“An Understanding of His Secrets and Grandeurs”: Teresian Perspectives on the Discernment of Visions and Locutions 1

Abstract

This paper outlines a Teresian classification of supernatural communications in the context also of proposing key elements of her underlying conceptual framework regarding these visions and locutions. In light of relatively little scholarly discussion of Teresa’s principles for discernment of such experiences, the paper’s second contribution is a detailed analysis of the discernment markers that she offers in relation to visions and locutions both imaginative and intellectual. Finally, it draws implications for contemporary practice by those who support others to discern such communications.