Catholic Thought discussion
Dark Night of the Soul
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Prologue; Part 1, I thru IX
The English translators of this text in more recent times render the original word in the title “oscura” as “dark”. Earlier translators (David Lewis, 1864) used “obscure.” The reason why the title caught my attention is that neither word is apt to me to signify getting closer to God. Every reference to Him, take the Bible, Dante, speak of light that is more powerful than we can perceive or imagine. St. John probably uses this metaphor to designate a journey in contemplation. Perhaps he describes a starting point in that journey and that this will be more about the “darkness” we are in from which we must break out towards God.
Mod
Manny wrote: "Galicius, you are now having thinking. Is it "oscura" or "obscura" and whats he difference? The Spanish within the poem i copied over in the Introduction says "obscura." Is the title "oscura"?"I studied Spanish also (decades ago) and never learned that word but three Spanish editions I checked have either “Noche oscura” or “En una noche oscura.” Google translator has “oscura” also and translates it as “dark” or “obscure” among other synonyms. “Obscura” is an alternate Spanish spelling for the same meaning. I was more interested in my observation about how it relates to the where St. John is taking us.
Manny, this may have to do with the fact that modern Spanish is different from the Castillian that St. John was probably writing in. It's probably "translated" in the same way that Sir Gawain and the Canterbury Tales are into modern English.
Mod
Oh good point. I take it then they are the same word just spelled differently. Thanks Joseph.
Mod
Now that I got past the different spelling, I see your point. God is light. But I don't think John of the Cross is saying that God is darkness. I think he's saying the "dark night" is a passage to God. One has to go through the dark night to reach God.
I'm reminded of the Divine Mercy painting, the original Kazimirowski version where Christ is a light set against the darkness. One is going through the darkness to reach the light of Christ. Here's the painting if you can't recall.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_...
My understanding of "darkness" in this text refers to the withdrawl of consolations that is a part of most spiritual journeys. There is the dark night of the senses, the intentional stepping away from consolations in our lives that obscure our vision of or fidelity to God. That is the focus of the initial chapters. It is what other writers have called the purgative way. Then he moves to the dark night of the soul, God's withholding of spiritual consolations so that the soul does not cling to that which is not God. Even the peace, the sense of intimacy, the joy, that many feel in the initial stages after purgation or what motivated people to embrace purgation, is not God. So, God withholds these spiritual consolations so that the soul seeks God alone and not the good feelings they have received from God. Many spiritual writers have described this withdrawl of spiritual consolations as a "darkness". This comment is based on my recollection of this book from reading it decades ago and from reading the chapters for the first week's discussion, so I may be wrong.
Irene, this is my first time reading it, and what you laid out so well is exactly what I found. I was worried the language was going to be difficult to navigate, but happily it is beautiful and precise. I have found it helpful to highlight the central points and then go back and gather them up after reading through. I come away with a better grasp and am able to go forward with those precepts under my belt, so to speak. I don't know about anyone else, but I have seen these movements in my spiritual life. I was happy to read that there can be starts and stops, rather than one continuous road.
Starts and stops seem to be the story of my life!
Glad to see that you got the same message. I am always afraid that I might be reading these classics incorrectly. Yes, St. John does give a very pastoral message. He helps us understand that it is not a sprint to the finish, that the journey does not proceed smoothly, but it is OK as long as we continue to try to love God above all else.
Manny wrote: "Galicius wrote: "Every reference to Him, take the Bible, Dante, speak of light that is more powerful than we can perceive or imagine. St. John probably uses this metaphor to designate a journey in ..."That is a good connection you made Manny, to the painting from Saint Faustina’s vision. We find this painting presently prominently displayed near altars in at least three churches we attended here in New York mid-Hudson Valley.
Mod
(1) From the Prologue:
“Since this road (as the Lord Himself says likewise) is so strait, and since there are so few that enter by it, the soul considers it a great happiness and good chance to have passed along it to the said perfection of love, as it sings in this first stanza, calling this strait road with full propriety ‘dark night,’ as will be explained hereafter in the lines of the said stanza.”
