’s other legitimate responsibilities.
  • If the words of an authentic locution remain in one’s memory with great certainty, clairity, and strength of impression for a long time. Even if the soul wants it to fade, this “spark of certainty” cannot “fail to remain alive.” Locutions that come from one’s own mind do not have this quality, “nor is there any certainty or peace or interior consolation.”
    • However, Teresa warns that locutions from your mind can accompany authentic mystical experiences in prayer. She insists that getting clarity about these experiences requires the help of an experienced spiritual director.
  • If a locution is extremely clear, it is likely authentic. This clairity “inhibits all other thoughts and compels attention to what He says.” The words of a false locution, on the other hand, are less distinct, “like something heard in a half-dream.”
  • The locution may be authentic if the soul had not been thinking about he subject revealed by the locution when it occurs. When this happens, it is a sign that the locution was not created by the mind. “The soul cannot be deceived about things it has not desired or wished for or that have never been brought to its notice.”
    • Ignatius of Loyola echoes this test, noting that if the inspiration has no prior cause, it is more likely from God.
  • With “genuine locutions the soul seems to be hearing something, whereas in locutions invented by the imagination, some one seems to be composing bit by bit what the soul wishes to hear.” That is, the soul might imagine the experience of the locution as a partial idea coming to the fore and then developing piece by piece in a haphazard or forced way, or a way that plays on the imagination and then builds from there (Burke 2021, 93).
  • A genuine locution will be infused with a deeper gravity and resonance of meaning than it could have if the words had been delivered through mere human speech.
  • The state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something, or experiencing a lack of understanding or uncertainty as the result of the locution, is a bad sign. The Devil can pronounce his words clearly, but he cannot replicate the other positive effects described before; his locutions will leave the soul restless and in turmoil rather than in peace.
  • If a locution inflames any vice in the soul, it should be rejected immediately. Authentic locutions weaken disordered self-esteem and increase humility.
  • If the locution involves some action to be taken or some situation that requires anything to do with a third party, the locution should not be acted upon. Instead, discuss it with a spiritual director.

Teresa also provides four ways that the soul can know whether a “sublime and transformative rapture’ (or any related spiritual experience) is authentically from God:

  • Knowledge of the greatness of God: The more the soul experiences an authentic encounter with God, the more it is deeply conscious of and in awe of the greatness of God.
  • Self-knowledge and humility: These virtues increase through “realizing how a thing like the soul, so base by comparison with One Who is the Creator of such greatness, has dared to offend Him and dares to raise its eyes to Him.” Humility draws the soul to God and God to the soul.
  • Supreme contempt for earthly things: This contempt is a proper ordering of priorities that would remove earthly matters from any list of concern, “save those which can be employed in the service of so great a God.”
  • The encounter is unforgettable: “These meetings with the Spouse remain so deeply engraved in the memory that I think it is impossible for the soul to forget them until it is enjoying them forever;

Teresa emphasizes that the godly desires inspired by these experiences are “not fleeting but permanent.” That is, these experiences must be judged over a considerable period of time in order to reveal the permanence of their impact. Rarely can they be accepted in the moment as authentic; only the test of time can reveal the true source.