Wrong to ask for...?

  • Thread starter Thread starter brgregmack
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Do you mean “Dark night of the soul” experience? Yes, I think it would be wrong since this is

a) A cross given to those who can embrace it; and most importantly
b) It’s a form of spiritual hopelessness in some ways

Asking for it would be wrong I think. Let Jesus share His cross with you in any way - ask Him to never leave you!
 
I’m talking about of the senses not the soul, which I know very few people go through.
St. John of the Cross describes some of the vices that beginners fall into, and what I’m asking about is that if one were to recognize that they’ve fallen into those vices if it would be wrong to ask for a night of the senses.
 
It would be better to pray for purification from defects stemming from temptations of the senses and let God decide when, where and how to work in you toward your purification.
 
brgregmack said:
I’m talking about of the senses not the soul, which I know very few people go through.
St. John of the Cross describes some of the vices that beginners fall into, and what I’m asking about is that if one were to recognize that they’ve fallen into those vices if it would be wrong to ask for a night of the senses.
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I think God wants us all to get there and will get you there when He knows you are ready. The willingness to let go and accept His will and timing on events in your spiritual journey may help you move forward on that journey.

Remember, dark night experiences are used by God to draw you closer to Him. By sensibly removing Himself, He is trying to increase your desire to be with Him and increase your love for Him. It really isn’t about clearing up those last pesky sins you just can’t seem to give up, even though giving up the sins may be an effect of the experience.

I would suggest ardently asking Jesus to help you love Him more and never again offend Him through your weakness. Also, ask Mary to show you how to love her Son more. Helping you become closer to her Son is one of her greatest desires.

The other thing to remember is that someone can be in a dark night of the senses and not actually realize it. Spiritual direction is really helpful in determining where you are and what you need to do to move forward spiritually. If you don’t have one, please find yourself a good spiritual director.
 
brgregmack said:
huh??:confused:
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I think wild thing means that they aren’t called “dark night” because they are fun. It is a spiritually difficult, challenging time. Not every one progresses through the dark night. Many people get stuck there and bounce back into old habits not making any real progress on their journey.
 
I do not currently have a spiritual director, and made a call yesterday. He hasn’t gotten back to me as of yet.
 
… also, I’ll be making a Crusillo this weekend, so that could be a real test:shrug:
 
Samson01 said:
How would one know they experienced the night of sense…?
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St John of the Cross spends time talking about this. Google St John of the Cross and Dark night of the senses and you’ll get tons of information.

Dr Brant Pitre taught an undergraduate course on Spiritual Theology that you can buy from him (pricey but very good, info is available at brantpitre.com). It covers much about the spiritual journey as described by many saints, but relies heavily on St John of the Cross.

His description of the experience is something like:

a. Dryness in Prayer: deprived of spiritual consolations
b. Difficulty in Discursive Meditation
c. Grave Temptations arise: especially against chastity and patience
d. Inclination to Acquired Contemplation (Prayer of the Simple Gaze)
e. Beginnings of Infused Contemplation
f. Analogy: God is uprooting the “weeds” in the soul (cf. John 15)

(Actually, that comes directly off of his class notes - hope you don’t mind Dr Pitre)

But, as I said before, it is hard for one to tell for themselves where they are on the spiritual journey. It is best to have a good spiritual director and let them guide you.

Actually, I’m not sure you even really need to know where you are. It is more important for your spiritual director to know where you are so they can recommend books/prayers/practices that are appropriate. Just try to open yourself to God’s will and let Him work on you. He knows what He is doing! 😉

Here is a link to a site that talks about discerning the dark night of the senses:
discernment-of-the-night-of-the-senses It seems very good, but I know nothing of the site in general.
 
well… I think it’s very possible that I have gotten what I’ve asked for…

While Cursillo was very enjoyable and I got in plenty of laughs, I experienced a lot of aridity and little satisfaction in food that was quite good.
 
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