Rosary and the Dark Night of the Senses

[Michael97]

I think that I may be experiencing a dark night of the senses. I’m not entirely sure, but after reading some of St. John of the Cross it seems possible. In the section on how to act during the Dark Night, St. John says that one should “not devote themselves at all to reasoning and meditation.” I pray the Rosary every day following the instructions of St. Louis de Monfort, I consider the rosary a meditation. Is St. John suggesting I should stop praying the rosary, and if not, why is the rosary not considered a meditation in this sense?

 

[pianistclare]

Maybe read some more joyful books.
St. John of the Cross is wonderful, but it’s pretty deep and not to be read lightly.
Allow your Mother Mary to care for you and be at peace.
When intrusive thoughts come to you, pray with St. Michael and our Lady for peace.

 

[Gertabelle]

I think that I may be experiencing a dark night of the senses. I’m not entirely sure, but after reading some of St. John of the Cross it seems possible.

If you think you may be experiencing this, then you should discuss that with one of your parish priests or some other qualified and holy spiritual director. A bunch of strangers on the internet are probably not your best or most reliable resources.

In the section on how to act during the Dark Night, St. John says that one should “not devote themselves at all to reasoning and meditation.” I pray the Rosary every day following the instructions of St. Louis de Monfort, I consider the rosary a meditation. Is St. John suggesting I should stop praying the rosary, and if not, why is the rosary not considered a meditation in this sense?

No idea what he meant. Contemplative Carmelites meditate for two hours a day, and pray the rosary daily as part of their monastic life. I can’t imagine that he would be telling them to stop engaging in the regular practices and rule of life of their monastic life.

Again, seek your answers from a reliable source, like a parish priest or spiritual director.

 

[tp3192000]

I pray the Rosary every day following the instructions of St. Louis de Monfort, I consider the rosary a meditation. Is St. John suggesting I should stop praying the rosary, and if not, why is the rosary not considered a meditation in this sense?

The rosary is a devotion and a prayer. Perhaps you are being led astray in thinking you should quit this devotion.

 

[Polyphony]

Is St. John suggesting I should stop praying the rosary, and if not, why is the rosary not considered a meditation in this sense?

St. John of the Cross appears to be speaking of the transition from meditation to contemplation, and how God uses the Dark Night of the Senses in order to lead a soul towards the contemplative goal.

In the portion you allude to, he simply seems to be saying that a soul should permit herself to be drawn to contemplation when she is clearly being summoned to such a state.

What they must do is merely to leave the soul free and disencumbered and at rest from all knowledge and thought, troubling not themselves, in that state, about what they shall think or meditate upon, but contenting themselves with merely a peaceful and loving attentiveness toward God, and in being without anxiety, without the ability and without desired to have experience of Him or to perceive Him. For all these yearnings disquiet and distract the soul from the peaceful quiet and sweet ease of contemplation which is here granted to it.

Needless to say, no, St. John of the Cross is not encouraging you to stop praying the Rosary. He’s encouraging you to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit should He invite you into deeper forms of prayer.

 

[PraiseChrist]

keep with that glorious virtue of the frequent rosary. I say do not stop. But your confessor is your authority, though.

 

[DBT]

I think that I may be experiencing a dark night of the senses. I’m not entirely sure, but after reading some of St. John of the Cross it seems possible. In the section on how to act during the Dark Night, St. John says that one should “not devote themselves at all to reasoning and meditation.” I pray the Rosary every day following the instructions of St. Louis de Monfort, I consider the rosary a meditation. Is St. John suggesting I should stop praying the rosary, and if not, why is the rosary not considered a meditation in this sense?

Yes, the rosary can be considered a form of meditation and yes the specific purpose of the passive night of sense is to wean us from such meditative practices in order to bring us to a more contemplative way of prayer. Pay particular attention to St. John’s “3-signs” presented in both The Ascent and Dark Night which can be summarized by a strong disinclination to work the intellect in prayer and an overwhelming desire to remain in a state of “loving attentiveness” … what the Cure of Ars so wonderfully described as “I look at Him and He looks at me.” This desire can be fleeting, coming upon us only from time-to-time … or it can be more or less a permanent state.

The important thing: if we can meditate we should continue to do so. If not, we should not to trample the working of the Holy Spirit by persisting in a way of prayer that no longer benefits us. Such resistance is one of the principal trials of the passive night of sense.

Lastly, it’s important to seek spiritual direction in such matters. The disinclination to meditate in the manner of St. John is a “supernatural” gift … very different from the “natural” causes that often hamper prayer such as laziness, weakness, lukewarmness etc. Discerning cause and effect is key.

Hope this helps,
Dave

 

[drifter106]

First, strongly suggest you visit with a priest.

If you are, you would know it…at first, you would try explain away some of the “sweetness” I call them fuzzies, but after time you will know. Your priest will guide you.

Thing to remember, let God lead you and surrender you will…

 

[mrosem]

Other posters have given you great answers, Michael97. John of the Cross is saying that when, in the course of your meditation, God stops you from continuing in your meditation and fills you with an interior awareness of his love and presence, you should just rest in this loving awareness. Don’t shove on with the meditation. Don’t feel you need to finish praying the rosary or reading a Scripture passage.

This brief, interior awareness of God’s love is contemplative prayer. Eventually, God may draw you into a contemplative life, where you live in this awareness of God’s love and presence.

Teresa of Avila is clear that no matter how far you travel in your spiritual journey, you should never lose sight of Jesus in his humanity, even as your relationship with him in his divinity deepens. As it deepens, you will no longer need an entire passage or rosary to feel some kind of love for him. One thought of him will move you with love for him.

Trust God. He’s the one leading you forward in this relationship, and he’s given you the wonderful tool of the rosary, so use it! Ponder Jesus, follow Jesus, love Jesus as you move through this beautiful prayer.