What to do during a "long night of the soul?"

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I’ve felt pretty spiritually dry these past few months. Its always at these times that doubts come, that I begin wondering if the “culture” may have gotten certain things right about the Church. Mass attendance slips. I’ve been through dry spells before, but this seems unusually prolonged.

I feel like I’m in need of some powerful medicine, and am wondering what others do when the Lord seems far away.
 
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Newvert:
Its always at these times that doubts come, that I begin wondering if the “culture” may have gotten certain things right about the Church.
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Really? Like what?
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Newvert:
Mass attendance slips.
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Whose Mass attendance? Yours? Do you normally go every day, or just on Sundays? If you normally go only on Sundays, try going every day. If you already do that, then just keep going. Just do it.
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Newvert:
I feel like I’m in need of some powerful medicine…
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Maybe that’s what you’re getting now.
 
Hi, Newvert, Have you read what Saint John of the Cross says about periods of dryness? Do you have the three signs?
 
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buzzcut:
Hi, Newvert, Have you read what Saint John of the Cross says about periods of dryness? Do you have the three signs?
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Although I quoted his title, I have to admit that no, I haven’t read it. What are the three signs?
 
*Dark Night of the Soul * 1.9 gives the three signs that are used to different between ordinary problems and an actual dark night. It begins:

“BUT since these aridities might frequently proceed, not from the night and purgation of the sensual desires aforementioned, but from sins and imperfections, or from weakness and lukewarmness, or from some bad humour or indisposition of the body, I shall here set down certain signs by which it may be known if such aridity proceeds from the aforementioned purgation, or if it arises from any of the aforementioned sins.”

Full text about the three signs here:

ccel.org/j/john_of_the_cross/dark_night/dark_night_bod0.9.html#RTFToC56

Someone has posted a personal take on the three signs here:

thecourse.org.uk/wpaths.html
 
Pray for perseverance. These times are given to you to help you stretch and grow on your faith. God is no longer spoon feeding you - and that is good. You are ready to take on more.

Pray and go to church especially in these times whether you feel like it or not. Faith is not about the warm fuzzies - while that is a great perk when and if it happens. God is with you always, but He has chosen to keep a bit hidden from you. So go because it pleases Him - even though it is hard.

I have these times when I don’t feel like saying my daily prayers - or wonder what good mass really does. But we go because we have faith and are not directed by our emotions. Emotions are weak and can deceive us if we let our actions be ruled by them.

Press on. God will help you through the dry times to get the blessing on the other side.
God Bless you. Consider yourself on a journey with Jesus through the desert this Lent. Side by side the two of you walking together.
 
God can sometimes “test” us with periods of dryness. :bigyikes: He, like us, doesn’t like “fair weather friends.” He wants us to be faithful in all things, and in all times. Even during dryness or the “dark night of the soul.” I have major depression. Not that I’m always severely depressed. But there have be numerous times when I was so depressed that I didn’t want to get out of bed. :sleep: But I know that God was understanding during those times. He allowed that to show me HIS faithfulness.

Even now, I often need to be reminded. We aren’t “finished” until we see Him face to face. What a glorious day that will be!! :amen: Keep your head up and your eyes on the prize. Know that God can get you through anything. Even during those times that you feel like He doesn’t exist. For He is with you in all things.
 
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Newvert:
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I feel like I’m in need of some powerful medicine, and am wondering what others do when the Lord seems far away.
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Newvert, this is when He is closest… Just persevere and this too shall pass…🙂
 