Notice, he calls the “strait road with full propriety ‘dark night.’”
(2) From Book First, Introduction, Paragraph 1:
“In this first stanza the soul relates the way and manner which it followed in going forth, as to its affection, from itself and from all things, and in dying to them all and to itself, by means of true mortification, in order to attain to living the sweet and delectable life of love with God; and it says that this going forth from itself and from all things was a ‘dark night,’
If you break that sentence down, you find the clause, “this going forth from itself and from all things was a ‘dark night,’” Again the journey is the dark night.
(3) Also from Book First, Introduction, Paragraph 2:
“Herein it extols the great happiness which it found in journeying to God through this night with such signal success that none of the three enemies…”
Again “journeying to God through this night…”
(4) From Book 1, Chapter 2, Paragraph 8:
“For this reason, as we shall afterwards say, God leads into the dark night those whom He desires to purify from all these imperfections so that He may bring them farther onward.
Here the night is the “purgative” agent which purifies.
There are more. I just took these four examples. In each case the dark night is not a description for the state of the soul in either anxiety or dryness of consolation or the “withdrawl of consolation” as you put it. It’s an actual path in some places and a purgative agent in others. Either way it is not just a description of the state of the soul.
Mod
It is displayed at my parish too. I think it's one of the best paintings of Christ's face that I have ever seen, perhaps the best. That other painting for Divine Mercy that happens to be more common is hideous if you ask me. I don't know why it's more popular.
Mod
Lol! They can be intimidating.
Purgative aridity. I, of melancholy humor, read IX as if it were a constrictive wool sweater. I am struck dumb, discomfited, and thus far blown away.
Mod
LOL, well, he is a poet. Which paragraph is that in Casey? I can't seem to find it.
melancholy humor in #2, purgative aridity in #3, me in all of it
Yes, Manny, I don't think we are disagreeing. As you say above, St. John is a poet. So the darkness is a metaphor for the perception of the soul. The journey is a metaphor for the spiritual life of growth. The perception of the soul in "darkness" is a perception of the "journey" as "darkness". So, I agree. I think St. John says that the journey to God is madeat times in darkness by a soul that feels itself in darkness.
Mod
St. John is a poet. So the darkness is a metaphor for the perception of the soul. The journey is a metaphor for the spiritual life o..."
I guess it's a metaphor. I can't really argue against it but when he speaks of it it feels very tangible. Here's my unease on saying it's just a metaphor for the state of the soul. To say the soul is undergoing a "dark night," that's a static situation for the moment. But to say the soul is journeying through a dark night, that has motion and the description is of the path not of the soul.
I guess St. John really means both, a description for the soul and a description of the journey.
I agree. And, I think overlapping images are a common poetic device. For me, using darkness to image the purgation of the senses, the withdrawl of spiritual consolations, the experience of the spiritual journey at particular moments, etc, adds depth and richness. St. John is an incredible poet and a profound mystic.
A thought that came to my mind was of someone who wakes up and realizes they are in a dark room with no light and has to surrender control and trust in someone who knows the way to lead them from the darkness.
I also think that our understanding is in darkness while undergoing this process. He says that to try to.understand and control it is to miss its power. It requires trust and a kind of abandonment.
Mod
That's a great insight!
Mod
This leads me to think that St. John is speaking literally of a passage through a dark night. It occurred to me that St. John is speaking of a mystical experience. He is a mystic. What is a metaphor to us is actually a real experience for him. Perhaps he can visualize that aridity so strongly that it is literally a dark night for him.
Manny wrote: "Christine wrote: "A thought that came to my mind was of someone who wakes up and realizes they are in a dark room with no light and has to surrender control and trust in someone who knows the way t..."St. John probably wrote the poem while he was imprisoned. From what I understand, his cell was pretty dark and he was in it for years.
