BOOK PICK: ‘The Devil in the Castle’ Is a Battle Plan Against the Evil One, by Patti Maguire Armstrong 

BOOK PICK: Dan Burke’s latest read focuses on spiritual warfare and the wisdom of St. Teresa of Avila.

By Patti Maguire Armstrong, EWTN News, April 18, 2022

The Devil in the Castle, St. Teresa of Avila, Spiritual Warfare, and the Progress of the Soul, By Dan Burke, Sophia Institute Press, 2022, 192 pages, $21.95, To order: EWTNRC.com

Prayer is essential for a relationship with God. Beyond us talking to God, many of the saints have spoken of contemplative prayer, where God speaks to us in the silence.

In her classic book The Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite mystic and doctor of the Church, shared her experiences with contemplative prayer, describing seven stages of growing union with God, comparing it to a castle with seven “mansions.”

Alongside profound reflections on such things as humility, self-knowledge, detachment, and suffering, she also addressed devilish ploys tempting us to retreat from God. In his new book, The Devil in the Castle: St. Teresa of Avila, Spiritual Warfare, and the Progress of the Soul, Dan Burke guides readers through the spiritual advancement of the seven levels, explaining the demonic strategies to divert us specific to those levels. …