The writer of Psalm 77 seems to have tasted this darkness, and offers a faithful response for us to listen to:
Ps 77:1 To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me.
Ps 77:2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
Ps 77:3 I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints. [Selah]
Ps 77:4 Thou dost hold my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Ps 77:5 I consider the days of old, I remember the years long ago.
Ps 77:6 I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit:
Ps 77:7 “Will the Lord spurn for ever, and never again be favorable?
Ps 77:8 Has his steadfast love for ever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time?
Ps 77:9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” [Selah]
Ps 77:10 And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
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His counsel to us follows:
Ps 77:11 I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD; yea, I will remember thy wonders of old.
Ps 77:12 I will meditate on all thy work, and muse on thy mighty deeds.
Ps 77:13 Thy way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
Ps 77:14 Thou art the God who workest wonders, who hast manifested thy might among the peoples.
Ps 77:15 Thou didst with thy arm redeem thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. [Selah]
Ps 77:16 When the waters saw thee, O God, when the waters saw thee, they were afraid, yea, the deep trembled.
Ps 77:17 The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; thy arrows flashed on every side.
Ps 77:18 The crash of thy thunder was in the whirlwind; thy lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
Ps 77:19 Thy way was through the sea, thy path through the great waters; yet thy footprints were unseen.
Ps 77:20 Thou didst lead thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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Thomas
 
there are actually two Dark Nights, according to the master of spiritual direction, John of the Cross. The first is the dark night of the senses, when sensible pleasure and emotional consolation and satisfaction in prayer and spiritual exercises is taken away. It corresponds to the period after initial conversion when we are weaned from sense pleasures by fasting, prayer, almsgiving and good works. this desert experience is the natural spiritual condition of the mature Christian who is progressing in his journey toward God.

The correct response when one derives no pleasure or gratification from prayer is to keep praying, and on no account use the absence of “getting anything out of it” give you an excuse to stop praying, reading scripture, meditating etc. The purpose of this dark night is to educate the soul to pray for the sake of prayer and for love of God, rather than for any satisfaction the act or state of prayer may give. this is done by gradually detaching the person from reliance on pleasures of the senses and emotions.

The soul who is being drawn to infused contemplation passes another threshhold, the Dark Night of the Soul, which is described in John’s poem of that name, with commentary on the meaning of the verses of the poem. there are several excellent threads on this topic, do a search on Spirituality forum. To discern when one is at this second threshold one should consult a spiritual director and follow his advice. This Dark Night is characterized by many signs and “symptoms” the chief being the apparent absence of God, abandonment by God. It purpose is to teach the soul its absolute need for God.
 
Pray to the Holy Spirit for fortitude. He will help you persevere and carry on in the face of the greatest trials.

Imagine what fortitude those countless first Christians had, to go to horrible deaths rather than bow before pagan Gods.
Why not read a book, a little each day such as The victories of the Martyrs, by St Alphonsus Liguori.
It will inspire you to persevere in the face of trials.
You can get it at the link below if you fancy it will help inspire you on.
tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/249/category_id/40/
 
As has been said the Night of the Soul is not the Night of the Senses.

But if it is indeed the Night of the Senses, it may not be simply a case of, ‘sticking at it’. In fact his may signal that you have to change your prayer method to a more listening, contemplative form. Before doing so however check that this dryness or darkness does not arise from simple human fraility, boredom, ennui, physical ill-health. To do so you should be able to answer at least most of the following questions as a Catholic positively.

Do you pray regularly for at least 10 minutes to half an hour a day?
Do you recieve the Eucharist every day or at least a few times a week?
Have you been praying in this manner for a sustained regular period of time (at least a year)?
Have you been using the same types of prayer over this sustained period?
Are there any other factors in your life wqhich might impact on your prayer, physical illness, loss of relative, break down in relationships, depression?

But generally these are the kind of matters you should be taking to a Spiritual Director rather than the internet. You can’t beat the human in these matters, this is what Spirtual Directors are for.
 
excellent advice, paddy

also spiritual dryness is not the same thing as clinical depression, temporary or chronic, which has physical or other causes, although it can occur at the same time, John talks about the spiritual development of the “melancholic” personality and its special difficulties and graces.
 
“spiritual dryness”, very interesting term indeed.

I hope this doesn’t offend anyone here, it is a genuine desription of my day-to-day battle with what might be “spiritual dryness”.

When I read the threads in this forum I get a sense that the vast number of people here are of a strong faith. I’m not sure I can lay claim to the same. I certainly have a strong “wanna-be-faith” but I struggle day to day with doubt. The doubts lead to exploration, which leads to a search for evidence, which invariably leaves me disappointed.

Some of mental journeys that highlight my day to day struggles:

When one is expressing a feeling of spiritual dryness the invariable remedy given is to pray more, receive more etc.

