Dark Night of Soul - or More?

[Conservative]

While I am not your spiritual director, what you describe does not sound like the dark night of the soul, experienced by many of our saints. Those who experience a true dark night of the soul, are usually quite advanced in spirituality. It is a period of spiritual growth in which these saints keep yearning for the spiritual fulfillment they have experienced with their prayers and ascetical practices. But as we say, seem to have hit a brick wall in growth. Contrary to what they think, or feel, their spiritual growth during these times is tremendous, because intellectually, they know that they should keep doing what they did and do so, even though they feel will and action on what they know is right, but for which they feel nothing but dryness and abandonment. …Prayers & Blessings
Deacon Ed B

Dear Deacon Ed -
Thank you for clarifying that. It’s interesting because following an assigned devotion to keep the Blessed Sacrament company during Exposition late at night, I came home feeling as if I’d come away empty or with nothing or something missing. (I guess I expected to feel some sort of spiritual elation from having done this special devotion.) Telling a friend this, I was told that this feeling might have meant quite the opposite - that this empty feeling meant I had really come away with something. I’m not quoting properly but reading your post, I was reminded. Again, I thank you for clarifying the definition of ‘Dark Night of a Soul’.

 

[franjos]

Each one of us experiences darkness of the soul in one way or another. If you have read my testimony here, I guess everyone would see that I did not only experience darkness in my soul, but I was also chained by sinfulness.

Six (6) months ago, when I started to commit myself to pray the 15 Mysteries of the Blessed Mother everyday, the following are what I experienced:

1. I could not feel any significant effect of the Rosary.
2. Many times, my mind is so distracted and confused.
3. At times, I doubt if God even bothers to hear my prayers.
4. Many times, i doubt the good effect of the Rosary in my soul
5. One time I felt a complete blackness and deafness (without any inspiration) from above, that I cried to the Holy Mother - My Queen why is it so dark?
6. Most of the time, whenever I pray, things about jobs or projects starts to pop-up just to distract me from reflecting the mysteries.
7. At times, I am sleepy.
8. I could hardly schedule praying.
9. And many more distractions and temptations - with only 1 objective - to make me stop praying the Rosary.

So, I told myself : If all these things are happening just to make me lose my patience and to stop praying the Holy Rosary. Then what I will do is to promise myself to pray the Holy Rosary everyday - no matter what.

‘No matter what’ means, to pray the Rosary :

1. Even if I like to pray or not.
2. Even if I doubt its effect or I feel its effect.
3. Even if I am distracted or at peace.
4. Even if I fall into sin or in grace.
5. Even if I think God does not hear my prayers at all.
6. Even if I am sleepy.
7. Even if it feels so dark, and
8. Even if my mind tells me it most logical thing in the world - not to pray it.

I struggled, with the grace and help from God. And after several months, the Rosary has manifested its marvels. It is like a compass that will tell you were you should go. It is a star that will shine your dark path and lead you to God. It will shaken off our evil desires and evil thoughts. And I can tell you many things, but I guess experience is the best teacher. Just try the 15 mysteries and see the effect yourselves.

May God and the Blessed Mother give your bountiful graces.

 

[beckycmarie]

Dear Deacon Ed -
Thank you for clarifying that. It’s interesting because following an assigned devotion to keep the Blessed Sacrament company during Exposition late at night, I came home feeling as if I’d come away empty or with nothing or something missing. (I guess I expected to feel some sort of spiritual elation from having done this special devotion.) Telling a friend this, I was told that this feeling might have meant quite the opposite - that this empty feeling meant I had really come away with something. I’m not quoting properly but reading your post, I was reminded. Again, I thank you for clarifying the definition of ‘Dark Night of a Soul’.

Dear Conservative,

There are two dark nights: the dark night of sense, which happens early on in one’s spiritual life, and later the dark night of the soul, which happens when one is nearing perfection and union with God.

One thing the dark night of sense does is purify us from seeking God just for the consolations and warm fuzzies we might get in prayer. It gives us a more pure love of God that is more free from self-seeking; we learn to love God because He deserves to be loved, and not because we can get something in return.

The dark night of sense occurs when one begins to experience infused contemplation, and there are three signs that one is in the dark night of sense:

A person can recognize the beginnings of infused prayer when three signs are found together (one or another by itself is not enough - it could be due to something on a merely natural plane):

1. One experiences a disinclination to meditate discursively, an inability to profit from active reflecting. This disinclination and inability are not due to laxity, but rather to being drawn toward God in a simple, idealess way. Even though distractions may abound, the Lord is infusing a dark longing for himself. This yearning is usually dry, delicate, and brief.

1. An inner perception of emptiness replaces the ideas and pleasures of former discursive thinking. The person is giving up worldly pleasures and is not yet purified sufficiently to enjoy God with any depth. Hence, there is a lack of comfort and closeness. The Lord seems distant and finite things do not satisfy.

