This is a complicated topic, and I think Jim’s hit it pretty well. I wouldn’t bother reading John of the Cross right off the bat if you haven’t read at least a dozen other saints. The carmelite mystics are the most difficult to read, but also the most rewarding. If you don’t understand the concepts involved in catholic mysticism, you will end up way off the mark, however. start with simpler saints. the problem with the mystics is that they are trying to relay information about a topic which we have no experiential frame of referance for. I’ve taught a few classes on the Dark Nights, and with always the same results. people who read John of the Cross without any training confuse a dry spell with a dark night (as was previously mentioned in this thread) or they get scarred of the whole concept. at any rate, St. John himself says that even very few saints actually go through this dark night of the soul, but the majority of devoute souls do go through the the dark night of the senses. if you are courious about these things, my advice is to first understand the dark night of the sense- it’s more useful knowldge because if you haven’t gone through it, you probably will, and if you have gone through it, you will more ten likely end up counsoling some one who will go through it. most confuse the two nights, however, thinking that the night of the sense is actually the night of the soul. the night of the senses is a cakewalk comparatively, and can actually be quite pleasent at times. hope this helps, glen