I confess my reading so far has been predicated on the notion that the dark night is a removal of any richness that arises from deep prayer/contemplation. And that it's a necessary prelude for anyone wanting to draw spiritually closer to God. Am glad to read the perspectives here. I rail against what I see as St. John's insistence that the dark desert experience - as I perceive it - is necessary. I stumble over why a soul has to sink into darkness in order to eventually find light. But then I wonder - Jesus descended into hell before he ascended into Heaven. Is St. John giving us a parallel? And, as always when dark nights are discussed, I think of St. Mother Teresa's years of spriritual dryness. And don't wish to experience the same.
Mod
Summary:
Prologue: The poem and the organization of the book being an expounding on the lines of the poem.
Part 1
Exposition: The first stanza of the poem.
Chapter 1: The imperfections of beginners.
Chapter 2: Imperfections of beginners with respect to pride.
Chapter 3: Imperfections of beginners with respect to avarice.
Chapter 4: Imperfections of beginners with respect to luxury.
Chapter 5: Imperfections of beginners with respect to wrath.
Chapter 6: Imperfections of beginners with respect to spiritual gluttony.
Chapter 7: Imperfections of beginners with respect to spiritual envy and sloth.
Chapter 8: Exposition of the first line of the first stanza and the beginning of the explanation of this dark night.
Chapter 9: The signs that one has when one is walking in this dark night and purgation of sense.
Mod
I think you are right, though it is not certain. From Wikipedia:
"The time or place of composition are not certain. It is likely the poem was written between 1577 and 1579. It has been proposed[by whom?] that the poem was composed while John was imprisoned in Toledo, although the few explicit statements in this regard are unconvincing and second-hand."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Ni...
Mod
I rail against what I see as St. John's insistence that the dark desert experience - as I perceive it - is necessary. "
I was irked by a few of his statements. I'll get to them in time.
Gerri wrote: "I confess my reading so far has been predicated on the notion that the dark night is a removal of any richness that arises from deep prayer/contemplation. And that it's a necessary prelude for anyo..."The dark night is the removal of what appears to us to be the richness. The beginner gets a feeling, a comfort, a sensation, a thrill. Initially this motivates us to continue but soon it becomes the thing at which we aim. Those things must be removed so that we aim only at Christ.
As those feelings, comforts, sensations, and thrills wane we feel lost. We go slipping into the dark night. We long for what is lost but are being prepared for something greater. This period of purgation purifies and perfects our aims and is necessary for our spiritual growth.
Mod
Yes Casey, I think you captured it exactly. Aridity is intentional from God and toward a purpose, greater purpose. That seems counter intuitive to me. But that is what he is saying.
Yes, Casey, I also agree with your description of the dark night of the soul which is the temporary removal of spiritual consolations by God. I say temporary, but realize that that period may be months or decades. Each person's journey is different. And some don't move to the other side of it until death. It is a bit different than the dark night of the senses which St. John starts with.My understanding is that he was imprisoned by his fellow Carmelites for 9 months before he escaped. I suspect that his cell was dark given building designs at the time and place.
Manny, I am going to be a brat now, forgive me, but even if he was in physical darkness, even if his spirit was in deep "darkness", the expression "dark night" can't be literal unless he was experiencing the part of the 24 hour cycle of earth's rotation that had his geographic location tilted away from the sun. It is a metaphor and it was not his invention. It has been found in other writers prior to him. He just made it so much more rich, more accessible to the average spiritual seeker.
Of course, this sounds more like a comment for a discussion of poetry than for a discussion of a mystical text. No human language can adequately capture the mystical experience. Every mystical writer has resorted to metaphors and eventually to silence. And what St John is actually saying in this first section is to challenge the reader to intensionally let go of anything and everything that might impede their running into the arms of God. I have to admit that I struggled with this section. I understand and agree with the concept intellectually. But, I want to enjoy so many things in life. Could I let go of reading in the evening and spend that hour or two in prayer? I could but don't. Could I fast more to crave God more greatly? I could, but am doing poorly with even giving up simple snacking on a cracker throughout the day this Lent. I make every excuse why I should not let go, not relinquish. I want the arms of God, but I want it as easily as I get most things in my life. A little work is OK, but to put everything down, to turn away from anything that is not God, I just don't want to do that.
