Book description
Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle is one of the most celebrated books
of Christian mysticism ever written. In this new edition, the classic
translation by E. Allison Peers is united with fresh spiritual
commentary by Dennis Billy, C. Ss. R., making it the only edition of
this work to provide spiritual nourishment in an accessible form while
remaining completely faithful to Teresa's mystical vision. Remarkably
simple both in style and structure, Teresa's Interior Castle begins with
the vision of the soul as a "castle made of a single diamond. . .
in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many
mansions." Building on this image, Teresa constructs a work of
stunning spiritual and psychological wisdom. In his commentary, Dennis
Billy breathes fresh air into this timeless work by examining Teresa's
thought in its historical context and summarizing her teaching in a
brief and straightforward manner. Father Dennis Billy, C. Ss. R., is a
teacher, writer, and poet. Ordained a Redemptorist priest in 1980, he
taught the history of moral theology and Christian spirituality at the
Alphonsian Academy of Rome's Pontifical Lateran University for more than
twenty years, reaching the rank of Ordinary Professor. In 2008 he was
installed as the John Cardinal Krol Chair of Moral Theology as a
scholar-in-residence at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood,
Pennsylvania. He also serves as the Karl Rahner Professor of Catholic
Theology at the Graduate Theological Foundation in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Raised in Staten Island, New York, and educated there through high
school in local Catholic schools, he graduated from Dartmouth College
and went on to receive four master's degrees, as well as doctorates from
Harvard University, the Pontifical University of St. Thomas, and the
Graduate Theological Foundation. Billy is the author of numerous books
and articles, both popular and scholarly.
