St. Teresa of Avila "The Interior Castle"

Teresa of Avila was a 16th Century nun who lived, wrote, and worked in Spain during the period called the Catholic Reformation (or the Counter-Reformation by most Protestants!). Her book is an extended treatise on quiet interior prayer for those with a religious vocation. It does not stress prayers of intercession or supplication but rather prayers that seek the company of Jesus Christ. The highlight for me personally was her explanations of the various ways God might communicate Himself to us in prayer. Teresa was also a person of great humility. She seemed to know God intimately but also was keenly aware of her own sinfulness and propensity for being mistaken about things. I have a tendency to respect people more when they not the infallible expert on a topic. This is not a book on prayer for beginners but a person with a measure of grounding in the Christian faith and experience in prayer would find many passages encouraging and speaking directly to them.