Manny wrote: "Casey wrote: "Gerri wrote: "I confess my reading so far has been predicated on the notion that the dark night is a removal of any richness that arises from deep prayer/contemplation. And that it's ..."Interesting because I find it entirely intuitive.
A child is given a gold star on his homework to create good feelings and motivate him to develop good habits. Later in High School and College the gold stars have gone away but there are still grades. In 20s there's squat. Nobody cares if you read or practice math or whatever. But then here we all are now reading and discussing a most challenging work for its own sake. No gold stars, no grades, no longing for such. Simply the elevated, properly refined attractions of the mind and soul.
We should probably also remember that this darkness he speaks of is actually extreme brightness. Something along the lines of Plato's cave. When we exit the cave we are blinded by the light. (darkness) It is painful and seems at first terrible to us.This is necessary because we cannot, through our own efforts, prepare our eyes for the light before exiting. Only the light itself can prepare our eyes.
Irene wrote: "Yes, Casey, I also agree with your description of the dark night of the soul which is the temporary removal of spiritual consolations by God. I say temporary, but realize that that period may be mo..."Regarding your comment on enjoying the things of this life - I think that the idea is not that we ought to sacrifice the pleasure of reading or crackers so that we can pray more. Rather that through this purgation the act of reading or eating crackers becomes itself prayer. The pleasure of reading and crackers is now plus 1. (Or plus infinity)
I need to re-read those chapters. I did not pick up that the purgation of the senses are to lead us to engaging in the same activities but with a sense that these activities are saturated with the presence of God. That seems reasonable, but that did not come through to me. However, I also did not get the impression that St. John was asking a withdrawl from the world or some radical asceticism. Instead, I got the impression of a clearing out of the path so that we can more easily fly to God. Some things in our lives may be pleasures that also lift the mind and heart to God. Others may be obstacles to God because they allow us to find satisfaction, comfort, pleasure in what is a good, but not God. And, of course, there are also those things that are just plain harmful that we need to let go of. I was not trying to imply that St. John thinks I should not eat a cracker at 3:00 in the afternoon or read a good book before bed. I simply meant that I don't want to undergo any purging of the senses, even temporarily. I want to run into the arms of God, but I want to do it without dropping any of the things that I am currently wrapping my arms around. God gives us the goods of this world as any parent desiring to see their child enjoying these gifts. The problem comes when the gifts so fulfill and entertain me that I stop looking up and longing for the Giver. And the only way to do that is to put down the trinkets and toys and to lift my eyes and arms to that Divine Giver.
Irene wrote: "I need to re-read those chapters. I did not pick up that the purgation of the senses are to lead us to engaging in the same activities but with a sense that these activities are saturated with the ..."Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest circularity - leading us back to the old activities. Rather, I'm thinking of it more linearly.
Let's say A is the activity, and B is the sense, and C is God.
A -> B -> C
Initially we do A for B's sake. We ought to do A for C's sake. In removing B, God gives us a direct line.
A ->__ -> C
The absence of B is the aridity. The direct light of C purifies the act of A.
What I mean to say is that B can return but, having been purified, we aim through B to C. B becomes properly ordered.
However, I'm only through Ch 12 so I may be presuming too much.
Mod
But maybe we should just go beyond this. Whether he is being literal or not probably doesn't make a difference. Maybe it will be more obvious later on.
Yes, let's move on. I suspect that our use of "metaphor" may not be exactly the same.
Mod
With respect to the fourth sin, which is spiritual gluttony, there is much to be said, for there is scarce one of these beginners who, however satisfactory his progress, falls not into some of the many imperfections which come to these beginners with respect to this sin, on account of the sweetness which they find at first in spiritual exercises. (15)
Who is he talking about? He says beginners. He continues in the next paragraph.
