Fourth Mansion — Prayer of Quiet

The Cuarta Morada marks the critical boundary between acquired and infused prayer — the oración de quietud, where the will is seized by God while the intellect and memory still wander. Teresa of Ávila distinguishes this sharply in the Interior Castle: contentos (consolations arising from meditation) give way to gustos (spiritual delights poured directly by God). This is the first taste of contemplación infusa, the beginning of the via illuminativa, and it cannot be produced by human effort — only disposed toward through faithful practice and received as pure gift.