1. There is a marked earnestness in serving God better. This sign shows that the first two do no proceed from mediocrity, but from a new and better form of prayer.

-From *Seeking Spiritual Direction: How to Grow the Divine Life Within *
by Thomas Dubay, S.M.
p. 185

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

To beckycmarie. - Thanks for your post. It added excellent information. Fr Dubay was my Philosophy and Theodocy professor at Notre Dame Seminary in the 1960’s. He is a brilliant man and excellent priest.
Prayers & blessings
Deacon Ed B

 

[beckycmarie]

To beckycmarie. - Thanks for your post. It added excellent information. Fr Dubay was my Philosophy and Theodocy professor at Notre Dame Seminary in the 1960’s. He is a brilliant man and excellent priest.
Prayers & blessings
Deacon Ed B

Dear Deacon Ed,

You are so fortunate to have had him as a professor! I have enjoyed reading his books and have learned so much from them, and have grown as a result of what he teaches in his books about the spiritual life.

 

[franjos]

Our Lord God has shown me How Powerful His Hand is that I should have never provoked Him to anger.

I have written in some thread what happened to me last year. Though, I would not go into its details, I would just narrate here how I was shown how Powerful and Mighty is God’s Hands.

I have been living a sinful life since childhood. But my sins became graver in the year 2000. I lost God, I lost my prayers, I sinned and sinned and sinned, became very lustful, wordly, proud, miserable and totally away from the grace of God.

For the past several yeras, I earned a lot of money from my projects as an engineer. And I should say, despite my sinful life God filled my pocket with overflowing financial graces. It was like that for the past six years (2000 to 2006). And I was very happy of course, becaus I was worldly. But in the year 2007, I made a wrong decision (though I would not detail its nature). It caused the faucet of the overflowing financial graces to be suddenly closed. Anyhow, I said to myself, “I still have savings, so it does not matter.”

Then in the middle of 2007, I invested half of my savings on a business which I thought would generate more money. But it did not turn out to be that well. Anyhow, I said to myself, “It is OK since I still have half of my initial savings.”

In the last quarter of 2007, my mother was hospitalized. She died after two months of hospitalization. After this, all my savings were drained out and I was left with loans which I am still paying now.

These events struck me so hard down, almost trampled under foot, that I surrendered myself completely to God.

After God brought me back to grace, during my prayers(especially with the Rosary) I was made to understand completely about the things that occurred recently in my life.

Here are the things that God enabled me to understand:

1. I continued to ignore God after so many callings and inspirations from above to leave my sinful life and return to Him, after several warnings, after series of my friend’s deaths, after my very own sickness. Thus, God was provoked to anger.
2. I also realized that God is very generous, infinitely good and very slow to anger. That for God to be angry with me and to be provoked to take back the life of my very own heart …my mother, I must have really offended Him.
3. I became dependent and secured with my money, and so first, God has willed me to make a wrong decision, in order to close the source of my income, so that my savings would no longer increase.
4. Secondly, He allowed me to invest half of my money and not generate much income in order to split my savings into half.
5. And then, when the final strike of God’s Hand came to me, I was scattered, in a snap all my savings were swept away. And now I was left with loans I am still paying.
6. Te Lord God showed me how foolish I was for :

• depending on money for security. The truth - God is the only security we have;
• thinking that death is still very far since I am still young. The truth - Death is just nearby to each one of us, so we must mend our lives and direct them towards heaven;

1. Lastly, God also showed me how much He loves a sinner like me. For despite all the things that happened to me last year, everything is a blessing, because He brought me back from sinfulness to His grace.

This is how I saw God’s Mighty and Powerful but Gentle, Loving and Merciful Hands in my life.

I thank the Mary - The Holy Mother of God, my Queen for interceding for my soul in those times. Had I not prayed the Rosary and had she not intercede for me, I believe everything could have been worst and I would be able to return to grace.

May God and Blessed Mother of God give you bountiful graces.

 

[Archus]

Dear Conservative,

There are two dark nights: the dark night of sense, which happens early on in one’s spiritual life, and later the dark night of the soul, which happens when one is nearing perfection and union with God.

One thing the dark night of sense does is purify us from seeking God just for the consolations and warm fuzzies we might get in prayer. It gives us a more pure love of God that is more free from self-seeking; we learn to love God because He deserves to be loved, and not because we can get something in return.

Yes, and in addition, the dark night of sense is something a lot of people go through, it is minor compared to the dark night of the soul, which a major event in someone’s life, and only a few people in the history of mankind have gone through the process, and most of them tend to be saints.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

May God and Blessed Mother of God give you bountiful graces

…and you also…

Thank you very much for sharing your story, Franjos:thumbsup: , it can take courage to do this - and I am sure it will bring much profit to more than me. There are those who may post and CAF membership who may only read and not post…and then also CA Forums are on the worldwide web. You may be well evangelizing and not be aware of it. God bless you and yours.

