Dark Night of the Soul

[Andrew_11]

Could someone please explain what the Dark Night of the Soul is? Thanks.

 

[Madia]

It’s a book by St. John of the Cross. If you want to know what the term itself means:

ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=414672&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2004&Author=&Keyword=Dark+Night+of+the+Soul&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=1&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ReplyDate+DESC&start_at=

 

[mhansen]

Ack! That’s an OK “dictionary” definition, but if you truly want to understand what it means, I strongly recommend buying “The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross”, ICS Publications, ISBN 0-935216-14-6. It’s an inexpensive book, costing $18.95, but is packed with 700+ pages of contemplative treasures, descriptions of various stages of contemplative prayer, tips for avoiding certain spiritual “traps”, and some truly moving poetry, to name a few items you’ll find in there. I can honestly say, next to the Bible, this book has had the most influence on my life to date, and if you feel you might be moving through some “Dark Night” yourself, it’s a book you really shouldn’t be without.

Mike

P.S. I think things like the “Dark Night” really have to be experienced to be understood. It’s like asking me what a watermelon tastes like if you’ve never had one. No description I can give you is adequate. However, John comes as close as anyone I’ve read to describing it, and his advice for working through it and with it is priceless. Of course, everyone’s experience is a little different.

 

[johnq]

Here is a free copy you can download.

ccel.org/ccel/john_cross/dark_night.html

 

[Dasher]

The dark night of the soul is a feeling of near abandonment by God. It usually comes after one has established an intimate relationship with Christ. By intimate I mean contemplative prayer and the receiving of locutions and so forth. As this prayer life grows, those who experience the “dark night of the soul” feel as if this intimate relationship with Christ has been lost, and from no fault of their own (and certainly not Christ’s). The feeling of being unified with Christ ceases, the locutions stop, and the individual almost feels abandoned by God. Mother Teresa experienced this from 1947 until her death!!! After she arrived in India she began to feel as though there was no God, that she had been abandoned by Him. Saint Theresa of Avila stated that she experienced the same thing. She used to get depressed and experience great doubt and worried that the dark night of the soul would manifest itself in eternal nothingness when she died–there would be no God, no Heaven. The “dark night of the soul,” however, should be viewed as a gift from God. When one experiences it, especially if one has a very close relationship with Christ, one must remember that this is actually, in a strange way, a closer relationship with God. Saint John of the Cross described it as the dark before the dawn. Just because it is the darkest part of the night, does not mean that one is the farthest from the light–in fact it is just the opposite-the light is about to break. I’m not sure that this answers your question directly, but it’s the best I can do!!!