On October 15, much of the Christian Church remembers Teresa of Ávila (St. Teresa of Jesus), a church and monastic reformer and contemplative Christian.

In one of her classics, "The Interior Castle," she wrote that the treasure of heaven lies buried within our hearts, and that there is an interior part of the heart which is the center of the soul.

She described mystical prayer as taking the participants through four stages:

Devotion of the heart
Devotion of peace
Devotion of union
Devotion of ecstasy

Her last words were: "My Lord, it is time to move on. Well then, may your will be done. O my Lord and my Spouse, the hour that I have longed for has come. It is time to meet one another."

Read "The Interior Castle"