These persons are most imperfect and unreasonable; for they set bodily penance before subjection and obedience, which is penance according to reason and discretion, and therefore a sacrifice more acceptable and pleasing to God than any other. (15)
And the next paragraph.
You will find that many of these persons are very insistent with their spiritual masters to be granted that which they desire, extracting it from them almost by force; if they be refused it they become as peevish as children and go about in great displeasure, thinking that they are not serving God when they are not allowed to do that which they would…These persons think that their own satisfaction and pleasure are the satisfaction and service of God. (16)
“You will find that many of these persons …” “These persons think…” Every single paragraph in this chapter refers to “these persons.” OK, they are beginners. He knows they are all alike? Every single beginner reacts the same? And how does he know this? Is he looking into his past and remembering when he was a beginner and projecting that to others? Is he built up a sort of database in his head from teaching a lot of beginners? Or is he just speculating from intuition? He never tells us.
In this case I don’t know if I’ve ever reached a spiritual gluttony. Perhaps I’m even more of a beginner than beginners. Would I be “peevish as a child” if my spiritual didn’t grant what I desired? In paragraph six of this chapter he says “these persons… the business of prayer consists in experiencing sensible pleasure and devotion…” I can tell you I don’t think the business of prayer consists of experiencing sensible pleasure. So who is he talking about?
In fairness to St. John, I notice a lot of devotional books speak in this manner, where the author seems to project he has some special knowledge of others. He is creating a sort of foil or strawman to show the opposite of his point.
Mod
Ok, I'll quickly sneak in my 2 cents worth ;-)
Darkness is also a barrier. When we get closer to God, get to know him better and desire to align our lives as best as we are able, there will be barriers. I think of it as learning and honing a skill, such as playing an instrument, cooking, getting more proficient in one's profession, etc. etc. As we are learning and getting better at it we encounter barriers that will take us to deeper understanding and/or higher skill level. We have to practice, take our time to fully absorb and master the new material. As a rule, one also has to be in the right frame of mind and have the patience. Unless our hearts and minds are open to God to receive him we don't break through the barrier or darkness. We remain at our current understanding.
Mod
I tend to have my troubles here too. Devotional books tend to be very personal in the sense that it is the experience of the author that is being conveyed. Yet how God calls a person to himself may not necessarily be transferable to another.
Mod
Wasn't it St. Irenaeus of Lyons who said, "The glory of God is a human being fully alive"? How does one quantify "fully alive"? We are corporeal beings with both a body and a soul. It seems to me both have to get their due in order to be "fully alive".
Manny wrote: "He never tells us"In the opening sentence of Chapter 1:
"INTO THIS dark night souls begin to enter when God draws them forth from the state of beginners—which is the state of those that meditate on the spiritual road—and begins to set them in the state of progressives—which is that of those who are already contemplatives—to the end that, after passing through it, they may arrive at the state of the perfect, which is that of the Divine union of the soul with God."
So beginners are specifically "those that meditate on the spiritual road" and that road leads to becoming a contemplative. These beginners are also called forth by God.
Initially the beginner takes "great pleasure in spiritual exercises." (ch 1-2) Those pleasures can go from that which motivates the beginner to the aim itself - like in children. They are on the road but find themselves still spiritually weak. "For since they are moved to these things and to these spiritual exercises by the consolation and pleasure that they find in them, and since, too, they have not been prepared for them by the practice of earnest striving in the virtues, they have many faults and imperfections with respect to these spiritual actions of theirs." (1-3)
In order to demonstrate how beginners "readily engage with the pleasure aforementioned, we shall describe it by reference to the seven capital sins, each in its turn, indicating some of the many imperfections which they have under each heading." (1-3)
So we are not moving through the seven Dante style. The idea is to show some of the many ways in which the beginners aim can be off. In removing those aims, God directs the aim at the only target - Himself.
