A friend of mine is going thru a dark night of the soul

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dann

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A friend of mine is going thru a dark night of the soul.
Its interesting g to observe it from the outside.
It seems we all have a time like this.

How about you??
 
How does your friend’s dark night of the soul manifest itself?

A true dark night is a relatively rare spiritual condition, not just a period of difficulty. I don’t think “we all have a time like this.”
 
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Are you talking about depression? A lot of people in Christian circles refer to depression as a dark night of the soul, but they’re actually two separate conditions.

Depression is a mind/ body condition brought about by adverse circumstances or chemical imbalance. It can be treated by a physician.

Dark night of the soul is a spiritual condition (I don’t want to get into a definition here), it doesn’t need to be treated, but lived through, and the best support person is a spiritual director.

It should be said that a vanishingly small number of people will ever go through DNOTS because it’s found in people who are on the extreme end of spirituality/mysticism.
 
St John of the Cross was a mystic. He was also the confessor and spiritual director of St. Theresa of Avila. The designation “Dark Night of the Soul” originally comes from the title of a poem he wrote.
In my early adulthood, I used to think I was going through the dark night of the soul at one point, but have discovered over time, that it is much more and so much deeper than I initially thought it was. St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta is one who is said to have lived this, or a very similar experience.

C.S. Lewis’ Dark Night of the Soul

Understanding the ‘dark night of the soul.’

The Dark Night ; EWTN
 
It seems that a dark night of the soul. Is a more common experience. But not talked about

Yes john Paul Jackson has utube teachings. And also personal experience.

Just as st. John of the cross is a personal experience.
 
dann said:
It seems that a dark night of the soul. Is a more common experience. But not talked about

Yes john Paul Jackson has utube teachings. And also personal experience.

Just as st. John of the cross is a personal experience.
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Other posters have indicated here that the DNOTS is not a common experience. It’s a spiritual dryness one goes through as they progress in their prayer life. It’s a sign that God is taking away all spiritual consolations (even the feeling of His presence) so as to leave one with seemingly nothing. It’s a disciplinary thing: “Do you love God enough to pray to Him even when you get nothing out of it?” If one perseveres, God will eventually take them into the spiritual betrothal, and finally the Mystical Marriage.

So, how to tell if this is what’s going on with your friend?

Well, is your friend sinning at all? Even venially? How common are the venial sins? You could only know this if your friend revealed this to you, of course. But what about his prayer regiment? How often does your friend pray? Is it consistent, regimented? Is this contemplative prayer, or merely vocal? Can your friend sit down and be completely quiet and motionless in prayer for a minimum 30 minutes a day?

If not, he’s not going through the Dark Night.
 
It would be best to clarify what you mean by dark night of the soul.
 
Thanks for sharing. Your understanding.

It was clarified. … The book teaching of st john of the cross. Established the title.

John Paul Jackson. Taught on this.also.

It is interesting to read what other people have to share.
Thanks
 
Hindsight or retrospect commonly provide a more complete backdrop when it comes to identification/definition of the experience.

I don’t know if the DNOTS can ever be separated from the concept of suffering - whether looked at analytically or otherwise. If I had a friend or acquaintance who (said they) were going through the DNOTS , my first response would be to pray for them.

On the mystical plane , in their suffering , these souls have a unique understanding of , “My God , my God. . . Why have You forsaken me ?”

Here is how Father John Hardon S.J., defines Dark Night of the Soul in his Modern Catholic Dictionary
DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. General term in mystical theology to identify every form of purification through which God leads persons whom he is calling to a high degree of sanctity. It is called “night” to distinguish a person’s normal spiritual condition of seeing, although dimly, by the light of faith; whereas in mystical purification a person is deprived of much of this light. There is a “groping in the night.” It is called a “dark” night to emphasize the intensity of withdrawal of God’s illuminating grace. The purpose of such purification is to cleanse the soul of every vestige of self-love and unite a person more and more closely with God. As the intellect is thus mortified, the will becomes more firmly attracted to God and more securely attached to his divine will. This purification, however, is only a means to an end namely, 1. to give greater glory to God who is thereby loved for himself and not for the benefits he confers; 2. to lead the one thus purified to infused contemplation and even ecstatic union with God; 3. to enable the mystic to be used more effectively by God for the spiritual welfare of others, since the more holy a person is the more meritorious are that person’s prayers and sacrifices for the human race.
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The dictionary also has definitions for Dark Night of the Senses and Dark Night of the Spirit - which might be worth a look.
 
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