Here is where my mind goes when I hear this reponse: Doesn’t prayer help simply because it feeds the self brainwashing principal of repetition? In other words isn’t it similiar to the secular idea of something such as training for a sporting compeitition. “we can win if we give it all we have” etc etc.

The recent passing of Sister Lucia. This calls to mind my reading that there will be a non-mistakable warning during Sister Lucia’s lifetime. Another blow to my faith.

The controvery around Medjogorie and it authenticity. There are some books that lend evidence to the apparitions being real. I firmly believe the seerers believe what they lay claim to. BUT, if they are suffering from some other paranormal activity, isn’t it possible that this same paranormal activity could explain all other apparitions? All of the stigmatas, visions, visitations of all the Saints? Might there not simply be some natural (however unusual) explaination? Protestants feel all revelation ended with the Apostals, public as well as private (I believe). I heard Hank Hanagraaff once say, “I don’t know what they saw (seerers) but whatever it was it wasn’t from God”. I, by no means mean to make Hank an authority, I simply only wish to highlight the point that there are many many faithful, who totally disbelieve in these things we hold dear and utilize as a tool to enhance our faith.

The division in Christ’s church (protestant / Catholic)

The concept of Faith being a gift, why is it given to only some?

I could go on and on and on, this only scratches the surface. I attend Mass at least twice a week (Sunday and attempt to make another day) I pray the rosary about once a week, try to pray it more often. I think pretty much about nothing else but my faith. I read nothing but Christian books, I’ve acquired quite a library. I try to be strong for my family (I never express these doubts to them). However I am in a constant battle asking myself if there is something to this; or am I deluding myself.

Is this “spiritual dryness”? Am I doomed to have this self-battle for the remainder of my years? Why does He not help?

I simply wish I could hold on to a strong faith, get joy and hope from it, without the constant (and I mean constant) intellectual battle.
 
Miljoy2:

Maybe you should forget about the Protestants for a while, and Medjogorie too. Instead, try going to Mass every day and praying five decades of the Rosary every day.
 
Mijoy2 said:
“spiritual dryness”, very interesting term indeed.

I hope this doesn’t offend anyone here, it is a genuine desription of my day-to-day battle with what might be “spiritual dryness”.

When I read the threads in this forum I get a sense that the vast number of people here are of a strong faith. I’m not sure I can lay claim to the same. I certainly have a strong “wanna-be-faith” but I struggle day to day with doubt. The doubts lead to exploration, which leads to a search for evidence, which invariably leaves me disappointed.

Some of mental journeys that highlight my day to day struggles:

When one is expressing a feeling of spiritual dryness the invariable remedy given is to pray more, receive more etc.

Here is where my mind goes when I hear this reponse: Doesn’t prayer help simply because it feeds the self brainwashing principal of repetition? In other words isn’t it similiar to the secular idea of something such as training for a sporting compeitition. “we can win if we give it all we have” etc etc.

The recent passing of Sister Lucia. This calls to mind my reading that there will be a non-mistakable warning during Sister Lucia’s lifetime. Another blow to my faith.

The controvery around Medjogorie and it authenticity. There are some books that lend evidence to the apparitions being real. I firmly believe the seerers believe what they lay claim to. BUT, if they are suffering from some other paranormal activity, isn’t it possible that this same paranormal activity could explain all other apparitions? All of the stigmatas, visions, visitations of all the Saints? Might there not simply be some natural (however unusual) explaination? Protestants feel all revelation ended with the Apostals, public as well as private (I believe). I heard Hank Hanagraaff once say, “I don’t know what they saw (seerers) but whatever it was it wasn’t from God”. I, by no means mean to make Hank an authority, I simply only wish to highlight the point that there are many many faithful, who totally disbelieve in these things we hold dear and utilize as a tool to enhance our faith.

The division in Christ’s church (protestant / Catholic)

The concept of Faith being a gift, why is it given to only some?

I could go on and on and on, this only scratches the surface. I attend Mass at least twice a week (Sunday and attempt to make another day) I pray the rosary about once a week, try to pray it more often. I think pretty much about nothing else but my faith. I read nothing but Christian books, I’ve acquired quite a library. I try to be strong for my family (I never express these doubts to them). However I am in a constant battle asking myself if there is something to this; or am I deluding myself.