Kirsten, Yes, there must be a balance between self discipline and dangerous asceticism. For each, that balance will be found in a different place. We saw Catherine of Siena undertaking severe ascetical practices which brought her to deep intimacy with God. Other saints had those hardships placed on them by forces beyond their control like illness or enslavement. But it does seem to be a common thread in all the spiritual masters that I have encountered that some level of denying self is a part of the journey. I have been lucky that my life has not had nearly the hardships that so many have had to carry. Maybe that is why I am so reluctant to give up my will even in little things.Manny, I wonder if what feels uncomfortable in his writing is simply a popular style of devotional books for his time. I suspect, although I have not read much into the life and formation of St. John, that his generalizations are drawn from his wide reading of spiritual books of his time, his conversations with others on the spiritual journey and his own experience. Especially in the section about the dark night of the senses, his thought does not seem original. Many writers of the Western spiritual tradition speak of the need to be purged of similar impulses that St. John names. I also wonder if some of the struggles he identifies, such as a glutteny for spiritual disciplines, are not prevalent in today's spiritual culture. We rarely hear retreat directors encouraging people to undertake fasts or vigiling through the night or exposure to the cold or self flagelation, all of which were praised by the spiritually ambitious of this era. I suspect that it was more common for someone with great spiritual ambition to desire to engage in what was seen as heroic spiritual acts in the 16th century Spain than in the 21st century U.S. I try to read these types of books with some discernment. Most likely no one would see every warning in these texts equally applicable to their life. So, what in this beautiful book could call me to greater holiness. What do I need to learn from it? What challenges me will most likely not be the same thing that challenges the next reader because we are all in a different place. What I find absolutely amazing is that 600 years after it was written, it still speaks to so many who desire to grow in intimacy with God.
I think this phenomenon that he's describing is one that we don't see a lot today where people will beg their spiritual directors or confessors to give them harder penances. That being said, I think that his chapter on Pride was spot on. I remember my first year in formation there was definitely a temptation to look around the chapel and compare yourself to other people. Some of my friends and I started calling it the hot box because it felt like we were all watching each other. After some time in formation though, you learn to not compare yourself to others and simply focus on your own prayer. St. John having gone through a more intense formation than I have is probably both remembering his time as a "beginner" and also probably thinking about younger friars he helped form.
Mod
Yes, I think so. I kind of remember the same sort of phrasing when we read Teresa of Avila's The Interior Castle a few years ago.
I agree that the purgation of the senses is not original - heck that's just a variation of fasting - but the spiritual purgation strikes me as original. I don't think I've heard of it before. So if I understand it correctly, spiritual gluttony would be wanting too many spiritual consolations from prayer? Am I understanding that correctly?
Mod
Oh I see. The purgation redirects the beginner's aim toward God. Is that what St. John is getting at?
Mod
Like Irene, I can't even get through Lent with my sacrifices. I really should try something hard but it's really difficult to keep up when you're in the secular world with a routine. If I lived in a monastery I might do better. Nonetheless, real asceticism has never appealed to. Maybe because I don't feel I get these "consolations" from them.
Boy, I sound just like one of those beginners St. John is criticizing. ;)
Catholic Thought
Books mentioned in this topic
Introduction to the Devout Life (other topics)The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Times (other topics)
First the method. Each stanza will be expounded upon separately, and then line by line. The first two stanzas are about what John identifies as two spiritual purgations, the purgation of the senses and the purgation of the spirit. The other six stanzas expound upon effects which lead to illumination and then union with God.
This is what Catholicism has traditionally identified as the stages of spiritual life: the purgative, the illuminative, and the unitive. New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia has an entry that describes each of the ways, here. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/1425...
So I take then that through this eight stanza poem, John will show us a way to pass through the three stages culminating is some mystical union with God. If I’m getting this correctly, the “dark night” is not a description of the soul but a “road” upon which the soul has to travel to reach that union with God.