An experience is an experience and the essence of it does not change according to howsoever we may “tag” it or term it - the noun we attach to it in order to summarize and categorize, put it into a compartment given a noun or name. What after all, all said and done, is in a name?

…regards…Barb
The Spirit blows where He Will.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Yes, and in addition, the dark night of sense is something a lot of people go through, it is minor compared to the dark night of the soul, which a major event in someone’s life, and only a few people in the history of mankind have gone through the process, and most of them tend to be saints.

Hi Archus…when I read this

and only a few people in the history of mankind have gone through the process, and most of them tend to be saints.

…it gave me to pause for a second or two and was going to comment but then decided not to. And now, female that I am with a proneness to changing the mind , I have decided to ask where you got the above information from, can you quote some source please? I dont think I can be confident of the above statement, not having access to the interior spiritual life of every single person in the history of mankind, nor I think would anyone.

Thanks heaps…blessings…regards…Barb

 

[Archus]

Chapter VIII, book 1 of The Dark Night of the Soul:

The night of sense is common and comes to many…

*The dark night of sense is something a lot of people go through…

The night of the spirit is the portion of the very few, and these are they that are already practiced and proficient…

…The second bears no comparision with it, for it is horrible and awful to the spirit.

it is minor compared to the dark night of the soul, which a major event in someone’s life, and only a few people in the history of mankind have gone through the process, and most of them tend to be saints.

The source is above (in quote boxes), the deduction (shown in italics) is from my mind. The first one is quite easy to see, but the second one, I came to a conclusion on a number of postulates:

It is minor compared to the dark night of the soul - because only a select few go through it.

A major event in someone’s life - because with something so terrible and awful, it is hardly going to be a nonchalant endeavour, and with the outcome of it, it is hardly going to be put aside that easily, is it?
**
and only a few people in the history of mankind have gone through the process** - I am assuming only Man has gone through this, and given the universality of the spirit and Man’s relationship with God, even before Christ, this event could have happened, because it is to do with the fundamental relationship between man and God, and that was established right at the beginning of human history. So, I think it is safe to assume that this is not a recent endeavour, giving the constancy of God’s work to His people.

and most of them tend to be saints. - well Dark Night of the Soul mentions that it tends to affect those who are already practised and proficient, which means they must have grown in some level of holiness for it to affect them. Therefore, they are already set apart from others, due to the fact that they are chosen by Him to be drawn infinitely closer to Him. Due to the tragic nature of the Dark Night, it would be deemed highly unlikely that when (or if) they emerge from that Dark Night, that they would not be considered holy, at least in man’s eyes. No, they are saints because they are in His love, and they thus do His will. It is the old sense of the word, not the one with the capital S. We are all saints, but because of the severity of the task that lied before them, they can be deemed especially saintly, because of ther intimate union with God.

Hope that helps. If you disagree, that’s fine. But I don’t want an argument. If I made a mistake, then great. I would have learned something, and so thus would everyone else. If I am right, then I hope that I clarified any discrepencies.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Thank you very much, Archus, for your response, HERE

Hope that helps. If you disagree, that’s fine. But I don’t want an argument. If I made a mistake, then great. I would have learned something, and so thus would everyone else. If I am right, then I hope that I clarified any discrepencies.

Hi Archus…I liked your closing paragraph and my own personal sentiments are very similar! I look especially to St. John of The Cross and his writings for many things and as an important authority that I trust, and hence accept and appreciate the quotes that you have given from his writings - and I know his writings and recall your quotes from him.
Having read your post, I can now see actually *my mistake *in my understanding of your post initially…the DNS would be a major event to my estimate in a lifetime, although I think perhaps St. John may mention (or I have read it elsewhere) it can be intermittent with times of consolation. Unsure…nor does it matter really in this particular context.
St. Teresa of Avila I think it was states that the DNS can continue as a passage through the rest of the life to death, and so we agree too on that point…in fact I can now see that we agree on all points.

Undoubtedly a DNS indicates a truly well advanced spirituality and over a long period of growth and change - and if faithful, great holiness and sanctity we term “holiness, sanctity, saint or saintly” whether declared by The Church or an interior passage hidden from all until Heaven. I jumped to a conclusion (and never a good move ) that by “saint” you meant one recognized by The Church and raised to the altars as an officially public declared saint. Having over a period put a few conclusion and understandings of my own re the DNS from various reliable sources, and that is the lot of very few…I can insight probably why it is the lot of very few. Although “very few” is a broad statement indeed, and for my own conclusions made, I settled on for myself, that in the history of mankind in numbers of persons, probably very few of these would go through the DNS and there left any conclusions on that point.

Thank you very much indeed for giving the time and effort you have to replying to me!..and my mistake - thank you for setting me straight re my interpretation of the post of yours I queried:thumbsup: …God’s Richest Blessings and my regards…Barb