Is this “spiritual dryness”? Am I doomed to have this self-battle for the remainder of my years? Why does He not help?

I simply wish I could hold on to a strong faith, get joy and hope from it, without the constant (and I mean constant) intellectual battle.
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Dear friend

I have fought this battle of the intellect for many months and have won it in Christ Jesus. I lived as though I was two different people within one body, one of faith and one a severe doubter. That went on and on until I thought it would make my head explode it made me so crazy. Then one day a good while ago, I said, ‘enough is enough. I believe.’ I came to this conclusion for two reasons, when I stripped everything away down to the simplest of questions…Is there a God? my instant answer was yes and I cannot deny that I have faith in God, my next question was, which is God’s faith? which is His church? I started a quest and thought about every church, every kind of faith on the earth and nothing could meet with Christ Jesus and the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

So there I was the battle of the intellect over.

You know that satan’s playground is the mind…he loves to run about there stirring up trouble and division within a person. But satan doesn’t bother too much with the heart, the heart is where the truth lies. Trust your heart dear friend, it won’t lead you astray, your mind may well do though!!

Stick to the simplest of truths, there is a God the Father and His Son is Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus established His Catholic church and sent the Holy Spirit to guide it. This is the simplest of truths that my heart could not deny.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
Dear friend

As for the long night of the soul…only someone who has been through this themselves can help you discern on this thoroughly.

You can read a book about driving cars, that does not mean you CAN drive a car!!

This forum will not be sufficient by any means to help you discern what is happening in your spirituality. You need to speak to your Priest/Confessor and ask for his guidance and possible referral to a Spiritual Director if the Priest is unable to do that for you as well as be your Confessor. It would be better if your Confessor was also your SD.

Pray to the Holy Spirit for discernment and fortitude (courage) and I will pray to the Holy Spirit for you as well.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you and those you love

Teresa
 
All that happens round us in our pilgrimage to Christ, Church Politics, changes in liturgy, Church Culture, is basically irrelevant to the basic truth that we are all of us called to be saints.
The road that makes us saints is the road of prayer. That road is not to be judged on emotional outcomes whether subjectively ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘dry’ or ‘ecstaic’. At the end of the day we shall all of us be judged on love. But before even that great judgement falls we can judge our prayer life on this…are we or are we not growing in love for those around us?
And if you don’t have an answer to that I have a simple remedy, ask people! Believe me they won’t be too long telling you, for good or bad!
As for the Night of the Senses, the very dawning of contemplative prayer, I have to say in my experience there are, very sadly, few enough folks who reach this stage.
As for those who reach the Night of the Soul, well they’re as rare as a Democrat at a Bush barbecue, so I wouldn’t loose to much sweat over it!:tiphat:
 
Dear friend

You know I have noticed that in faith people are relying on ‘I am feeling’…‘I was thinking’ etc etc

Now we are thinking and feeling creatures but faith is beyond just thoughts and feelings. It is a knowing and acceptance of knowing. This knowing cannot be explained by feeling or by thinking.

We simply know and therefore believe, though our knowing has no explanation other than it resides as truth in our hearts.

Therefore whatever we are feeling ‘dry, sad, happy or uplifted ’ etc or whatever we are thinking ’ doubtful, confused, confirmed or resolute’ our faith must endure above or inspite of all of this, or indeed it would not be faith.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
I deeply appreciate all of the comments, and more so, the prayers. I have, like so many, spent/wasted time attending different churches and denoms looking for the truth. After all this, I do not believe I will ever leave the Church (again).

I will take the advice of some here and simply redouble my spiritual activities. On reflection, I have no excuse for not being a daily communicant, and I am well able to spend more time before the Blessed Sacrament (I’ve allowed that to slip). Perhaps, I’ll never feel (there’s that word again) the same euphoria I have in the past or maybe its just around the corner, but in the end, I guess I will have to keep in mind that comfort in this life is not the promise. Maybe this is a signal that its time for me to put my faith where my mouth is.
 
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