G
Greg27
Guest
Dry periods when God seems absent are quite normal at various stages in the spiritual life. St John of the Cross and also other great Christian spiritual masters, especially those of the Desert and Monastic traditions, regard dryness as an integral part of the spiritual journey, though sometimes we will also be assualted by the ‘noonday demon’ of acedia, which is a spiritual sloth which makes all spiritual practices seem useless or worthless and time passes very slowly.
St John of Cross describes these periods as ‘dark nights’ which the first is the purgation of the senses, mind, and will of all that is not God. Because everything in creation is not God, as is every affection turned away from God, God’s prescence will actually often seem like a terrible desolation or desert, in which the appetites or addictions or sins which turn us from God are exposed and burned away by God’s overwhelming light. It is important not to fight this or despair in it because it is actually God’s action preparing the soul for the grace of infused contemplation and charity which unites us to God, and is the most precious mystical grace to be given to anyone in this life. However, because the purgations involved are often difficult and painful (particularly when it comes to desires of the will turned towards creatures) to begin with, many people get stuck in the dark night of sense, as St John said. The best way is to persevere and grow in the virtue of faith and hope, and wait patiently on God.
St John of Cross describes these periods as ‘dark nights’ which the first is the purgation of the senses, mind, and will of all that is not God. Because everything in creation is not God, as is every affection turned away from God, God’s prescence will actually often seem like a terrible desolation or desert, in which the appetites or addictions or sins which turn us from God are exposed and burned away by God’s overwhelming light. It is important not to fight this or despair in it because it is actually God’s action preparing the soul for the grace of infused contemplation and charity which unites us to God, and is the most precious mystical grace to be given to anyone in this life. However, because the purgations involved are often difficult and painful (particularly when it comes to desires of the will turned towards creatures) to begin with, many people get stuck in the dark night of sense, as St John said. The best way is to persevere and grow in the virtue of faith and hope, and wait patiently on God.