„He brought me,“ she says, „into the cellar of wine; He set in order charity in me“. From this I realize the immensity of this favour. For one may be given a larger or a smaller draught, either of a good or of a superior wine, and be to a greater or a lesser degree intoxicated and inebriated. And so it is with the Lord’s favours.

To one He gives but little of the wine of devotion; to another, more; while to another He gives such increase of devotion that He begins to take him out of himself – that is, out of his sensuality – and to lead him away from all earthly things. To others He gives great fervour in His service, to others, good impulses; to others, great charity towards their neighbours; and thus they are so inebriated as not to feel the great trials through which they pass.

 

These words of the Bride, therefore, „He brought me into the cellar“, can bear a great many meanings at once, and she may come out from that cellar with immeasurable riches.

Conceptions of the Love of God, Chap. 6,3  

By Saint Teresa of Jesus